Anyone ever water with melting ice cubes?

[Mike Corazzi]

Maybe a stupid question but since it's my first stupid question, I'll ask it.

Just having a drink while looking at the trees and seeing posts about keeping POTS cool, it just seemed logical.

So..... anyone use ice cubes to water trees?

 

[Colorado]

I will put snow on my trees in the garage over winter to help prevent them from drying out too much. Basically the same thing.

 

[Jester217300]

I will put snow on my trees in the garage over winter to help prevent them from drying out too much. Basically the same thing.

In the middle of winter if there is no snow I will buy a bag of ice and top my pots. I never use ice during the normal growing season.

 

[penumbra]

I don't think is a great thing to do when plants are in active growth.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

Yeah agree with penumbra, wont do any good and probably will be detrimental, in a hot day put ice water in the soil cant be good at all for the roots

 

[Firstflush]

I got an eastern lilac in the ground to half bloom with ice around the base here In southern ca once

 

[Paradox]

No. Wouldnt be very efficient. It would be a lot of effort to do. Besides what others have stated about very cold temperatures on warm soil/growing roots, you would need a lot of ice to ensure enough water.

 

[LittleDingus]

Hehe...there's an orchid vendor by the name of "Just Add Ice" that markets easy watering of orchids by just adding a few ice cubes

Watering Orchids With Ice Cubes: 3 Big Myths Busted By Research

You've heard them before: Watering an orchid with ice will kill it. It's just marketing. Here are common myths about ice cube watering, backed by research.

www.justaddiceorchids.com

I've actually been doing that off and on for orchids since long before I knew about this company. But I'm not sure I'd ever do it for trees. A few ice cubes on top of a pot aren't going to do much...but I put a lot more water into my trees. I doubt I could water them effectively with ice!

There's plenty of heat capacity in cool water to cool a pot...probably more effectively than ice which would take most of the heat out of the air while melting rather than the pot. Water will seep into the pot and be much more effective. Shade and appropriate watering would be the most effective tools in keeping pots cool, I would think.

 

[DeeJay]

Have you considered a simple drip irrigation system? Perhaps you could set up a short run above ground along a garage wall or the back of the house. You can turn the faucet down if it drips too hard.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

Have you considered a simple drip irrigation system? Perhaps you could set up a short run above ground along a garage wall or the back of the house. You can turn the faucet down if it drips too hard.

I abandoned the drip system I put on. A real bitch to regulate. Some flood, some starve.
I do it with the hose.
And pots of goldfish water.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I had a fridge with a leak in the rubbers. It produced about a kilogram of ice every week.
Gave chunks to my tropical plants without issues.
Yes, the water is 0 degrees when it drips off, but the bottom of my 1 gallon pots (without bottom holes) never showed any condensation so I figured the water must have been room temp when it reached the bottom.

 

[Michael P]

Someone with a temperature probe could do an experiment. Put some ice cubes on the soil in a pot, then measure the temperature at root depth several times as the ice melts. The question is, does the ice cool the root zone enough to harm a tree in active growth. I may try this with my compost thermometer if it measures the right temperature range.

 

[Firstflush]

Interesting if you think about it, a tropical bonsai or orchid would never have the surface roots approach freezing.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

Someone with a temperature probe could do an experiment. Put some ice cubes on the soil in a pot, then measure the temperature at root depth several times as the ice melts. The question is, does the ice cool the root zone enough to harm a tree in active growth. I may try this with my compost thermometer if it measures the right temperature range.

I think it would just be ....cool. Temp wise cool.

 

[flor1]

yup with traces of scotch

 

[penumbra]

I think whether it works or not, a lot of credit should go right to the tree. Simplistically stated, an alpine many conifers might enjoy a little ice, whereas a more tropical plant like a Satsuki would resent it.
However, it is well known among commercial growers in nursery trade, that cool water slightly reduces the vigor of young root growth. Thereby it slightly retards growth.
As to trees (unless seedlings) it is probably not all that relevant unless it is a daily practice. Even then, who really knows? We do what we do and it is our way.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

We do what we do and it is our way.

Very well said!

As to ice, I also think the tree drives whether ice as water would work. Thinking about the high plains of the southern tip of South America: freezing in the mornings and high temps in the afternoons. What trees grow there?

 

[bbk]

My thinking is that should be ok. It is just a matter if enough water gets to the plant.

ie whether a plant is a tropical plant or not, a bonsai is in a small pot and the soil is more prone to fluctuations in temperatures.

Put a pot with organic material in the sun and see all the worms etc come out on a hot sunny day.

ie in summer my guess a plant would be much cooler soil conditions compared with a bonsai pot, and there probably isn’t a huge difference in soil temperatures between a tropical plant and an alpine plant in summer in any case.

Also remember, the quantities of water from ice melting are low. A bigger difference to the roots would be larger quantities of cold water from the tap or similar at once given its thermal capacity.