If you have a home garden and enjoy a stiff drink, then this article is for you. According to a horticultural researcher at Cornell University, diluted alcohol can be used to control the growth of house plants without damaging the blossoms. The practical application of this is to reduce the stem size of top heavy plants such as daffodils, so that they don't tip over. The trick, according to William Miller, director of Cornell's Flower Bulb Research Program, is to water the plant with a 5% solution of diluted alcohol in water. Gin, vodka, tequila and other hard liquors work, but beer and wine have no effect, presumably due to their high concentration of sugars. To get a 5 percent solution from 80-proof liquor, which is 40 percent alcohol, add one part liquor to seven parts water. The researchers aren't exactly sure why this works, so testing will continue. But don't try kicking back a few shots with your favorite narcissus. Solutions over 10% alcohol were toxic to the tested plants.
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