Is it Wise to Utilize Ice Cubes to Hydrate Your Plants?
This Core Issue
Many a houseplant succumbs to overzealous attention; dousing your plants every time you look proves terminal. Using ice cubes to hydrate offers slower and more controlled watering. Yet, does it truly work?
This Suggested Method
Place a couple of ice cubes on top of the soil. The concept posits as the ice melts, it steadily provides water, providing the roots ample time to absorb it and avoiding soggy soil.
A Closer Look
This approach works best for compact containers and species sensitive to overwatering, such as Phalaenopsis. Yet, most of warmth-loving houseplants are averse to the cold. A plant's root structures evolved for heat, and cold water can shock or hurt them. The surrounding temperature plays a big part in this method's success: in a toasty room, the ice will dissolve almost instantly, providing scant benefit, while in a cool spot it may linger excessively, lowering the temperature of the roots and impeding water uptake. Make sure to confirm ice cubes are made from fresh, clean water and avoid press them right onto the base or the root crown.
The Test
This was tested on a Phalaenopsis. Using two cubes each week resulted in the roots consistently damp and avoided saturation. In contrast, trying the identical method on a Calathea resulted in browning at the leaf edges, a definite sign of temperature shock.
Our Assessment
This frozen water technique may work for certain orchids, yet it is not ideal for most warm-climate houseplants and hinges greatly on room conditions. Thus, this method is not advised; lukewarm water poured carefully remains the most reliable way to thoroughly water your plants.
