Why Are People Throwing Ice Cubes in Their Orchid Pots? Gardening Experts Weigh In on the Trend

For centuries, orchids have captivated flower lovers. Folklores say that these enchantresses were born at the spot where animals mated. Some say a queen transformed into an orchid when she climbed the tree to wait for her husband to return. Turks squeezed orchid juice to make fertility-boosting ice cream. Whatever the story, orchids carry a special place in the hearts of those who love them and these people love to care for these delicate, slow-growing plants. In an emerging TikTok trend, people are watering their orchids with ice cubes. However, despite people’s positive experiences, experts are skeptical about this hack.

TikTok user Jessie (@growithjesse) shared how she used the “ice cubes hack” to water her beautiful lavender-hued orchids. She took two ice cubes and slipped them into the soil-filled white planting pot. However, instead of reblooming, the orchids dropped all their flowers, leaving only the crusty green stems. But Jessie affirmed to the viewers that the flowers dropped due to the freezing climate in Canada. Given the right climate, they can bloom. “I still think that ice cubes are better for watering orchids than regular water,” she said.

Another TikTok video shows a woman scooping out two ice cubes from her freezer and placing them in a potted houseplant blooming with pastel yellow orchids. The woman, Karen Shields (@realkarencontent) shared that she waters her orchids with two ice cubes once a week, and it seems the hack works for her pretty well. 

But The Gardener’s Center (@thegardenerscenter) advises against putting ice cubes in orchids. “Please don’t water your orchids with ice cubes. It’s cold! They don’t like it,” they said. But people in the comments section reported that they had been using ice cubes to water the florals, and the trick seems to be just as good. “I put 2 ice cubes in my orchards once a week and they have been blooming since February,” said @sassy_fromil.  

“The reason why ice cubes are not good for your orchids is because most of these orchids are coming from the tropics. Putting an ice cube on top of the plant and allowing the cold water to trickle through the roots is not actually ideal,” explained Brandon from The Huntington (@thehuntington). Instead, he suggested sprinkling the orchids with lukewarm water or simply soaking the plant in a container for about 10 minutes. The science is to look at the potting medium of the orchids and see what’s the most optimal method to water them, he said.

Orchids enthusiast, Danni (@dannisorchidjourney) explained why ice cubes don’t work for orchids. “This was a gimmick developed by a big corporation allegedly for legal purposes,” said Danni. She said orchids are tropical plants and they live at the treetops. And ice cubes are not raining down on them from the sky. Just as ice cubes burn human hands, they can burn the orchids’ roots too. Danni also suggested that the best time is when all its rootlets turn silvery gray, which indicates that they are dehydrated. In contrast, a dark green color suggests that they're well hydrated.

According to Better Homes & Gardens, Marcel Boonekamp, director of growing for Just Add Ice, developed this ice-cubes hack to provide gardeners with an ultra-simple way to keep their orchids hydrated. Researchers at The Ohio State University and the University of Georgia found that sprinkling ice cubes in orchids is an effective method. Kaitlyn Yarborough told Southern Living that she still thinks the hack works after she experimented with it on her purple-and-white orchids. Yet, in the end, the “ice cubes” hack remains controversial.

You can follow The Gardener’s Center (@thegardenerscenter), Jessie (@growithjessie), Karen Shields (@realkarencontent), The Huntington (@thehuntington), and Danni (@dannisorchidjourney) on TikTok for more of their gardening hacks!