Newbie here

[carol57]

Thankyou all for the warm welcome.
Have any of you ever used ice cubes to to encourage blooming? I was sent a link about this the other day and have never heard about it?

[tucker85]

Welcome to Orchid Board!

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by carol57

Have any of you ever used ice cubes to to encourage blooming? I was sent a link about this the other day and have never heard about it?

There has been talk here of watering with ice cubes for general watering as one company in the USA sells Phals as 'just add ice' orchids.

However the majority opinion here is that the cold is not good for the roots of tropical orchids like Phals. Others say it's a good way of not overwating.

Phals don't need such a big drop in temp to bloom as you would get from ice cubes. Just a few degrees at night is enough. I've had them start when there is just a slightly cooler few weeks in the summer. I also get spikes as the temps drop in autumn.

One thing to keep in mind though is that often phals you buy have been forced to bloom for a specific time of year, and it can take them 18months to 2 years to settle back into a natural flowering cycle. I think most of mine didn't flower for that sort of period, and I know others here have said they've seen the same thing.

[carol57]

Thanks for this Rosie, I did think it was more suited to the warmer Countries, the person who sent it to me lives in the States and said she had been sold a Phal as an Ice orchid.
Carol

[Carpe Diem]

As far as I'm concerned, the "Ice Cube Orchids" are a sales gimmick. When they go down hill after some time, people throw them out and get a new one, because they are cheap. I bought a "Ice Cube Orchid" at ALDI for $9.99 about 2 month ago, beautiful almost red flowers. I repottet immediatly and water per instructions from the OB. The roots were good. The flowers are gone now and I'm waiting on new growth. For people that are not interested in growing orchids, but love the flowers, it's a throw-away item.

---------- Post added at 12:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:26 PM ----------

oops, I posted before I finished.
They are marketed as easy, care free orchids, that only require the ocassional ice cube. That fits right in with peoples busy schedule.
Ok, I'm off my soap box now!