It’s that time of year. If you’re tired of paperwhites flopping over, you can use a dilute mix of hard liquor or rubbing alcohol to keep them a third to a half shorter without reducing the number or size of the blooms.
This technique made the big time in Leslie Land’s January 12, 2006 Gardening Q&A column in the New York Times:
Start your bulbs in plain water. When roots have formed and the green shoot is 1 to 2 inches long, pour off the water and replace with a solution of 4 to 6 percent alcohol. If you are using 80 proof liquor (40 percent alcohol), that works out to one part gin (or the like) to 7 parts water.
Rubbing alcohol (either 70 or 100 percent isopropyl alcohol) can be substituted; just remember to dilute it more. Keep the beer and wine for yourself; their sugars damage plants.
This advice is based on a Cornell undergrad research project carried by Erin Finan (’05) under the supervision of Bill Miller, our flower bulb expert in the Department of Horticulture. You can read more about the technique on the Department’s blog.
I should have some news about a new twist on this technique in the near future.
