Just Add a Little Alcohol

This year I finally did something I have wanted to do for a long time. Amazing how simple this was. Even more amazing is what I have missed out on for so many years.

A few weeks before Christmas I purchased a few paperwhite bulbs,

planted them in a container, added a little water and in a matter of a few weeks...instant gratification.

Tiny white flowers and a wonderful fragrance.

Since planting the paperwhites, I have read there can be one problem with forcing these flowers in containers. They tend to grow quite tall and become top heavy. According to researchers in the Flowerbulb Research Program at Cornell University, there is a simple but an unusual solution to this top heavy problem: Alcohol. Yes, alcohol. Either hard liquor or rubbing alcohol will do. Both seems to work well in stunting their growth but not altering the flowers.
Why they thought of giving their paperwhites a shot of vodka, tequila, whiskey, I don’t know. Oh, and apparently wine and beer contains too much sugar to work. These babies enjoy the hard stuff. Wish I had read this earlier.