Comments on: out, out damn paperwhites!

By: margaret

margaret — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 22:29:44 +0000

Welcome, Jill to A Way to Garden and to the world of blog-commenting. I’m so flattered it is here that you made your first comment. As for the paperwhites, I’m afraid they won’t like being forced again, so I’d toss them in your cold zone. As for blaming the puppy: exactly. Smells at least that bad to me, too. Apparently, as the others in this long stream of comments have offered, there are less-unpleasant varieties that I think each of u must seek out in catalogs next year if we plan to try paperwhites again. Hope to see you soon.

By: Jill

Jill — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:07:52 +0000

Hi Margaret, I’ve never done a blog before. I received a beautiful silver pot filled with 4 paperwhite bulbs ready to bloom about 3 weeks ago as a gift from a friend for our 25 Wedding Anniversary. They bloomed shortly thereafter and where beautiful, with their delicate white blossoms. We have a puppy that I thought had urinated somewhere on the tile floor. I cleaned the kitchen tile and the hardwood floors thinking that was where the smell was coming from until my husband figured out it was the plant. We put it in the dining room away from the central location of our house. My kids told me to never get a plant like that again. They have such beautiful flowers though. The blooms are almost spent and we were lucky to not have any droopiness. Can I dry them out like tulips and put them in a dark place and try to force them again for next year or should I just throw them away? I hate to throw anything away. I live in Cleveland, so planting them outside in the frozen snow is not an option.

By: margaret

margaret — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:31:38 +0000

Welcome, LeNae, and thank you for the link. The pots of paperwhites are beautiful, and outdoors=better on the nose, yes. In your climate it's a great solution. Hope to see you again soon.

By: LeNae Denson

LeNae Denson — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:15:30 +0000

My solution in the south is to plant paperwhites at the entrance of my house. This way everyone enjoys the fragrance as they come and go but are not locked in the house with the the overwhelming fragrance. I usually plant for a New Year's Eve Party and then enjoy them through the month. LeNae I sent you some pics off my flickr page.

By: margaret

margaret — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:18:50 +0000

Welcome, Msgalvez. Interesting what a mess of spaghetti the paperwhites roots prove to be. I have to say I use gravel from my patio for mine, and after the bulbs are done, I just take the whole thing out to the patio I stile the gravel from and upturn it and shake everyone out right there. Still lose a few pebbles in the process that won’t come loose. Hope to see you again soon.