Now is the time for all to plant Paperwhites (Narcissus). If you want the beautiful white showy blooms in time for the Christmas season, plant these easy to grow bulbs NOW. In four to six weeks, you should have an indoor Christmas garden with blooms that will provide a heady fragrance throughout your home.
Paperwhites and Christmas go together, but… so many years I miss out because I wait too long to “force” the bulbs. The process is easy – If I can do it, anyone can.
This year I was determined to have Paperwhites for Christmas.
I bought the Paperwhite bulbs and a couple of Amaryllis bulbs (They should give large red blooms for Christmas also.) at the nursery. Almost any nursery will have them – even Lowe’s or Home Depot.
At the local “Badwill” store (Thrift Store), I found these vases that seem perfect for the Paperwhites.
I also bought some stones at the dollar store, but then decided that these stones would not give the roots the support needed.
We remembered that in years past we had used gravel as a base for planting the Paperwhites. Miracles of miracles – Ever-Lovin’ found the gravel on the shelf in the garage.
The bulbs are nestled into the gravel. Water was added just to the base of the bulbs. I like using the gravel because I can see the level of the water. You do not want the bulbs to be in the water.
That is it. Now we wait expectantly.
I have a stone planter that was bought at the church garage sale. In this planter, I put down a layer of gravel and then placed some of the larger stones around the bulbs to give them support. You can also add soil or moss around the bulbs.
The Amaryllis bulbs are the same easy. They will even root in water.
Advice:
Turn the pots often so the shoots will grow straighter.
Water often – the water should be just at the base of the bulb.
Stake the plants if the shoots get tall and need support. In the past, I remember that the shoots get tall and tend to fall over. You can stake the bulbs with twigs or tie the stems into a clump with ribbon.
Enjoy!
Blessings to you and yours,