GROWING SUPPLIES: Reverse Osmosis Water

• All carnivorous plants should be grown using pure, low mineral water. If you do have hard tap water, it is best to use collected rain water, distilled water, reverse osmosis water, or de-ionized water
• Water vendors are starting to pop up in various suburbs across South Africa and when rainwater is scarce these vendors are a good inexpensive source for pure water for your carnivorous friend  
• Distilled- and Reverse osmosis water are often sold at most pharmacies, Oasis, Dischem, Builders Warehouse and the pharmacy section of large retail stores such as Checkers Hyper and Pick n Pay
• Note that still and sparkling drinking water sold in the cooldrink section at retail stores are not suitable for carnivorous plants.  Bottled water sold under the bottling brands aQuellé, Valpré, H20 to go, BonAqua and others often have added minerals and is not a suitable replacement for distilled or RO water
• Always read the label.  Distilled water sold as 'battery water' may contain sulphuric acid and will kill your plant.  Reverse osmosis water typically have a TDS value <20 PPM
• In all cases, a total dissolved solids (TDS) measurement below 100 parts per million (PPM) is recommended for cultivating carnivorous plants

General notes on The Reverse Osmosis system - What is reverse osmosis water?

Reverse osmosis, is the process of osmosis backwards. Osmosis is the passage of water through a protein membrane (like our skin, or the inside of a plant cell) to equalize the concentration of particles dissolved in the water. The protein membrane allows water to pass through, but molecules larger than water (things like minerals, salts, and bacteria) cannot. Water flows back and forth until the concentration is equal on both sides of the membrane, and an equilibrium is formed.

Let’s apply this knowledge to water purification. We want to drink water from a lake or stream, but it contains contaminants like salt, minerals, and bacteria, that make it undrinkable. By applying pressure to water as it passes through a membrane, the water can be forced to move away from the membrane rather than attempting to form an equilibrium like normal. This motion is where the “reverse” comes from. Water is forced through the membrane which blocks an extreme majority of contaminants from coming through.

In water treatment, reverse osmosis can usually remove between 96 and 99% of most contaminants, including salts and minerals, dyes, particles, bacteria, and hazardous metals

General notes on quenching your carnivorous plant's thirst

• Most carnivorous plants may be watered using the tray method
• Simply put your plants in their pots into a tray and fill it with 1cm pure water
• This is really the best and easiest way to make sure your plants don’t ever dry out
• Exceptions are Nepenthes, Cephalotus, mexican butterworts and Drosophyllum - these plants are prone to root rot if kept standing in water for extended periods of time, thus their watering preferences are slightly different in the sense that they need soil only moist to the touch with good drainage, without letting the soil dry out completely

Reverse osmosis water is sold in 330ml and 500ml screw top bottles. 1 litre bottles available for pickup and local delivery only - Please contact us for availability and pricing

Ordering

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• Just a quick heads-up: Since plants are natural products, you might notice some slight variations when unboxing your plants
• We do our best to make sure the plants you receive look like the ones in the photos, but keep in mind that seasons change and plants grow. Some leaves might age and die off, new ones might sprout and the plants may look a bit different over time
• 99% of what we sell are one-of-a-kind collector items, so you will receive the exact plant pictured. The labels are spot on, so even if the plant looks a bit different, we 100% guarantee it's the real deal
• Also, all the photos you see are of our own plants unless we mention otherwise. We update images occasionally to keep things fresh. If you want to see updated pictures before you buy, just let us know – we're happy to help!