Watering technique....anyone in SoCal doing this
 

So I work at trader joes in an Asian neighborhood where the orchids fly off the shelf. Today I asked a lady buying some oncodiums how she cares for them. She told me she puts one or two ice cubes in each pot once a week. Seems like a very small amount of water. Can anyone else vouch for this method?

No one here will vouch for that method. That is a sales gimmick for "Just add ice orchids". It depends on what type of orchid you have but most orchids like to be watered and then dry out. Many people tend to over water orchids and kill them so someone decided that if people just add ice once a week they won't over water.

I didn't know this was a gimmick.... I thought I was told ancient Chinese secret hahahaha

My friend asked me for advice on one just yesterday. When I asked how she was caring for it currently, ice cubes came up. My heart sank a little bit. Poor phal. :( I always tell my friends that most orchids have never seen snow for millions of years, why would you put ice on them now?!

When I got my first phal I had heard about the ice cube thing. I thought ice can't be good for the plant, so I figured I would give the plant the amount of water that was in the ice. So I gave the plant 30-45 cc of water every week right near the base of the plant in the media. My plant actually did well, even grew a new leaf. Maybe over time the plant might not have liked this, but I changed my methods after doing some research.

I disagree. According to Tom Harper (Stone River Orchids) two to four ice cubes is the perfect amount for watering a small orchid. The perfect way to administer them, is to put them in a cup, overnight, then pour them into your orchid container, in the morning.

You can measure out the amount of water 1 ice cube makes, you don't actually have to use an ice cube. My orchid was a large one and the person who asked the question was talking about a dendrobium. I agree a phal can do ok with a small amount of water every week. Mine did. Now though I prefer to soak my large phal for about 15 min, drain and then not water until dry and the roots are silver. Usually about every 2 weeks. To each their own and what works for their environment. But still in the end Stone Rivers is not saying throw 2 ice cubs into your plant.

Believe it or not, I know someone who was watering her orchid w/2 ice cubes once a week for 2+ yrs and it was a very healthy orchid (phal).

She had never repotted it...kept it in that plastic pot sitting in the cache pot...2 ice cubes once a week. Looked good...bloomed well...I was amazed.

Ice cubes and orchids don't make sense to most of us but it seems to work for some people. I would never do it...but, having seen what I did, I now don't say it can't work.

The have always said orchids do good on neglect, we pamper them to death! Phals like it cool too, they will usually pop into bloom with a drop in temperature. A melting cube on the soil isn't freezing it and its slow melt gives the orchid a better chance at absorbing.

Although it isn't practical for a larger collection, the Just Add Ice technique is actually a smart way for newbies to prevent over watering and, as CTB mentions, this slow release method is good for root absorption. This simulates a slow, steady rain in nature.

If you water this way you will want to add fertilizer to the water/cubes and just hope you don't get the orchid cubes mixed up with your gin and tonic cubes ;-)

Personally I don't use the ice technique, but if it works, go with it!