Water quality sometimes becomes an issue with houseplants. Municipal water supplies are always acceptable for watering houseplants. Chlorine added to the water during purification has no adverse affects on plants. Some well water sources around Arkansas may have high salt content, have high carbonate levels or be very hard. Because the salt residue remains behind (and builds up) as the plant loses water through evaporation, high salt content water is a problem for houseplants. Plants grown using water with high salt levels show a white, crusty scale at the top of the soil and eventually stop growing as the level becomes too high. Hard water and water with high carbonate levels also lead to salt deposits on the soil surface. Watering with rainwater or some surface water source should solve the problem. If a salt-based water softener is used in the home, water for houseplants should be collected before it enters the water softener unit.
Fertilization Houseplants are not heavy feeders and do not require a lot of fertilizer for maintenance. However, they are grown in artificial potting mixes that have almost no nutrients. So if you expect to see them continue to grow, they must receive occasional fertilization. Keep in mind that poor growth can be caused by a number of factors – low light, wrong temperature, wrong watering regime, etc. – and adding extra fertilizer in an attempt to force the plant to grow will be completely ineffective if the cause of poor growth is not a lack of nutrition.
Most new plants have sufficient nutrients from the greenhouse where they were grown to sustain them for two to three months. When the nutrients are depleted, the plant will only grow if fertilized.