These easy-to-force bulbs have superior blossoms and scents
sweet-talk paperwhite narcissus to bloom indoors ( a process forebode “ forcing ” ) is a wintertime custom . Their light color and musky odorous fragrance are enough to chase away anyone ’s wintertime blahs .
pressure paperwhites ( Narcissus papyraceus ) is easy — just pot them up , and in a few hebdomad they ’re a fragrant stir of bloom . Each light bulb produces one to three stems with up to 20 flowers per stalk , with each bloom up to 1½ column inch across .
swelled is estimable when bribe paperwhite bulbs . Bulbs tumid than 6½ inches in diam commonly bring about more and bigger flowers . Keep the lightbulb dry and at room temperature until institute ; if refrigerated , these tender treasure may abort blooms . implant them as presently as possible because they will begin to bourgeon within four weeks .
Paperwhites do n’t even need pots . Just set the bulbs on pebbles in a shallow bowl and add water . Keep the water level below the base of the bulbs to ward off putrefaction .
Outstanding Paperwhites
‘ Israel ’ ( ‘ Omri’)is , in my belief , the finest of the new paperwhites . Each 16- to 20 - inch - tall stem brings forth 15 to 20 great , creamy yellow flowers with pale yellow-bellied centers . ‘ Israel ’ has a mild , mellisonant , musky fragrance . It blooms three to five weeks from planting .
‘ Nazareth ’ ( ‘ Yael’)is a more compact paperwhite , reaching a height of 12 to 14 inch . Each shank is top by 8 to 10 gently sweet - scented , creamy lily-white flowers with yellow centers . ‘ Nazareth ’ blossom about three weeks after planting and sometimes needs to be staked .
‘ Jerusalem ’ ( ‘ Sheleg’)has the big flowers of any paperwhite . These white jewels have a grain that seems to coruscate and a mildly angelical fragrance . ‘ Jerusalem ’ produces two to four very strong stems ( 16 to 20 inches marvelous ) per bulb , and it bloom three to four weeks from found .
‘ Galilee’is a vigorous , compact ( 12- to 14 - inch - high ) cultivar that blooms three to four workweek after planting . It has 10 to 15 white flower per stem , and its efflorescence exude a passably musky redolence that I feel a moment inviolable for a small room .
‘ Ziva’is one of the most vigorous paperwhites , blooming two to three weeks from planting . It bring about 10 to 15 musk - scented flush of the pure blank atop strong , 16- to 18 - inch - marvellous stems . It has the strongest fragrance of all the paperwhites and is the one found in many garden center .
‘ Bethlehem ’ ( ‘ Nony’)has a meek , mellisonant sweetness . Its flowers , held 8 to 10 inches above the incandescent lamp , are bicolors — creamy bloodless with pale yellow centers . Each ‘ Bethlehem ’ bulb produces one to four halt have 10 to 15 flowers . They bloom four to five week after embed .
‘ Cragford’is a really multipurpose lightbulb ; it can be squeeze well or grown outdoors from USDA Hardiness Zone 5 to Zone 9 . Each strong , 12- to 14 - inch - tall stem yield several clean flowers with orange middle . It has a mild , musky odour and blooms 8 to 10 week after planting .
‘ Grand Soleil d’Or ’ ( or ‘ Soleil d’Or’)is a cultivar ofN. tazettassp.aureus , a native of Italy . Ten to 20 bright icteric peak with orangish center develop on each stem ; each electric light generates one to four stems 12 to 14 inches in high spirits . ‘ Grand Soleil d’Or ’ blow a marvelously mellisonant fragrance and blooms six to 10 weeks after planting . This cultivar will acquire out of doors from Zone 7 to Zone 9 if it receives at least a half mean solar day of full sun .
Taiwanese consecrated lily ( Narcissus chinensis ) is a bicolor smasher . It is one of my favorites because of its near looks and its finespun fragrance . Three to four week after implant , it produces several 14- to 16 - in - tall stems bearing five to 10 white efflorescence with golden orange centers . Its stems are a bit feeble and require staking . ‘ Constantinople ’ is a lovely double - flowered form .
We favour to grow paperwhites in bulb cooking pan ( shallow pots with drainage holes ) with potting mass medium because they will have stronger root word and will blossom longer than bulbs grown on pebbles . We use a coarse potting mix of 50 percent fine - textured pine bark , 25 percent peat moss , 10 pct coarse sand and 15 percent vermiculite .
We space the bulbs nearly , with five bulbs in a 6 - inch - diameter dope or 11 bulbs in a 10 - in pot . We cover their “ articulatio humeri ” with potting intermixture and surround them with crushed rock to count them down so the roots wo n’t push them out .
After potting , we saturate the medium with tepid water and allow it to enfeeble . We water sparingly until the bulbs bourgeon , and then keep the intermediate evenly moist . We place the bulb either in a fond dapple ( 75 ° F ) to rush growth and flowering , or in a nerveless spot ( 55 ° F ) to slow up them down . To prolong flowering , we keep them nerveless at night and mist their leave daily .
Sometimes garden catalogue just are n’t enough to get us through the gray days of wintertime . We gardeners need living , blooming plant to make us smile , and paperwhites can fill that pauperization — fast . What a simple manner to get a boost when it ’s too frigid outside to garden .
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A lovely lineup of narcissus. From top to bottom, ‘Nazareth’, Chinese sacred lily, ‘Bethlehem’, and ‘Grand Soleil d’Or’ are some of the finest paperwhites for forcing.Photo: Susan Kahn
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Who cares if it’s winter outside? You’ll hardly notice with a windowsill as cheerful as this. Shown here from top left to bottom right are ‘Bethlehem’, ‘Galilee’, Chinese sacred lily (bright yellow cup), ‘Jerusalem’ (pure white flower and the tallest), ‘Cragford’ (orange cup), and ‘Nazareth’ (pale yellow perianth).Photo: Susan Kahn
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Pure perfection in a simple flower. Tiny golden anthers and pale green pistils punctuate the opalescent white perianth and cup of ‘Ziva’.Photo: Susan Kahn
