Pickling Your Paperwhites--an anonymous gardener's confession

My most tragic indoor gardening experience involved paperwhites--but it really wasn't their fault. The bulbs were planted in a sweet, over-sized, toile-patterned soup cup and saucer that I had fallen in love with (and envisioned eating soup from in the gloom of January) at a favorite shop near the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, called Hot Cakes.

The bulbs were already started in the pretty soup cup. I brought them home, watered, and waited for beauty. I wasn’t disappointed. The paperwhites grew quickly, bloomed profusely, and perfumed the house throughout the holidays.

Though I didn’t notice right away, the paperwhites were getting taller. And taller. And taller still. Somewhere in the back of my mind, vague memories of the laws of physics tried to get my conscious attention, but to no avail: one day I came home to find my sweet, toile-patterned soup cup shattered on the floor, pea gravel and bulbs everywhere. The stems of the paperwhites had grown so tall that they overbalanced the soup cup and tipped it over. I was stricken! Not only was the lovely little cup broken beyond repair, but the paperwhites were a mass of wrecked foliage and flowers lying in a puddle of water on my wood floor.

I still have the pretty saucer. It reminds me of my first, and--until now--only foray into the pleasures and pitfalls of indoor bulbs. Tempted by our garden club’s fall bulb sale, and armed with some experience, I'm ready for another go. I’m starting the paperwhites myself this time and choosing a safer, albeit less whimsical, container. And I'm going to try something new.

I’m going to get the bulbs drunk! Pickled! Three sheets to the wind! Well, not really, but I am going to feed them alcohol. Not beer or a glass of wine (too much sugar). No, I’m going to give them something more like a White Lady (only leave out the Cointreau and the lemon juice, keep the gin).

If you think I’ve been smoking my paperwhites instead of planting them, check out this research from Cornell University’s Flower Bulb Research Program that explains how (recipe given) planting your paperwhites in alcohol can keep the ‘overbalancing act’ from spoiling your bulb show. And the great part is, it doesn’t alter the bloom size or blooming time of the bulbs. It just reduces the legginess of the stems.

You can stake and tie paperwhites, but wouldn’t it be fun to try something a little bit outside the box, er...clay pot? You can share the recipe with friends who ask how you managed to keep your paperwhites so compact and beautiful. But I don't think I'd plant them in a soup cup, no matter how cute it is.