The Complete Paperwhite Guide: How to Grow Them and Stop Them Flopping Over

Paperwhites need no chilling and no soil. Set the bulbs on pebbles, add water to just touch their bases, and they bloom in four to six weeks. The one problem everybody has is that they grow tall and flop over, and there is a fix for that which sounds like a joke and is not: once they are growing, water them with diluted alcohol.

Winter gets bleak after the holiday lights come down. Paperwhites are the antidote, and they are not just a December thing. Start a container in January and you get blooms in the greyest stretch of the year, which is exactly when a house needs them. Long after the holidays have passed, these bulbs are a reminder that growth does not follow a calendar.

You do not need a kit

Skip the boxed sets. All you need is a container about three or four inches deep with no drainage hole, some pebbles or glass beads, and bulbs.

Thrift stores are gold mines for this. A vintage bowl, a teacup, a glass cylinder, an old casserole dish. The container is half the charm, and it should look like it belongs in your house rather than like something you bought for the purpose. One year I tied mine with a vintage red cowboy ribbon I found thrifting, because even flowers deserve a little personality.

How to plant paperwhites

1. Fill the container with two or three inches of pebbles. They are there to hold the bulbs upright, nothing else.
2. Nestle the bulbs root end down, shoulder to shoulder. They can touch. Crowding them actually helps them hold each other up. Do not bury them, the tops should sit above the stones.
3. Add water only to the base of the bulbs. This is the part people get wrong. The water should just touch the bottom of the bulb so the roots reach down for it. A bulb sitting in water rots.
4. Put them somewhere cool and bright and top up the water as it drops.
5. Wait four to six weeks. Roots first, then a green shoot, then buds.

Rotate the container every few days or they lean hard toward the window.

The trick that keeps them from flopping over

Paperwhites stretch. Left alone in a warm house they reach for the light, get top-heavy, and fold over right as the flowers open. Staking them with decorative sticks works, and for years that is what we did.

The better answer came out of research at Cornell. A dilute alcohol solution stunts the stems without touching the flowers.

• Wait about a week after planting, until roots are growing and the shoot is an inch or two above the bulb.
• Pour off the water and replace it with a 5 percent alcohol solution.
• From 40 proof spirits (gin, vodka, whiskey, rum, tequila): 1 part liquor to 7 parts water.
• From 70 percent rubbing alcohol: 1 part alcohol to 10 or 11 parts water.
• Use that solution from then on, for every top-up.

The result is stems one third to one half shorter, with flowers just as large, just as fragrant, and lasting just as long.

Two warnings. Do not use beer or wine, because the sugars in them cause real problems for the plant. And stay in the 4 to 6 percent range. Above 10 percent the plants suffer, and at 25 percent you will kill them.

Where to find bulbs

• Local garden centers carry them seasonally, and it is a good way to support somebody nearby.
• Tractor Supply has had them when I looked.
• Online, from a reputable bulb seller. Eden Brothers carries Erlicheer, which is a double-flowered type with a softer scent than the standard Ziva.

Buy firm, heavy bulbs with no soft spots. Bigger bulbs give more flower stems.

Stagger them and you get blooms all winter

One container gives you a few weeks. Start a new container every two or three weeks from November through February and the house is never without them. This is the whole reason to keep a bag of bulbs in the pantry.

Paperwhite questions we get asked

Do paperwhites need to be chilled first?

No, and this is what separates them from tulips, daffodils and hyacinths. Paperwhites need no cold period at all. Put them in water and they go.

How do you keep paperwhites from falling over?

Water them with a 5 percent alcohol solution once they are an inch or two up. One part 40 proof liquor to seven parts water, or one part 70 percent rubbing alcohol to ten or eleven parts water. Stems come out a third to a half shorter and the flowers are unaffected. Cool, bright conditions help too, since warmth and dim light both make them stretch.

How long do paperwhites take to bloom?

Four to six weeks from planting, sometimes as fast as three in a warm room. Start them about a month before you want flowers.

Do paperwhites need soil?

No. Pebbles and water are enough, because everything the plant needs for this one bloom is already stored in the bulb. Soil works too if you prefer it.

How much water do paperwhites need?

Only enough to touch the very bottom of the bulb. The roots grow down into it. A bulb sitting in water will rot.

Can you replant paperwhites after they bloom?

Not usefully here. Forcing exhausts the bulb, and paperwhites are only hardy in zones 8 to 11 anyway. Compost them and start fresh next year.

Why do paperwhites smell so strong?

It is a real divide. Some people love it, some find it overpowering in a closed room. If you are in the second camp, look for Erlicheer or Inbal, which are noticeably milder than the common Ziva.

Are paperwhites poisonous to cats and dogs?

Yes. All narcissus bulbs contain lycorine and are toxic to pets, and the bulb is the worst part. Keep the container somewhere a curious cat cannot get to it.

If you want more to look forward to in the cold months, our field guide to cool weather flowers covers what else earns its keep when the garden is asleep.