Add a shot of vodka - your paperwhites will thank you

When I was a little girl, my granddad told me that coffee and cigarettes would stunt my growth, but for flowers, it's all about the booze.

I read on-line that adding one part alcohol (such as vodka) to 7 parts water keeps paperwhites from getting too big and flopping over.  You wait until the plants are 1/2 to an inch high, then switch from regular water to the 7-1 mix. I wasn't paying attention, so mine were about 2 inches high before I introduced them to to the 24/7 cocktail hour.  This photo shows my results so far.  Because of its depth, I planted the first pot in potting soil, but still watered it with the 7-1 mixture.  The bulbs are sitting higher in the pot than the other two, but this pot still got the tallest and will probably start flopping in the next few days, but seems to still be less floppy and tall than in the past when I used just regular water.

The middle dish is moderately successful, but I think the last two achieved the ideal height.  Could be because they are more tightly packed than in the large oval dish, as I noticed they have less root growth and drink their vodka juice more slowly.  This will be the first time I haven't had to stake the paperwhites, or if I started them in water, just cut them and put them in a vase.

You can use rubbing alcohol as an alternative, but I don't know what the proportions are.  One caveat - in the second week, my inner cheapskate came to the surface and I decided to use some rum in the back of a cupboard instead of the expensive imported vodka.  What did I learn?  Unless you associate Christmas with the smell of a distillery, stick with an odorless choice.  When you have a home office, it's already hard enough to explain that even though you can quote Oprah extensively, you really ARE working all day  - a house that reeks of rum will not make this any easier.

Comments

[Jan(ThanksFor2Day)]

How did I miss your post until now? I have paperwhite bulbs that just bloomed for me and they are now at that tall stalky phase. I wish I'd known before they got to this point. I wonder if I try a little vodka right now what will happen. I just happen to have some on hand:) But it's not the really expensive kind, so I won't worry about using it:)
I'll let you know if it stunts their continued growth or not!!
Jan

[Susan (garden-chick)]

Hi Jan,
I actually heard this idea last year after mine were planted and tried the same strategy of adding vodka after the fact - sort of like a morning after hair of the dog idea, but without the original drinking binge! Was not very successful, but was also not very careful. Let me know how your attempt goes. Susan

[Kylee from Our Little Acre]

I'd heard about this a couple of years ago, and would love to try it, but alas, my dear husband can't STAND the smell of paper whites and has forbidden me to grow them. it's such a small request, so I honor it. But I do love those paper whites!

That's how I'm starting to feel about my brugmansia. It's been covered in blooms for the past several months now that I've cut down a tree and it's getting more sun, but unfortunately, all that concentrated scent smells like dishwashing detergent to me. The other day Nick was cooking something I didn't care for the smell of, so I opened the back door and leaned out, only to be hit with a noseful of brug. But I DO like paperwhites!