PLANT AHEAD
Brilliant bulbs can make the perfect festive gifts
PAPERWHITE daffodils or Narcissus tazetta are beautiful and fragrant flowers. Hailing from Mediterranean regions, they are not hardy enough to survive outdoors in the UK except in milder or sheltered areas. However, they make beautiful indoor plants and are so easy to grow.
Unlike other forced bulbs, they don’t need periods of darkness or chilling – all they need is water to kick start them into life.
Each bulb will produce stems that bear clusters of small white or yellow scented flowers.
They’re quick too – plant them now and they will be flowering in around six to eight weeks time. This makes them ideal as Christmas gifts, and if you do another batch in about a fortnight’s time, you will have more blossoms to brighten up your house in January and fill it with perfume stronger than a scented candle.
These bulbs aren’t fussy – they will grow in gravel, decorative stone, glass pebbles or you can use bulb fibre or even regular compost.
It’s also possible to grow them in forcing glasses as you would with hyacinths.
They don’t require food as they already contain all the nutrients and energy they require within the bulb. So all that’s needed from you is some water and light.
You can get creative with glass containers and do alternating bands of different coloured sands or gravel, and watch as the roots develop. Taller vases are particularly good as they will provide support for the developing stems which can get a bit floppy and topple over.
You can also use little bamboo sticks as support if this happens.
A drop of gin or vodka in the water is also said to be a good method of preventing them falling over. They will look equally good in terracotta pots, which can be made to look more festive with a touch of red ribbon or gold spray stencilling.
This is a lovely indoor project you can do now, well before the mad rush of Christmas. You can be one step ahead and create something that can be a centrepiece in your home on Christmas Day. It’s also a fun project to do with children who will be fascinated watching over time as they see the roots appear – it’s an easy way to teach them about the fundamentals of gardening.
When the bulbs have flowered, you either bin them or plant them outdoors if you’re in a mild area. Top up with some slow-release food and fingers crossed, they’ll pop up again next year too!