The Boozy Hack That Keeps Your Paperwhites From Falling Over

The fragrant blooms of paperwhites (Narcissus papyraceus) are a holiday favorite, adding their sweet aroma to the smells of pine boughs and gingerbread, unless you're one of the people who find the smell off-putting. The easily-grown bulbs belong to a genus that includes daffodils, jonquils, and tazettas, but they can bloom so profusely that their stems become overwhelmed by their clusters of small flowers, making them fall over. This problem may have a creative and boozy solution according to a 2006 study by Cornell University's Flower Bulb Research Program: Horticulturists there found that diluted alcohol can impede the growth of paperwhites' stems and leaves.

The study reported that dilute solutions of vodka, gin, whiskey, and tequila — but not beer and wine — "stunted the growth of paperwhites by 30 to 50%." The flowers themselves weren't affected — they remained "large, fragrant, and long-lasting." Don't expect the same results if you carelessly give your paperwhites a shot of vodka along with their daily water, however. A solution greater than 10% alcohol will kill the plant, so you'll need to mix the alcohol with water. At the time of publication, scientists hadn't quite figured out why this works, but they suspected that the alcohol made it harder for plants to absorb water, thereby stunting their growth.

If you want to try this at home, start your paperwhite bulbs as you usually would, using the water method: Place the bulbs in a shallow dish or planter with the root end at the bottom. You can use decorative pebbles to support the bulbs if they need help standing upright. Pour plain water into the dish until the very bottom of the bulb is submerged. Keeping the water level low helps prevent paperwhite bulbs from developing root rot. Maintain the water at this level until the new shoots are a few inches long, then carefully empty the water and replace it with a solution of water and alcohol. Remember that the alcohol's proof is double the percentage of alcohol in the bottle, so if you want to make a 5% solution using 80-proof alcohol, you'd add 1 part liquor to 7 parts water. Continue using the diluted solution until the plant is spent or you've transplanted it.

Horticulturists think that beer and wine don't have the same effect as liquor because their sugar composition interferes with paperwhite growth. Alternatively, instead of hard liquor, you can use the rubbing alcohol you may have on hand for its clever uses to make a 4-6% solution if you prefer. Rubbing alcohol is generally 70% alcohol, so in order to use it safely, dilute 1 part with 10 to 11 parts water. If you usually use distilled or spring water on your houseplants, there's no harm in using it for your solution.