I live in So Cal So we really need to chill hyacinth bulbs if we want blooms. Definitely use a container or vase that holds the base of the bulb just above the water and is not touching. I chill my hyacinths in moist soil in pots OR in vases filled with water because my interpretation of everything I've read says the bulbs bloom better if the roots have a chance to grow in the moist cool conditions (ie: during chilling.) Also be sure and chill at least 12 weeks or you will have unusually short flower stalks. Many people do well chilling in the fridge (bulb only) and then potting and letting bloom but I've noticed these people tend to live in cool or colder climates than I do and thus the bulbs are moved from one cool spot (fridge) to another (garage or outside or windowsill which can be really chilly in cold climates at night,) and where I live, it just doesn't come close to being cold enough for the bulbs (enough hours below 50F or so) unless I do ALL its chilling in the fridge so my full 12 weeks is all in the fridge and I wrap up my pots loosely in a plastic bag (I pot them up, water and let drain throughly for 24 hours so its a moist sponge) and put in fridge for at least 12 weeks. Works great. Also works with vases and single bulbs. My water never ever clouds with bulbs in water. I mean, its never happened once even with roots in the water. So I am not sure what I am doing right or wrong to get those results. Just always keep your actual bulb OUT of the water. Bring water up to about a quarter inch below the bulb base. Even half an inch is fine. The bulb actually 'sniffs' out the water and will send its roots down into it without any problem. Same with pebbles: Make sure your bulb is above the water line otherwise there is a real chance it will rot.

I force both paperwhites, amaryllis and hyacinths in water - be sure to keep the water surface just at the base of the bulb or slightly below. The roots should be in water but not the bulb itself. The mold and unpleasant smell may be because part of the bulb is submerged and is rotting. Amaryllis are a bit tricker, but only because they are such large bulbs. They need a substantial container and good amount of stones/glass to anchor the roots as the growth on the amaryllis will make it quite top-heavy. I prefer to use vases designed for this purpose with more of an hourglass shape, like hyacinth forcing vases only much larger.

Using the glass marbles toi hold the roots opens up all sorts of possibilities. It doesn't have to be a vase. You can use a jar. A little tist of raffia around the lip, to cover up the screw thread and -- voila -- worthy of centerpiece. And it doesn't have to be glass. I've used vases, decorative tins -- all sorts of containers! Altho' if you like the traditional hyacinth jars, you might check your local thrift shop. For some reason I always see a bunch of the traditional clear glass ones with the raised diamond pattern, for 25 cents or so.

Anybody have any results on this yet? I think I do, but I forgot to do a side-by-side comparison. without it, I can't be totally sure of the affect. I gave two pots a drink last Wednesday. The next day I saw the beginning of a bud on one of the shoots. Now I see several buds. Problem in that some of my bulbs seem to be duds, they are not shooting, but thats non-booze related. Encouraged by this, I gave one of my Amaryllis's a drink on Saturday morning. One shoot was 17" high and heading for the ceiling. The buds did not look ready to open. On Sunday one bud is starting to open. Could be coincidence, but I think I like this trick. Btw, I went with 8 oz. water 1 oz. whiskey. I think that puts it at the low end around 4%, which I thought would be a good place to start.