|
Those paperwhites and other
daffodils sure could use a drink! A little whiskey, vodka gin or tequila
could keep them from falling over.
A new Cornell
study finds that a touch of booze is a great way to keep certain houseplants
from getting too tall by stunting their growth. "Dilute solutions
of alcohol -- though not beer or wine -- are a simple and effective way
to reduce stem and leaf growth," said Dr. William Miller, professor
of horticulture and director of the Flower Bulb Research Program at
Cornell
|
|
| From left: Untreated
paperwhites grown in water, plants grown in 2 percent, 4
percent, 6 percent, 8 percent and 10 percent ethanol. |
"When the liquor is properly used, the paperwhites
we tested were stunted by 30 to 50 percent, but their flowers were as
large, fragrant and long-lasting as usual," added Miller, whose new
study on how alcohol inhibits houseplant growth will be published in the
April issue of HortTechnology, a peer-reviewed journal of horticulture.
Miller will be working this spring to see if a little
booze works for amaryllis and such vegetables as tomatoes
and peppers, as well. His
work with tulips so far has been promising but not yet definitive:
"I think with a little jiggering -- no pun intended -- of the
system, the method will work for tulips, though I think it will not be
as simple as with paperwhites."
Last year, Miller received a call from The New York Times about a reader
who had written to the garden editor claiming that gin had prevented
some paperwhite narcissi from growing too tall and floppy and asked if
it was because of some "essential oil" in the gin.
Intrigued that dilute alcohol might act as a growth retardant, Miller
and former Cornell student Erin Finan '05 conducted experiments with
ethanol (1, 5, 10 and 25 percent) and "Ziva" paperwhite
narcissi (Narcissus tazetta), and later with about a dozen kinds of
alcohol, including dry gin, unflavored vodka, whiskey, white rum, gold
tequila, mint schnapps, red and white wine and pale lager beer, on
paperwhites.
"While solutions greater than 10 percent alcohol were toxic,
solutions between 4 and 6 percent alcohol stunted the paperwhites
effectively," said Miller.
To control stem and leaf growth, he suggests waiting until
paperwhites or other daffodil shoots are several inches long to drain
the water and replace it with a solution of 4 to 6 percent alcohol --
hard liquor or rubbing alcohol.
To get a 5 percent solution from 80-proof liquor, which is 40 percent
alcohol (such as gin, vodka, whiskey, rum or tequila), add one part
liquor to seven parts water. To use rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol),
which is 70 percent alcohol, dilute one part with 10-11 parts water.
Why does booze stunt plant growth? "We don't know, but we're
working on this," Miller writes in a fact sheet available on the
Web called "Pickling Your Paperwhites"
(available at http://www.hort.cornell.edu/miller/pubs.html).
"We think it simply might be water stress, that is, the alcohol
makes it more difficult for the plant to absorb water, so the plant
suffers a slight lack of water, enough to reduce leaf and stem growth,
but not enough to affect flower size or flower longevity."
But don't serve beer or wine to plants -- the sugars wreak havoc on
their health.
William B. Miller
Professor of Horticulture
Director of the Flowerbulb Research Program
Cornell University
|