Ray, I posited in my initial post that the ice cube method was a way to compensate for the way mass market phals are potted--with too much sphagnum--and that in that sense it's a pretty brilliant way to extend the life of the plant to where it can survive for perhaps a few years without repotting (if you're lucky). And since repotting is probably too much work for many, I can see how "just add ice" is a great intro to phal growing. However, I agree with Jake in that it seems to me that you'd still be depriving the plant of things that could make it thrive. Most of these mass market phals are also in potted in liners and put into pots without holes, so airflow is lacking, likewise because of all that sphagnum. You're not fertilizing or flushing or changing the media every 2 years, and I've seen the top roots of these plants--they're often blackened. So ultimately, these growers are just developing a bad habit that often prevents them from learning a more sustainable method. Prevents because, I believe, just-add-ice can keep the plant alive for just long enough that it kind of seems like bad luck when it finally dies, not a fault in the watering method or potting media.
On the same group I mentioned, I saw someone advise a just add ice grower to never use ice, but water with a shot glass once a week instead. I thought that was kind of funny. Maybe that will be the new marketing scheme to appeal to all us lushes!
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