In the Garden with Pat Rubin

Bee garden writer Pat Rubin writes about everything that grows, from flowers and trees to vegetables and lawns. Pat volunteered for several years as a Placer County Master Gardener and has written about gardening for many national and regional publications. In addition to gardening, she spends time raising and showing miniature horses and miniature donkeys.

In the Garden will include news, events, advice and other gardening tidbits. Pat will also answer reader questions.

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« Masses of acorns | In the Garden front page | Forcing bulbs »

November 15, 2007

Booze and bulbs

Several studies the last few years have shown that adding a bit of ethanol alcohol, which is found in most hard liquors, to the water when forcing bulbs can keep the growth more compact. This is especially important for narcissus because the foliage tends to get tall and then falls over with the weight of the flowers.

I tried it last year,and have to report that it works. However, I thought the stems looked rather squat and short. Personally I'd rather use a ribbon and a judiciously placed stake to keep the foilage upright.

If you'd like to try it, here are the instructions:

Use plain water for the first 7-10 days. Once you see roots and the green shoots are 2 to 3 inches tall, replace the water with an alcohol solution. The mix is one part alcohol to seven parts water.

It makes the stems shorter and more compact, but the blooms will be just as large as normal.

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