Getting trees drunk

steve · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 7:45 am Post subject: Getting trees drunk

Has anybody heard of using vodka as a supplement for plants? My wife says she saw it on the news (sometimes we get desperate for news up here in the NW). Now her philadendron is a lush (and is looking a little more lush-I'm calling that power of suggestion). Fill me in on whatever you all know. This is a new one for me.

Ps
It could be somewhat antiseptic but that's all I can think of

Dick · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 2:32 pm Post subject: Re: Getting trees drunk

First of all, it sound ridiculous, but in this day and age, with urban legends abounding in all areas, I'm sure that someone proposed such an idea to see if it would work. Sounds like an expensive plant application if you ask me.

Second, I don't think that alcohol is good for roots at all. And being that a bonsai tree is in a container, it would only make things worse. I haven't looked all that hard to find out if this is so or not, but it just doesn't sound like a good practice. But who knows.

I guess I'll wait for anyone else to chime in.

jimothy · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 4:56 pm Post subject: Re: Getting trees drunk

Well, i know nothing about the effects of alcohol on plants, but it sounds about as unlikely as hydrogen peroxide, which (I read in Gardener's World recently) has been trialed with promising results. Apparently it's injected into waterlogged soil where it breaks down and releases oxygen to the roots! Shocked

Dick · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 8:12 pm Post subject: Re: Getting trees drunk

The thing is that none of these bizarre practices are needed if a person follows some basic, sound gardening practices. Good watering practice, fertilizer, good light, and some TLC will make any plant pretty happy for years if followed with regularity.

Stymie · Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2004 12:52 am Post subject: Re: Getting trees drunk

The application of beer to lawns has been advocated for years.
It does have a nice vitamin 'B' content which could be the helpful factor.
Vodka sounds much too ott and expensive too. Along with Gin it is used for cleaning expensive jewellery, a hint that it must be able to disolve grease and stains. If anything treated with it survives, I would like to hear about it. = Stymie.

Pappa · Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 9:02 am Post subject: Re: Getting trees drunk

I wouldn't recommend it. A friend of mine once killed a Bonsai he had cared for for about 5 years by 'accidentally' watering it with vodka when he was drunk. The tree died within a few weeks from what I remember. Maybe it was a coincidence, but I wouldn't like to test the idea.

Pappa

Jackyboy · Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 1:12 pm Post subject: Re: Getting trees drunk

Hello,

Remember this young lad in the U.K who won that pumpkin competition? This was an Article I read in the papers when I was int he U.K last year. The young lad won having the biggest pumpkin and he revealed his secret... Feeding his pumpkin with a pint of lager everyday! Cool

Stymie · Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 10:18 pm Post subject: Re: Getting trees drunk

I hope it was worth it. He must have had a lot of pocket money to pour down the drain.
I once had a pile of poultry feed left over. Not wishing to waste it I spread it over a vegetable patch. I had a great crop of snails.

Deus · White Belt Joined: 29 Mar 2005 Posts: 18

The only place in my garden where you find alcohol is either on my garden furniture..or n my slug traps.
Smile

peanuts1gang · White Belt Joined: 06 May 2005 Posts: 30

sounds pretty far-fetched