If your paperwhite narcissus, growing tall in a bowl of pebbles and water, is ready to keel over — and let's face it, whose isn't? — it may be time to turn to drink. The cure for tippy paperwhites, it turns out, is tipsy ones.

Researchers at Cornell University have discovered that an old home remedy for top-heavy paperwhites — gin in the water — will indeed shorten the stems, lower the center of gravity and help keep them in place. Not that these hot-climate daffodils are choosy. Other liquors — rum, vodka, whiskey — are just as effective.

"We tried it and, lo and behold, it's true," said Bill Miller, a professor in Cornell's department of horticulture. The scientists are turning their attention to amaryllis.

This is big news, of course. Anyone who has tried to emulate the elegant paperwhite-in-a-bowl look so prevalent in glossy mags this time of year knows these bulbs have more than delicate and pungently fragrant white blossoms: They have a kinetic streak. First they grow sideways, and then they become prone to topple, bringing water, bowls and stones with them.

Here's a recipe to help steady them: Start them in plain water, as usual, until the roots begin to show and the stems reach a couple of inches. Then drain the water and replace it with a booze-water mix: one part liquor to seven parts water for a roughly 5 percent alcohol solution, assuming 80-proof liquor. Thereafter, keep them plied and they will stay stout and happy. Don't use beer, wine or flavored liqueurs — too sugary for the job.

Rubbing alcohol works, too, though the ratio is one part rubbing alcohol to 10 parts water. If the mix is too alcoholic, the bulbs may die.

The elixir stunts growth by a third to a half without affecting the size or production of the flowers. They smell just as pungent.

Some people dislike the odor, others love it. I fall into the second camp; it's the fragrance of something noble: a yearning for spring in winter.