How to Force Paperwhites Indoors

The fragrant and delicate daffodil, Narcissus Ziva, better known as a paperwhite, is ideally suited for winter indoor forcing. The pure-white flowers are a refreshing addition in mid-winter to your holiday decorating and a grand preview of early spring when forced for Passover or Easter.

Things You'll Need

• Pot or other container
• Potting soil or gravel
• Daffodil-Narcissus Ziva bulbs
• Water

Instructions

Forcing Paperwhite bulbs

1. Buy good-quality, healthy-looking bulbs that are free of mold and bruising.

2. Sow your bulbs in gravel or potting soil, placing them close together with the pointed side of the bulb facing up.

3. Fill your pot with water that reaches close to the bottom of the bulb.

4. Keep water to this level in a gravel-filled pot and in a soil-filled pot, keep the soil moist to the touch. Use lukewarm water, not cold water straight from the tap.

5. Move bulbs to a sunny window once growth has begun.

6. Stake the spindly stems when they begin to tip; this will keep your plants upright.

7. Wait for the bulbs to grow to full height (about a foot tall) and bloom. It will generally take about six weeks.

8. Preserve blooms after they open by moving the planter or pot into a cooler room with less light.

9. Compost the bulbs when they are finished blooming. Paperwhites bloom only once.

References

• Paper-white information, Martha Stewart.com
• Colorado State Extension, PlantTalk

Resources

• Forcing Paperwhites