This is my favorite plant in my sunroom both because orchids are the most beautiful of flowering plants and it was a birthday gift about 8 years ago from my parents. Dad decided that because my orchid bloomed each year, I was a plant whisperer. On the other hand, Mom dubbed my sunroom as the plant hospital, and moi as the doctor, and a perfect place to deposit her ailing plants.
For the past three years, my orchid did not bloom. The roots crawled, the thick leaves remained green. I refused to give up because life clearly existed in that pot, I just didn’t know what to do but wait for life or death.
A family friend gave my Mom a beautiful, delicate orchid in Jim’s memory hoping to soothe my Mom’s aching heart. Knowing the friend’s success with the plant, I asked her what to do. “Just put 2-3 ice cubes on the soil about once a week.” What, I asked? “Just try the ice cube trick and see what happens.”
I took her advice and this morning, on a gloomy Friday day, I saw my beloved orchid in bloom for the first time in years. Additionally, the two orchid plants my mom sent to the “hospital” have buds in the making; perhaps I will have the joy year round thanks to a few ice cubes.
Glory, Glory!
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