part of the fun is treasure-hunting at thrift shops for antique or vintage servingware, such as silver-plated casserole dishes or ceramic soup tureens, or any other watertight container that’s at least three to four inches deep, and then use them creatively as plant pots. You may even have cool bowls, jars, or crocks hiding away in a cupboard that would be perfect for growing paperwhites. Several bulbs in an antique bowl or casserole dish make an absolutely charming display and are nice for holiday hostess or teacher gifts. Using a tall vase will help hold up the stems as they grow, but there are other ways to keep plants upright which I’ve outlined for you here. If you want to have blooms in time for Christmas, start your bulbs around the second or third week of November. The basic idea is to grow the bulbs in water using pebbles, gravel, or glass pebbles into which the roots can grow. You can use aquarium gravel, small pebbles, fireplace glass, marbles, or vase-filler glass for this, and even coordinate it with your container. Start by adding four or more inches of clean gravel or pebbles to the bottom of the container. Position the bulbs so that the pointy ends face up and fill in and around the bulbs with more gravel/glass until it nearly covers the bulbs, but the “neck” and tip still protrude above. You can jam the bulbs in together tightly and not worry about spacing. Planting tightly actually helps the plants hold each other up as they grow. You may want to wear gloves when you do this, as some
BY TINA MAST
HOLIDAY
BLOOMS FORCING PAPERWHITES FOR CHRISTMAS
O
ne indoor plant project that many people enjoy for the holidays is forcing spring bulbs such as paperwhites into bloom for Christmas. While the traditional poinsettia may come to mind when you think of holiday plants, the cool, snowy, delicate beauty of the paperwhite can also add to the magical spirit of the season. Paperwhites are related to daffodils – both are in the Narcissus genus – but have smaller, pure white flowers in clusters and a strong jasmine-like fragrance. They are easy to force into bloom, especially since they don’t require chilling as other bulbs sometimes do. You can use a wide variety of containers in which to force them –
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CIRCA Magazine
| October • November • December 2021
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