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| Photo: FreeImages |
Blooming houseplants are the best during the Winter months! Gardeners and bulb lovers like to force bulbs to bloom during the winter holidays to brighten the days.
Paperwhite narcissus bulbs are one of the easiest to force for cut flowers or ornamental displays in the home during the Holidays as they don’t need a chilling period to bloom, unlike tulips and hyacinths.
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| Photo: Pinterest |
You can force them to bloom in either soil or water:
• fill a bulb pan (or other container) with about one to two inches of potting soil, and then position the bulbs in the soil so they are nearly touching each other with pointed end up. Add enough potting soil so that only the top half of the bulbs remain exposed, then water well.
• they can also be forced in a shallow container with pebbles and water. Place the bulbs on the gravel/stones, with additional gravel/stones around the bulbs (leaving tips exposed) to keep them in place. Add water until it touches the bottom of the bulbs and maintain this water level throughout the forcing period.
To prolong their bloom period, move them from direct sunlight when the plants begin to flower.
Study from Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: You can use alcohol to reduce growth of paperwhite narcissus to keep them from getting leggy. (Paperwhites often require staking as plants may reach a height of 18 to 20 inches.)
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| Photo: Cornell University |
The Flower Bulb Research Program at Cornell University conducted experiments using various kinds of alcohol and discovered that plant height will be reduced by one third thus stopping the “flop over”. Alcohol interferes with water uptake and will reduce stem height.
Here are their recommendations:
• Start your bulbs in plain water. When roots have formed and the green shoot is 1 to 2 inches long, pour off the water and replace with a solution of 4 to 6% alcohol. Example: to get a 5% solution from a 40% distilled spirit (gin vodka, etc.) you add 1 part of the booze to 7 parts water.
• You can also use Rubbing Alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) – it is usually 70% alcohol, so a solution of 1 part to 10 parts water.
• Simply use this solution to continue to water your bulbs.
• Do not use beer or wine, as the sugars in them will cause major problems with the plants.
Can paperwhite bulbs be saved or used again after they have been forced to bloom inside?
• No, they should be discarded - they cannot successfully be forced to bloom again and are not winter hardy.
Enjoy a glass of wine while you give the paperwhite bulbs a drink of booze and enjoy your beautiful shorter flowers.
Cornell University: Pickling Your Paperwhites