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Q. I understand that you recently offered a solution to the problem of paperwhites drooping on your show. Could you repeat the info? Thanks so much! ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOUR SHOW!!!!
Just in time for the holidays comes word that drinking will stunt your growth – if you’re a paperwhite narcissus, that is. The research—conducted by Dr. Bill Miller of the Department of Horticulture at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY—was prompted by an inquiry from a journalist. “It seems that a reader discovered that pouring a little gin onto paperwhites growing in the traditional pebbles and water caused them to stay shorter and not fall over,” says Dr. Miller. Paperwhite narcissi are notorious for growing tall and leggy, often flopping over just as their spicy-scented white blossoms begin to bloom.
Dr. Miller ran some tests, and found that growing paperwhites in a 4% to 5% solution of alcohol was actually an excellent growth regulation technique. “When grown in 5% alcohol,” he explains, “the plants stay about half the height of plants grown in water alone,” but the flowers bloom just fine. Most liquors are 40% alcohol, so the correct mixture would be around 1 part booze to 9 parts water. “Gin, vodka, whiskey, rum, tequila and schnapps are all equally effective,” he states, “so long as they are used to achieve the correct alcohol concentration.” (Liquors come in different strengths; the alcohol content is half of the “proof”, so an 80 proof alcoholic beverage would contain the described 40% alcohol.) “Beer and wine (red or white) are not recommended,” warns Dr. Miller; “they kill the bulbs.”
Q. Mike, I thought I heard you offer some advice for keeping Poinsettias alive. If so, could you repeat it? My plants seldom make it all the way through the Christmas season. Thanks,
The most important thing to remember about poinsettias is that, although they have come to Symbolize the Season, they HATE Christmas (at least Christmas weather) almost every where outside of Phoenix, San Diego, South Florida and other areas where gardening cowards reside. These plants cannot take any kind of a chill. If you buy them on a cold day, make sure they get wrapped up well, get them into the car fast, and then drive them straight home. You leave them in a freezing cold car while you stop to run one more errand on the way home and they’re goners.
Once safely inside and out of the clutches of winter, remove that protective plastic or paper and place the potted plants (whose red “flowers” are actually colorful ‘bracts’, a type of leaf structure) in bright indirect light but not direct sunlight. Poinsettias thrive on six hours of bright light a day, and correct watering. To achieve this correctness: Either judge the needs of the plant with a water meter probe and only water when it says to, or go by the weight of the pot; dry pots are light, wet pots are not.
When the pot does feel light, remove any decorative foil or stuff from around the pot and then plop the plant – pot and all –into a sink with a few inches of water in it. Let it sit there for half an hour and then put it in the dish rack so the excess can run out the bottom of the pot. Once drained, rewrap and place the potted plant back on display. (If you’re a guy, ask your wife, girlfriend, sister, mother or someone else who’s been refolding especially fabulous looking gift wraps for years to do the rewrapping.)
Don’t feed it; its almost certainly already been overfed on its way to you). And don’t overwater! Plants that get too dry will simply appear to “faint” a bit, and a little water will quickly revive them. Drowned plants will also appear to faint a bit, but will remain dead when you drown them some more. Even so, do check the weight of the pot frequently; watering needs will vary greatly depending on your indoor humidity and the type of soil mix the grower used.
Amaryllis bonus! Whether you’ve received a potted plant or a ready-to-plant kit, water well right away and then sparingly until growth is underway. Once the stem is up and leaves are emerging, water regularly to keep the soil moist but never soggy. Place the pot in bright light while the stalk is growing. Once the blossoms open, move the pot out of direct sunlight and away from sources of heat so that the blooms last longer. Generally, an amaryllis will begin to bloom about six weeks after its first watering.
Those blooms typically last a week to 10 days. But a new study has found that the flowers will last longer if they are cut, rather than left attached to the bulb itself! Gerald Klingaman, a professor of horticulture at the University of Arkansas, recently reported in the horticultural trade publication “Grower Talks” that amaryllis flowers can last up to two weeks if they’re cut, placed in vase of water and kept at room temperature. For the longest staying power, trim the stem end and change the water every two days.
No one agrees on EXACTLY what to do to induce re-bloom next year at the holiday season. Visit www.bulb.com for their directions. Mine are to fertilize it lightly after the blooms are gone, water very lightly, take it outside in the Spring (plant it in the ground if you can; in good soil), feed with a light organic fertilizer (compost, worm castings or a nice fish & seaweed mix), and then bring it back inside—naked bulb or potted up—for a rest around August. Start ‘er up again in a pot in September and see if she works.
Or follow the somewhat different directions at www.bulb.com. Or what some bum on the street tells you to do for all I care!
Oh, and Merry Christmas!
Bulbs Alive!® 100% All-Natural Fertilizer - Promotes strong roots and maximum-size blooms for all bulbs.
When planting bulbs in spring or fall, you can give them the best possible start by adding Bulbs Alive! to the planting bed. For bright, beautiful bulbs year after year, feed them annually.
Flowers Alive!™ for Perennials - Slow-release nutrients ensure a long season of gorgeous bloom.
Tailored to meet perennials' particular nutrients needs, with both immediately available and slow-release nutrients to help replenish soil and ensure a long season of blooms. Yearly applications will keep your perennial plants healthy and enhance the size and number of flowers they produce.
Flowers Alive!™ for Annuals - A complete food that supplies flowering plants the additional nutrients they need to flower. Work into the soil when setting out new plants, or sprinkle it around plants before they bloom. Side-dress again in midseason.
- ---Holly in Laurel Springs (Camden County); “New Joysey”
Just in time for the holidays comes word that drinking will stunt your growth – if you’re a paperwhite narcissus, that is. The research—conducted by Dr. Bill Miller of the Department of Horticulture at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY—was prompted by an inquiry from a journalist. “It seems that a reader discovered that pouring a little gin onto paperwhites growing in the traditional pebbles and water caused them to stay shorter and not fall over,” says Dr. Miller. Paperwhite narcissi are notorious for growing tall and leggy, often flopping over just as their spicy-scented white blossoms begin to bloom.
Dr. Miller ran some tests, and found that growing paperwhites in a 4% to 5% solution of alcohol was actually an excellent growth regulation technique. “When grown in 5% alcohol,” he explains, “the plants stay about half the height of plants grown in water alone,” but the flowers bloom just fine. Most liquors are 40% alcohol, so the correct mixture would be around 1 part booze to 9 parts water. “Gin, vodka, whiskey, rum, tequila and schnapps are all equally effective,” he states, “so long as they are used to achieve the correct alcohol concentration.” (Liquors come in different strengths; the alcohol content is half of the “proof”, so an 80 proof alcoholic beverage would contain the described 40% alcohol.) “Beer and wine (red or white) are not recommended,” warns Dr. Miller; “they kill the bulbs.”
Q. Mike, I thought I heard you offer some advice for keeping Poinsettias alive. If so, could you repeat it? My plants seldom make it all the way through the Christmas season. Thanks,
- ---Stewart in Rockville, MD
The most important thing to remember about poinsettias is that, although they have come to Symbolize the Season, they HATE Christmas (at least Christmas weather) almost every where outside of Phoenix, San Diego, South Florida and other areas where gardening cowards reside. These plants cannot take any kind of a chill. If you buy them on a cold day, make sure they get wrapped up well, get them into the car fast, and then drive them straight home. You leave them in a freezing cold car while you stop to run one more errand on the way home and they’re goners.
Once safely inside and out of the clutches of winter, remove that protective plastic or paper and place the potted plants (whose red “flowers” are actually colorful ‘bracts’, a type of leaf structure) in bright indirect light but not direct sunlight. Poinsettias thrive on six hours of bright light a day, and correct watering. To achieve this correctness: Either judge the needs of the plant with a water meter probe and only water when it says to, or go by the weight of the pot; dry pots are light, wet pots are not.
When the pot does feel light, remove any decorative foil or stuff from around the pot and then plop the plant – pot and all –into a sink with a few inches of water in it. Let it sit there for half an hour and then put it in the dish rack so the excess can run out the bottom of the pot. Once drained, rewrap and place the potted plant back on display. (If you’re a guy, ask your wife, girlfriend, sister, mother or someone else who’s been refolding especially fabulous looking gift wraps for years to do the rewrapping.)
Don’t feed it; its almost certainly already been overfed on its way to you). And don’t overwater! Plants that get too dry will simply appear to “faint” a bit, and a little water will quickly revive them. Drowned plants will also appear to faint a bit, but will remain dead when you drown them some more. Even so, do check the weight of the pot frequently; watering needs will vary greatly depending on your indoor humidity and the type of soil mix the grower used.
Amaryllis bonus! Whether you’ve received a potted plant or a ready-to-plant kit, water well right away and then sparingly until growth is underway. Once the stem is up and leaves are emerging, water regularly to keep the soil moist but never soggy. Place the pot in bright light while the stalk is growing. Once the blossoms open, move the pot out of direct sunlight and away from sources of heat so that the blooms last longer. Generally, an amaryllis will begin to bloom about six weeks after its first watering.
Those blooms typically last a week to 10 days. But a new study has found that the flowers will last longer if they are cut, rather than left attached to the bulb itself! Gerald Klingaman, a professor of horticulture at the University of Arkansas, recently reported in the horticultural trade publication “Grower Talks” that amaryllis flowers can last up to two weeks if they’re cut, placed in vase of water and kept at room temperature. For the longest staying power, trim the stem end and change the water every two days.
No one agrees on EXACTLY what to do to induce re-bloom next year at the holiday season. Visit www.bulb.com for their directions. Mine are to fertilize it lightly after the blooms are gone, water very lightly, take it outside in the Spring (plant it in the ground if you can; in good soil), feed with a light organic fertilizer (compost, worm castings or a nice fish & seaweed mix), and then bring it back inside—naked bulb or potted up—for a rest around August. Start ‘er up again in a pot in September and see if she works.
Or follow the somewhat different directions at www.bulb.com. Or what some bum on the street tells you to do for all I care!
Oh, and Merry Christmas!
- ---Mike and the gang at GA! and YBYG!
Bulbs Alive!® 100% All-Natural Fertilizer - Promotes strong roots and maximum-size blooms for all bulbs.
When planting bulbs in spring or fall, you can give them the best possible start by adding Bulbs Alive! to the planting bed. For bright, beautiful bulbs year after year, feed them annually.
Flowers Alive!™ for Perennials - Slow-release nutrients ensure a long season of gorgeous bloom.
Tailored to meet perennials' particular nutrients needs, with both immediately available and slow-release nutrients to help replenish soil and ensure a long season of blooms. Yearly applications will keep your perennial plants healthy and enhance the size and number of flowers they produce.
Flowers Alive!™ for Annuals - A complete food that supplies flowering plants the additional nutrients they need to flower. Work into the soil when setting out new plants, or sprinkle it around plants before they bloom. Side-dress again in midseason.
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