Growing Guides: How to Grow Paperwhite Bulbs

How to grow paperwhite bulbs
Indoor Narcissus or paperwhites are excellent bulbs for indoor forcing. They are easy to grow, produce charming flowers in only 4 to 6 weeks, and have a delightful light fragrance. Bring spring indoors with pretty, classic paperwhite bulbs.

Planting paperwhite bulbs:

  1. Choose a decorative container (it only has to be about 3 inches deep as Narcissus don't need a lot of root room).

  2. Fill the container with your choice of sandy soil, gravel, stones, hydro beads or marbles.

  3. Planting narcissus bulbs is fairly simple. Bulbs look much like a small onion, with wiry roots growing out of one site and a spike on the other. Plant with the roots pointing down and the spike pointing up. The top inch of the bulb should be visible above the planting medium (don't completely bury the bulb). Try to use a minimum of 3 bulbs per container.

  4. Add just enough water to the container so that the base of the bulb is kept moist. You should not submerge the entire bulb in water.

  5. Place the pot in a sunny location. Roots will start appear after 1 to 2 weeks, and shoots, buds and flowers will appear quickly after that. Indoor narcissus bloom approx 4-6 weeks after planting.

  6. If you are in an area that doesn't get frosty winters, you can transplant the paperwhites into a sunny spot in the garden after they have finished flowering. Water well and fertilize lightly.


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