Narcissus tazettaPaper-whitesSpring-flowering bulb with fragrant white...

Narcissus tazetta

Paper-whites

Spring-flowering bulb with fragrant white flowers and narrow, strap-like leaves

Paper-whites are small, beautifully shaped flowers on 12- to 18-inch stems, like miniature daffodils but with an impressive difference: Paper-whites emit a delicious perfume. One pot of them can refresh a winter living room for many days. Planted at 10-day intervals from November through February, paper-whites will provide about three months of glorious bloom.

To force these bulbs into blooming indoors, find a wide, shallow pot without a drainage hole, add a few inches of soil, then nestle the bulbs into the soil, keeping them about 1 inch apart. Fill the container with soil, leaving the bulb tips above the soil line.

Water the pot and then--contrary to traditional exhortations to hide the pot in a cool, dark closet for several weeks--put the pot in a north window (or any cool location with soft, indirect light). As soon as the green shoots appear, move to a sunnier location and prepare to breathe deeply once the flowers start to form--in three or four weeks.

The foliage will start to droop shortly after the flowers fade; do not trim or remove this foliage, as the bulbs need the leaves to help store food and energy for next year. Plant the bulbs, brown leaves and all, in the garden, where they should go back on a normal growing cycle next year. Don’t dig them up for forcing next year; narcissus bulbs can only be forced once.

Paper-white is only one variety of narcissus that easily can be forced into bloom indoors. Others--also fragrant--include “Geranium,” “Cheerfulness” (white and golden) and “Soleil d’Or.”

Paper-whites and other indoor-flowering bulbs are traditionally associated with the holiday season, possibly because not much else is in bloom then, not even in California. These bulbs are not only wonderful for one’s own rooms, they also make lovely gifts (in a spiffy pot, of course), whether flowering or just on the verge. Bulbs should still be available at local nurseries.