Orchid: Express shares tips for watering plant
Orchids are one of the most popular houseplants to buy as they tend to last for many weeks.
Once the flowers have finally faded, it’s tempting to discard the indoor plant, but with a simple trick, it’s possible to make an orchid flower again, not only in a few months’ time but for many years to come.
Taking to the Gardening UK Facebook page, one woman shared how she got her orchid that had no flowers to “flower like crazy” with a step she followed “once a week”.
Posting a picture of her orchid full of blooms, Katherine Reader wrote: “My mum gave me this orchid and it was in the reduced section at Tesco.
“It had one blue flower on it and then it fell off and I thought well that’s the end of that.
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“I’ve been putting an ice cube in the bottom once a week and it’s turned out bloody fantastic with new different coloured flowers. As you can see it’s flowering like crazy.”
Some gardening experts claim that using ice cubes is effective for watering orchids as it is the best practice for those who have a habit of overwatering their houseplants.
The idea is that as the ice cubes slowly melt, they give the growing medium and roots enough time to absorb the water, providing the orchid with the exact amount of moisture it needs.
Orchid experts at Just Add Ice suggested using this method. They said: “Continue to water your orchid with three ice cubes once a week.
“If you have a petite orchid, use two cubes, and for a mini orchid use one.”
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For those who have more than one plant in a single planter, be sure to give each plant its own set of cubes.
While half of the group members in the comments section loved this idea, the other half were hesitant as they claimed that while the flowers looked healthy, the leaves seemed to be looking “parched”.
Lisa Mitchell claimed: “The leaves look super parched. Always best to water well when the roots are transparent in colour as the roots need to be green.”
Daria Sz wrote: “Beautiful flowers, but an ice cube is not enough (you can see your leaves are dehydrated, as well as you are risking ice burn on your roots).”
It is thought that the cold temperatures that touch the roots and leaves will cause harm to the plant cells.
However, the experts at Love Orchids argue: “With orchids originating from the rain forest, where they enjoy hot and humid weather, we can see the reason for concern when it comes to the ice cube method.
“But from the studies conducted and our own experience, we know the ice cube method is a safe method of watering orchids.”
They explained that The Ohio State University and the University of Georgia carried out a study on orchids. Half the orchids were watered using room temperature water and the other half with ice cubes.
The orchids were evaluated for four to six months and the outcome showed that the orchids watered with ice cubes had the same flower longevity as the orchids watered with room-temperature water.
It was also concluded that watering orchids with ice cubes was just as effective as traditional watering methods.
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