Regarding the ice cube watering - we ran an errant for my son a couple of years ago, which involved a trip to Oberlin/Ohio. By sheer coincidence we met a lady who works at the huge Orchid nursery at Oberlin. She told us that the ice cube thing originated with them! ( and here I was blaming Taiwanese imports) It is simply a sales-gimmick, that's all. It sure worked, since everyone shopping for Orchids/mostly Phals at the Bigbox stores has heard about it. And Phals from Oberlin are a good business.
