Tag: holiday bulbs

  Amaryllis and paperwhite bulbs blooming exuberantly around the house are now a part of my winter garden tradition. I like to have paperwhites for the holidays and I enjoy amaryllis from January through March. I stagger the planting so there's always something blooming. For paperwhites I allow 3-5 weeks to bloom, and for amaryllis, 6-8 weeks. Start with an amaryllis bulb and a favorite…

I love growing pure white narcissus paperwhite bulbs for holiday decorations and gifts, but I wish they wouldn’t get so leggy that they flop over as soon as they start blooming. I learned that the bulb industry, with Cornell University, has a solution for people like me. Read on for step-by-step instructions... It turns out that alcohol, diluted with water, is what shortens the narcissus stems. If you follow our instructions below, the stems will be 1/3 to 1/2 shorter with…