I love growing forced bulbs in the winter, especially around the holidays. It’s delightful with the cold, blustery weather outdoors, seeing the beautiful, clean white blossoms of paperwhites indoors. Now is the time of year to get them started so they will bloom in time for Christmas. Let’s pot them up together.
Christmas Magic
There is something magical about these delicate white flowers during the holidays. I always notice their scent before I see that they have started blooming. One year, in particular, the first flower bloomed on Christmas Eve. I had my bulbs in the windowsill above my kitchen sink. I had been watching one fat bud in particular all week long, waiting. Even that day, every time I was at the sink, I would look at it.
Finally, in the evening, well after the sun had set, there it was – that unmistakable scent and a single star-shaped white flower.
Forced Bulbs Are Easy to Grow
Likely, you’re reading this because you’ve never grown paperwhites indoors before. Maybe you grabbed a box in the grocery store out of curiosity or received some bulbs as a gift. Regardless, you’re in for a real treat. Although, I must warn you: once you grow paperwhites over the holidays, you’ll be doing it every year from now on.
When to Start Your Bulbs
Paperwhites take anywhere from 4-6 weeks to grow and begin blooming. Once they get going, they will bloom for about two weeks. If you’re hoping to have them in time for Christmas, plant them in mid to late November.
Prepping Your Bulbs
The bulbs you buy in the fall have been specially produced so they will bloom in the winter. This is known as ‘forcing’ bulbs, as we’re encouraging them to bloom sometime other than their natural bloom time.
Taking them out of the box, you might be tempted to peel away those brown, papery skins. Leave them in place, as they protect the bulb.
Depending on the kit you have, it may come with a nursery pot and some sort of growing media, or it might be just the bulbs. Here’s a quick list of what you’ll need to grow your paperwhites.
Materials
- Bulbs (such as this pack of 10)
- A pot with a drainage hole – I rarely use the pot that comes with the kit (it’s ugly); the pot you use doesn’t need to be very deep; wide and shallow are better if you plan to grow many bulbs together. The pot needs to be wide enough for the bulbs to have clearance from the inside of the pot. You don’t want them crammed tightly together. (These clay pots are perfect for paperwhites.)
- Water
- Growing medium – most kits provide a coconut coir puck; if yours didn’t come with any growing medium, simple all-purpose potting soil will do fine.
- A sunny spot
Potting Up Your Paperwhite Bulbs
- If your kit came with a coconut coir puck, prepare that first. Place it in a medium-sized bowl and slowly pour very warm water onto the puck. It will begin to expand. Keep adding more warm water every few minutes until the coconut coir is moist and fluffy, and you can easily work it with your hands. It should be thoroughly wet but not soggy.
- Fill your pot with growing media to about 2” below the lip of the pot.
- Place your bulbs in the soil, roots down and pointy tip up. Press them gently into the moist soil. It’s okay if the bulbs touch each other, but you don’t want them tightly jammed into the pot next to each other.
- Add a bit more soil around the side of the bulbs and in between each bulb so that 2/3 of the bulb is covered.
- Water everything well and let the pot drain.
- For the first week, keep your bulbs somewhere cool (65F) and dark. This will encourage new root growth, and you’ll notice the green tips emerging from the top of the bulb.
- After that, place your bulbs in a sunny location where they will receive 4-6 hours of bright light a day.
- Keep the soil moist, but not soggy, otherwise the bulbs will rot. Tip out any standing water if your pot is on a saucer.
The flowers will bloom in 4-6 weeks, and your home will be filled with the wonderfully heady scent of paperwhites for Christmas. Grab an amaryllis bulb or two and you’ll have a house full of glorious blooms.
Post-Holiday Sales
One of my favorite things to do after Christmas is grab up the unsold boxes of paperwhites, take them home and start the whole process over again. Trust me on this one. Right about the time you’ve got cabin fever so bad you’re ready to climb the walls, the paperwhites will bloom, reminding you that spring is right around the corner.
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