Paperwhites: Adventures in the Wild

It’s not uncommon to find a house that has a drafty cellar. According to Bulbs Forcing for Beginners by Art Wolk and the Seriously Smitten, hyacinths should be chilled at 48degF for at least 10 weeks. It’s between 40degF and 50degF that should work. Since our heating system has been upgraded, I’ve had a lot of trouble forcing hyacinths. The temperature in the basement is never below 50degF. The temperature in the basement is between 51deg (10degC) to 52deg (11degC), and I would not expect that to make a big difference. But it’s what I can explain for the hyacinths’ bloom stalks failing.

I have also tried to store the bulbs in our second fridge. Fruit releases ethylene gas which prevents the flowers from blossoming. Other food, however, is stored there. The ideal chilling temperature for food should be above 32degF (0degC), but not higher than 40degF (4degC). This is a lot colder than what you would use to chill bulbs. This could explain why many of my bulbs have rotted. Maybe it was a bad batch.

This is why I did not try to force hyacinths in this year.

I decided instead to try paperwhites again. I bought a bunch ‘Ariel” paperwhites, which are supposed to be shorter. I planted the first bunch in tall vases with pebbles and used the clearest ones I could find to avoid staking.

One took off right away, one made progress, and one just sat there. Why?

Two months after the above photo, it is still stalled. There is no root growth yet, but I’m still able to feel the bulb and the shoot are still firm and green.

And they did need staking. Even the ones in the glass vases.

I could not really stake them in the glasses so I tied ribbon around the edges and sometimes they would lean over.

How to prevent leaning

Art Wolk states that they should only be forced to work at temperatures under 70degF. Otherwise, they will become leggy. They were kept out of the room with the wood stove, but I forced them in a room that was at least 60 degrees. Next year, try them in the farthest room from the wood stove.

You can also keep them shorter by adding alcohol to your water. Here are the full directions. It only works when you force the bulbs onto pebbles. I found it to be less effective the first time.

You still need to water the bulbs, even though they are “the easiest to force.” Some buds may explode if you do not water them promptly.

This is what a blasted bud looks like. If you peel it open, you see that the immature flowers are all dried up. It will never bloom.

If you put some bulbs over pebbles in an opaque container, such as this pretty mosaic cache pot, it will be very hard to know when the water level has dropped, so your paperwhites might not get watered in a timely fashion, and a few buds might blast.

Indoor winter gardening can be a challenge when the most beautiful containers do not have drainage holes. You either risk drowning the plants in soggy soil, or drying them out with pebbles you didn’t top up on time.

The fragrance, or should I say the odor, is not for everyone. It kinda-sorta smells like the poet’s spring narcissus for about a day. It smells “off” the rest of time, not quite rotten and not very nice either.

Conclusion. . .

I’ll try the narcissus bulbs that aren’t quite paperwhites. For example, ‘Grand Soleil d’Or’. According to Brent & Becky’s Bulb it takes a bit longer to force but smells much better. I’ll pot them in potting mix and skip the pebbles.