I can't explain this method of growing.

I have been growing orchids for years. Last year a friend of mine purchased a phal. at some store . It wasn't in bloom when she purchased it. I asked her how she was taking care of it and not to overwater the plant. She said watering wasn't a problem because she puts ice cubes on top of the plant's media once a week. I told her that she wasn't supposed to do that. She said OK. I knew from her quick response that she wasn't going to change her watering method. About eight months ago she brought the plant to show me how it was doing. That plant had eight gigantic white blooms. She showed me the tag that came with the plant that says put ice cubes on the media. After a couple of months, the blooms faded away. She continued with her ice cube culture. Well, about two months ago I gave her a baby plant that hasn't bloomed and the mother plant put out that baby instead of buds. I have the name of the cross but no idea what color the blooms will be. The baby plant was putting out numerous healthy roots when I cut it and potted it up for her. The cross is a mini phal. I saw her today and she had both of her plants. Her white one was loaded with blooms and the baby had three small orange blooms. I was happy for her and I told her to keep doing what she was doing because it worked for her. I'm still not putting any ice cubes on my phals. I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing because mine are thriving. I'm just surprised by the ice cube method of growing.

 

Thanks for the reply. I can see how the ice cube method may work. But I have one more question about that method. If ice cubes are placed on the roots above the growing media, wouldn't the ice cubes shock the heck out of those roots? I still can't grasp the benefits of this growing method other than seeing how this method could prevent a new grower from over watering their plants. A fellow orchid grower told me to look at Amazon where they sell phals. and state just add ice cubes to the plant. Another friend told me that there is an orchid company called Just Add Ice. I haven't searched for that place yet. Your response makes perfect sense to me and it has me thinking of trying this method with just one plant. I'll use a plant that was given to me from a friend who purchased it from a grocery store and is a NOID. If I notice even a slight sign that the orchid doesn't like the ice cube method, then it's going back with the others and back to the previous way it was grown. Thanks a lot for your interesting and helpful response.