Red and White
You can enjoy color and fragrance during the winter by planting amaryllis or paperwhite narcissus. Creating a stunning holiday centerpiece is as easy as 1, 2, 3!
1. Pick your bulbs:
Amaryllis are available in many interesting colors and forms – bright reds, to whites, lilac or peach, with single or double blossoms. These zone 8 to 9 bulbs have never known a Wisconsin winter, so they won’t need a cooling period in your refrigerator or back porch. Plant them as soon as you get them.
Amaryllis: Blooms appear 6-8 weeks after planting and continue to bloom for several weeks. Plant NOW and the plant should gift you with flowers for New Years.
Paperwhites: Blooms appear 3-5 weeks after planting. Paperwhites offer beauty and a strong scent. Buy a couple dozen of these no-chill bulbs. If you store them in a cool, dry place you can start some every few weeks for blooms right through January.
2. Pick your medium:
Dirt: You can plant either of these bulbs in a pot filled with soil or grow the paperwhites in a shallow bowl, using pebbles to hold the bulbs in place.
Water: If you’re growing your bulbs in water, it should cover no more than the bottom quarter to third of the bulb.
3. Maintenance:
To help keep stems short and sturdy, provide indirect light and temperatures of about 50 degrees F for the first two weeks, then warmer, brighter conditions after that.
One can also plant several different kinds of bulbs in one pot to extend the blooming time. As this picture shows, you can have flowers from 3-6 weeks.
