Paperwhites

Tall slender stems bear masses of fragrant delicate flowers. Must be grown indoors in Zones 1–6. ‘Ziva’, the muskiest paperwhite, is ready to grow, requiring no cold period; ‘Earlicheer’ will bloom more reliably if allowed to start in a cool place.

You can stagger planting times to prolong the season. If you don’t plant the bulbs right away, store them in a cool dry dark place—but don’t lose track of them or you may find them growing in their bags. The longer you store them, the more quickly they’ll bloom once in a pot. October plantings usually bloom in 4–6 weeks; February plantings in as little as 2–3 weeks. 16–17cm.

Planting Paperwhites

For a full appearance, group five to eight bulbs in a container 6" in diameter. Plant in pebbles or marbles, keeping bulbs above the waterline, or plant in soil for longer-lasting flowers. Allow to root in a cool (45–60°) dry dark place, for about 3 weeks, checking water level often. Some plantings may need staking to support heavy flower heads.

Research from Cornell shows that adding water with 5% alcohol after the shoots are 1–2" tall stunts their growth slightly, enough to prevent top-heavy tippiness, but not stunt their flowering. See their blog post or download the pdf for more info.