Watering Houseplants With Ice Cubes: Pros & Cons

It sounds like a gimmick—dropping ice cubes into your houseplant pots instead of using a watering can. But this quirky method has been around for over 50 years, and for some people, it’s a go-to technique—especially for watering orchids.

So, is it a good idea? Is it safe for all your plants? Let’s look at the history, what the experts say, and what science has to offer. You can also find additional houseplant watering tips here.

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Watering With Ice Cubes

The earliest mainstream mentions of watering houseplants with ice cubes date back to the 1960s. One name that stands out in the origin story is Thalassa Cruso—a British-American gardening expert, television personality, and bestselling author. She had a popular gardening show in the U.S. and was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

In her gardening book, Making Things Grow: A Practical Guide for the Indoor Gardener (1969), Cruso wrote:

Back then, houseplants often hung from the ceiling in macramé hangers. Decorative, yes, but tricky to water without making a mess. Cruso’s tip to simply drop in a few ice cubes on the soil surface made the job easier and far less prone to spills. Still, not everyone was convinced it was best for the plants.

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Early Skepticism

By the 1970s, ice cube watering was being dismissed by some gardening writers as a fad or even dangerous.

Frances Tenenbaum, in 1974, pointed out the limitations, joking that using ice cubes until you get the moisture just right would only suit someone enjoying a very long cocktail hour—something we’ll circle back to in a moment. Another writer bluntly called it a “horticulturally dangerous fad.”

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Enter the Orchids

Fast-forward to the 2000s, and ice cube watering got a second life—this time in the orchid aisle.

A U.S. company launched “Just Add Ice” orchids—specifically Phalaenopsis orchids—with a simple pitch: just add three ice cubes per week. That’s it.

This removed the guesswork and anxiety for orchid newbies. No need to worry about over- or under-watering. You could even sign up for weekly email reminders: It’s ice cube time!

It worked. The product took off—and reignited the debate.

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The Ice Cube Backlash

Tropical plant lovers were horrified. How could freezing cold ice cubes possibly be good for warm-loving orchids?

Cold damage in plants is a real concern, especially for tropical species. Chilling injuries can occur even at temperatures above freezing. So the idea of dropping literal ice into a pot sounds counterintuitive—if not downright harmful.

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But Wait—Is There Any Science?

Yes. In 2017, a team from Ohio State University and the University of Georgia published a study in HortScience looking into this exact issue.

They tested Phalaenopsis orchids watered with ice cubes and compared them to ones watered with room temperature water.

The findings:

• Flowers lasted just as long in both groups.
• Soil temperatures never dropped low enough to harm roots.
• Even roots touching the ice weren’t damaged.
• Photosynthetic efficiency stayed the same.

In short: no harm done.

They did note that checking soil moisture (I use a moisture meter or my finger) and adjusting the number of ice cubes would be ideal. But as a general method, it was fine.

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Not Everyone’s Convinced

Of course, one study can’t answer everything.

Critics pointed out that:

• The study lasted just five months (what about long-term effects?).
• It only tested Phalaenopsis orchids—presumably all a certain (small) size and no other orchid species or houseplants.
• The orchids came from Green Circle Growers, the company behind Just Add Ice, which raises questions about neutrality.

That doesn’t mean the results are invalid, but it’s fair to say we still don’t know everything.

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Is It a Good Idea for Other Houseplants?

Possibly—but we don’t have any research on that.

Different plants have different root systems and growing media. What works for bark-based orchid mix may not translate to your pothos, monstera, or lemon tree in potting soil.

Concerns about cold exposure aside, if you have houseplants now you know their water needs vary.

Using the same “three ice cubes per week” rule for all houseplants is wishful thinking. Just think of how much water you use now to thoroughly water your plants and what the equivalent would be in ice cubes. That’s a lot of ice cubes! And would the melted ice even penetrate deeper roots?

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So… Should You Use Ice Cubes?

Here’s the short version—for something like a small potted orchid? Maybe. Everything else? No.

Pros:

• Convenient and easy for beginners.
• Reduces risk of overwatering.
• Helps avoid spills—great for hanging baskets.
• Proven safe (so far) for small Phalaenopsis orchids.

Cons:

• Not studied for other plants or potting mixes.
• May not deliver water evenly.
• Could potentially harm roots in sensitive species.
• High risk of underwatering—many houseplants benefit from a deep, thorough watering.
• Impractical for larger pots: it would take many trays of ice cubes!

It seems ice cubes don’t harm Phalaenopsis orchids the way some once feared, but that doesn’t mean we can simply toss a few cubes on every houseplant and call it a day. Houseplant care is more nuanced and needs change with the seasons—even indoors.

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Our Verdict

If watering with ice cubes simplifies care for small orchids—great—but it quickly gets impractical for other houseplants.

For example, I use 2 cups (500 ml) for my little lemon tree (8 inch pot) each time I water. That would be 16 ice cubes for just one plant! They wouldn’t even fit on the available soil surface so I’d have to add them in shifts—waiting hours for each batch to melt. So no time saving or assurance the deeper roots get water.

If hanging pots are hard to reach, a good watering can with a really long, narrow neck is my top pick. And, as inconvenient as it can be, a good sturdy mini step ladder with sturdy hand supports may be required to access hanging plants.

Long term, it really helps to understand what your plants need. These tips show how to create a custom houseplant care plan to streamline everything.

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Resources

• Cruso, Thalassa. Making Things Grow: A Practical Guide for the Indoor Gardener (1969)
• Tenenbaum, Frances. Nothing Grows for You?: A Brown-Thumb Guide to House Plants (1974)
• HortScience journal: “Ice Cube Irrigation of Potted Phalaenopsis Orchids” (2017)
• Just Add Ice orchids (justaddiceorchids.com)

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~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛