Last year I kept all my amaryllis and paper white stems short enough that they didn't topple over. You might remember my experiment with adding vodka to their water. It 100% worked.
Paperwhites elicit a very strong response from people. They're one of those love 'em or hate 'em things, like cilantro or thongs.
Adding a bit of alcohol to the water will keep any bulb stems short. If you have potted tulips, hyacinths (I haven't experimented with those but it stands to reason), paperwhites and amaryllis stems will all grow shorter stems that don't flop over, with this treatment.
A tiny tipple stops the topple.
The Formula
Water your bulbs with 1 part alcohol to 7 parts water.
In 2006 Erin Finan, a Cornell university undergrad, conducted a study for their senior project, based on an old wives tale that boozing your bulbs will keep their stem lengths under control. And it worked.
I *could* go into all of the science that I only partly understand but the basic premise is this: the alcohol prevents water uptake and puts the plant under just enough water stress to reduce leaf and stem growth but not enough stress to affect flower size and longevity.
How to Keep Forced Bulb Stems Shorter
This technique will keep the stems of your forced bulbs ⅓ to ½ of their normal height. Just enough to stop the flop.
NOTE: Don't start to use the alcohol solution for watering until the bulbs have started to grow stems. When they're 1-2" long is when you start watering with the alcohol.
- For this you need small rocks to plant the bulbs in, bulbs for forcing, a pot with no drainage holes, and any alcohol like vodka, gin, rum or tequila. Just don't use beer or wine - they contain too much sugar.
- Add a layer of stones to the bottom of your vessel.
Would you like to save this stuff?
We'll email you this post, so you can refer to it later.
- Add enough water to hit the top of the stones. Make note of around how much water you used so you don't over or underwater later on. With this pot and layer of stones, I needed ¾s of a cup of water.
- Place your bulbs on top of the rocks.
- Fill the rest of the planter around the bulbs with more rocks to hold the bulbs sturdily in place.
- Now mix up your alcohol watering solution. For any 40 proof booze like vodka, gin or tequila mix 1 part alcohol with 7 parts water.
¼ cup vodka + 1 ¾ cups water
You don't want to overdo the alcohol. You want happy, tipsy, not barfing in the bushes shitfaced.
It should be a 4-6% alcohol solution, but as long as you keep it under 10% you won't get them so drunk they end up completely stunted.
TIP
If you don't keep alcohol in your home you can also use rubbing alcohol. But because 70% rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) is almost twice as strong as regular spirits, you need to dilute it more.
Dilute 70% rubbing alcohol to this ratio:
1 part rubbing alcohol to 11 parts water
I would *think* you could stop with the alcohol once the flowers have formed but that's just me guessing with my very unscientific plant growing experience.
When I did this last year I continued to water with the boozy water.
The Results
Stick, straight, stems on December 23rd, 2023.
It works so well. A side by side comparison photo coming up in a second.
If you've ALREADY planted your bulbs and they're growing (because you're almost embarrassingly efficient with your plant prep this year) you can start watering with the alcohol solution as long as the plant has started or is growing its stem.
Side by Side
Paperwhite bulbs watered with a 1:7 solution of water: 13" stems. 👇🏻
Paperwhites watered with plain water: 19". 👇🏻
Watering with the 1:7 solution of alcohol to water resulted in stems that were almost exactly ⅓rd shorter than untreated bulbs.
Grab some bulbs (be way more generous than I was with these plantings, at least double the amount of bulbs in the same space) and get planting.
Go ahead. Put them in the Christmas spirits.
Catherine Hamilton
Your post came just in time. My leaves are at the three inch height. Thanks for the tip.
Carolyn
Paperwhites are the most fragrant members of the daffodil family, but some varieties (such as ‘Ziva’) have a strong, musky scent that some people find overpowering. If you prefer a lighter scent, try those with just a hint of fragrance, such as ‘Inbal’ or ‘Wintersun’.
renee pearman
Well your drunken flowers post was on Dec. 7 and here we are on the 18'th and I'm still afraid to go look at my bulbs in the basement. They are not new....they bloomed once and I planted them outside when it was springtime and brought them inside in Sept. so it must be time to plant them again.
What is also good to know, is finding a use for any pot that does NOT have drainage holes! WOO HOO!
Thank you for the idea to shorten the stems....I have two pink ones that were advertised as giant amaryllis and they weren't kidding!!
Karen
Good luck with the giant amaryllis! ~ karen
Celeste
They must be brand snobs. After several tries, no luck. Yes, there were different brands of vodka given to the little snobs...still no luck. So, the branches from my dwarf red-bud tree works a treat. Of course, they look terrific.
Karena N Cawthon
Hi Karen,
Love your site!
Especially enjoyed your lead photo of the paperwhites being supported by branches. So clever and beautiful!
Karena
Cred
How do you find out this stuff? Thanks so much for this- I’m always staking mine with some goofy contraption.
I wanted to point out that 40%ABV is actually 80 proof (I assume it’s just a typo but since this is a “recipe”, I thought I should flag it- not trying to be a know-it-all.) Clearly, what do I know, I’d never heard that indoor bulbs were such partiers.
Karen
Yes, 80 proof 40% alcohol. I'll go back and check where I messed that up. 😆 karen!
Sandra Blackwell
Paperwhites are beautiful. They STINK to high heaven like rotten garbage. Maybe I will see if I can find some dafodil bulbs
Nancy
Yea, my husband started shouting the cats were using the corner of the living room for a litter box. The paper whites were innocently on a table, looking so lovely. Then, he was astounded I purposefully decorated the house with flowers with such a stench. Whelp, that’s a strong reaction, he’s not often so animated. I won’t do that again, lots of other flowers out there.
Dale
Just learned this a week ago. Could reallly have used this last year! Mine were about 18 inches long a fell over very dramatically just in time for Christmas.
Mary W
Brilliant info and fun experiment!
Jane
Hem...this is very interesting... Wonder if it works on other plants inside overwintering, not just forcing bulbs...
Papelle
Hey Karen:
Thanks for the tip re sending Amazon pennies your way. I thought that was the case only if it was for something you had recommended. While my politics are such that I try to buy local as much as possible, sometimes in rural Nova Scotia lack of options makes me succumb to the shiny objects that vendor provides. (Just call me an old crow! ) So when I do, why wouldn’t I want to support my favourite blogger? I’m making a note of your Amazon link and will use it next time I am lured away from local shopping.Thanks for all the great tips you provide along with your wonderful sense of humour. Happy holidays!
Karen
Thanks very much Papelle. And I fully support local shopping! ~ karen!
Nan
My Amaryllis experiment after reading your “waxing” post (yes I obviously didn’t cut the root area straight!). I’ll try the booze watering on the regular potted one but any ideas for the waxed one?
Karen
Hi Nan. Nice job on the waxing! You won't need to do anything with that one because waxed bulbs already go through a sort of water stress and tent to have shorter stems because of that. :) ~ karen!
suzanne
I really, really wish I knew the backstory of how old wives found this out.
Jane
Probably someone accidentally watered the bulbs with leftover watered down booze...
Randy P
I delight in learning something new from many of your posts. As I know nearly nothing about any form of 'farming', your gardening related posts are a treasure trove of information previously unknown to my aged brain. Today's new data was the word 'paperwhite' for which I immediately sought out the University of Google's extension branch hiding somewhere within my desktop PC. I am also in that known percentage of humans for whom cilantro tastes like soap. I now know that - "Paperwhite narcissus are the cilantro of the flower world. While some people can't get enough of their heady fragrance, to others they smell like a cross between dirty socks and cat pee." So my next quest will be to find some paperwhites and give them a sniff. Thanks, I needed a project.
Jan in Waterdown
Your responses are *almost* as entertaining as Karen’s blog!
Thanks for that 😁
Randy P
That is high praise indeed - thank YOU. Hey... if we didn't take a moment to laugh every day, why bother getting out of bed? lol