How to Grow Paperwhites Outside

Paperwhites thrive outdoors in warm climates.

Paperwhite narcissus are a spring bulb from the same family as daffodil, but they are not winter-hardy like daffodils. They are usually forced for winter blooms indoors, then grown in their pot for a year or two or until they stop blooming. If you live in an area that doesn't experience winter freezing, planting your forced paperwhites outdoors after the blooming period allows you to enjoy the flowers for many years. Unlike forced paperwhites that bloom in winter, those grown outdoors flower in mid-spring at the same time or shortly after daffodils flower.

Things You'll Need

• Houseplant fertilizer
• Compost
• Phosphate fertilizer
• Mulch

Instructions

1. Place the forced paperwhites in a warm, sunny window sill after they are done blooming. Water them as the surface of the soil in the pot dries. Fertilize the paperwhites once monthly with a balanced houseplant or bulb fertilizer, following label application instructions. The sun and fertilizer allow the bulbs to collect the nutrients they need for the next year's flowering.

2. Prepare a well-drained, full-sun garden bed for planting once the foliage on the potted paperwhites begins to yellow and die back in early summer. Lay a 2-inch layer of compost on the bed and apply a phosphate fertilizer at the recommended rate to the bed, then till it to a 10-inch depth to aid drainage and soil nutrition.

3. Plant the paperwhite bulbs in the bed, sowing them at a 6-inch depth. Place the bulbs so the pointed end is facing up. Space the bulbs 4 to 5 inches apart in clusters.

4. Water the soil once or twice a week so that it is moist but not soggy. Water each time until the soil feels moist at a 6-inch depth when you stick your finger into it.

5. Lay a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch over the bed in fall. Mulching preserves soil moisture throughout winter and protects the paperwhites during any mild freezes.

Tips & Warnings

• Plant purchased paperwhite bulbs outdoors the same way you would potted bulbs, except these should be planted in fall.

• Paperwhites may not bloom the first year after being planted outdoors after having been forced. As long as they produce leaves that first year, they will likely bloom the following year.

• Only bulbs forced in soil should be transplanted outdoors. Bulbs forced in pots of gravel and water likely will not survive and they may spread disease organisms to a healthy garden.

References

• New Mexico State University Extension: Paperwhite Narcissus
• Washington State University Extension: Paperwhite Narcissus for the Holidays