Winter Whites, Snow White, PaperWHITES
Paperwhite genus Narcissus papyraceus
Continuing with the theme of bringing flowers into our homes during the cold winter months, I decided to write about Paperwhite genus Narcissus papyraceus.
Paperwhites are in the Daffodil family and offer highly scented, delicate flowers. Some people do not like the fragrance, but I think it’s heavenly. It has a strong musky smell of Indole, which is also found in Jasmine, Orange Blossoms, and Gardenias. Also, I detect trace reminiscent of Hyacinth.
Paperwhites are not fussy and so easy to grow in water, beach glass, river stones or soil. Select a fun or funky container – bowls or vases and plant your bulbs. First, remove the onion-like skin around the bulb and place pointy side up with soil to the base of the neck. Bulbs should not be sitting in water. The water level should be just below the bulb so it doesn’t rot.
Plant 4-6 bulbs and each stem will produce multiple flowers. You can decorate with Spanish moss around the base of the plant. If they get too tall, tie them off with twine. Don’t forget to turn the plant as it reaches toward the sun.
Tip: If you don’t want them to grow so tall, you can force them to be shorter with alcohol. Use pure water for the first watering, but after that water with 1-part clear alcohol (like vodka) and 7-parts water.
After the flowers are spent, you can ‘try’ to get them to rebloom by storing the bulbs on their side in a dark/cool place for at least 6-months or you can attempt to plant them outside. However, in Ohio, unless we have a mild winter (not below 20-degrees), they will not survive.
Smarty Plants Fun Facts
Bulbs will flower in 4-6 weeks; 16-18” tall
Bright, indirect sunlight, keep moist, 50–65 °F
Paperwhite is in the family Amaryllidaceae
The More You Grow
Harkening back to Greek mythology, there is a story about the Greek god Narcissus who saw his reflection in a pool of water and fell in love with himself. He was so taken back by his own appearance that he fell into the water and drowned. Kind of like today when egotist people take selfies near the edge of a cliff and fall off! The Greek story goes that daffodils either magically grew or were planted by the place where Narcissus died. Others speculate that the daffodil was named for the Greek word narkoa, which means “to numb,” because daffodils have toxic properties.
As easy as 1, 2, 3.