Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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How to Honor Labor Day, Every Day
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Thursday, March 27. 2014

Vodka for Paperwhite Narcissus, reposted

I informed our readers recently that it's a good idea just to toss a little bleach into your vases of cut flowers.


Here's another tip (also via Mrs. BD's garden club). When you force Paperwhite bulbs, always throw in a shot or two of vodka or gin into their water once they sprout up a few inches. It stunts their growth just enough to prevent them from getting leggy and falling over. It has no impact on the bloom - or the scent.


One might like to imagine that it cheers them up, too. Grey Goose, of course.


Here's a reference on the topic.

Posted by Bird Dog in Gardens, Plants, etc., Our Essays at 12:26 | Comments (5) | Trackbacks (0)

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But not too much of the Goose or you'll wind up pushing "daisies".
#1 indyjones on 2012-03-06 13:00 (Reply)
Sacre bleu! Grey Goose is only for people and maybe roses.

The Paperwhites get Popov - they don't appreciate the good stuff.
#2 jg on 2012-03-06 14:10 (Reply)
I have forwarded this information to My Better Two-Thirds. She loves her paperwhites but is always struggling to keep them upstanding - surely a dose of spirits will help. (I find them a bit too fragrant for my tastes but...).
#3 Knucklehead (Link) on 2012-03-06 17:04 (Reply)
I like paperwhites, but for some reason they emit an odor. I hesitate to call it 'fragrance', because if it met with my approval I wouldn't mind.

We've had them several times, hoping to overcome our aversion, or believing we'd done something wrong.

I get the feeling it may just be our olfactory senses run amok, because I don't only feel that way when we grow them, but also when I walk into other homes with paperwhites.

Beautiful flowers, though.
#4 Bulldog on 2012-03-07 08:42 (Reply)
Some people like the fragrance, some people do not. I find that at certain points in the bloom it is quite nice. At other times, however, it is more akin to skunk and even worse: burning electrical wires. The latter caused me once to go on extensive hunt through the house in the middle of the night looking for the arcing circuit. I was not amused when I finally tracked it down to some flowers.
#4.1 acairfearann (Link) on 2014-03-27 17:31 (Reply)

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