Orchids are incomparable tropical beauties! Nothing feels better than seeing an orchid in full bloom, especially if you’re the one who helped it get there.
But if you’ve grown these plants, then you already know that it is a pretty challenging task. This especially refers to watering!
To make things easier, some gardeners decided to change their approach. Instead of using water, they used ice cubes!
Wait, ice and tropical plants? How on earth could that work? Well, according to some, it not only works but it’s ten times better than water.
Of course, gardeners always check things twice before trying something new, as they should.
So, to use or not to use?
Before we dive any further, here are the opinions of both sides.
The main claim: Overwatering is the easiest way to destroy orchids and watering with ice cubes will prevent it.
The main concern: Cold temperature shock will damage the plant tissue!
The final verdict? Wait until you read everything!
Science Approves!
Since this hack has become super popular over the years, scientists from the American Society for Horticultural Science decided to conduct a study to resolve the mystery.
They arranged moth orchids into two groups and the first group received room-temperature water only, whereas the latter got the ice cubes. The entire experiment lasted for six months.
So, which orchids performed better? Surprisingly, the flowers on both groups of orchids lasted the same. The roots and leaves also weren’t affected by temperature shock.
According to the study, ice did not damage the plant tissue.
Many seasoned master gardeners welcomed the method after the study, so now we have countless videos on social media about it.
But did you know about Just Add Ice orchids by Green Circle Growers? They’re actually the ones that made this method so popular!
They claim that overwatering in orchids can lead to multiple issues, and the worst one is root rot. Saving orchids from this disease is way too hard, so we must work more on prevention.
Their rule is simple: add three ice cubes per week and that should be enough for your orchids to thrive. This way, water won’t accumulate in the soil due to slow absorption.
We can all agree that orchids are sensitive to overwatering. So, if the ice cubes can fix it, why don’t we all use them?
Pro Gardeners Aren’t Convinced…
Scientific studies can’t convince everyone and this is the case with Leslie Halleck. She’s a horticulturist and UCLA professor and, according to her, using regular watering techniques is still a better option.
We all want to keep our plants hydrated and avoid overwatering at the same time. Ice cubes may cause underwatering in orchids, which is also dangerous.
For Halleck, the best method is to use pots with drainage holes and water the orchids until all the excess water comes out of these holes.
Some gardeners are also concerned about the cold and how orchids can get stressed by temperature shock.
Darien from the Gardener’s Center says that the natural habitat of orchids, the tropics, dictates the method we should use.
There are legit claims and concerns about using ice to water orchids, which is why the final verdict mainly depends on you.
You know what they say, what works for some, doesn’t work for others. Keeping orchids healthy and hydrated isn’t easy but we must focus on it. If you believe ice cubes will help and make things easier, give it a try!