DENVER — Paperwhites and amaryllis add greatly to holiday displays.
These winter-blooming bulbs are really easy to grow: just plant and add water.
Paperwhites
Paperwhites are species of daffodils that aren't hardy here. They're prized for their sweet-scented flowers that look like paper when they dry. The fragrance can perfume a whole room. Most people like it but some people claim that they reek of dirty socks.
Paperwhites are best grown in a pot, spaced an inch or two apart. Cover them up to their noses in soil. Keep them in a sunny window and they'll bloom in just a few weeks.
After flowering, keep them watered and set them outside it May. They'll go dormant, then ignore them. Bring the pot indoors again in fall and reactivate them with water in December.
Amaryllis
Amaryllis bulbs produce huge flowers in shades of red, orange, pink and white. Some varieties have double flowers. Plant the bulbs in soil almost up to their necks. This will keep them stable since they sometimes take a nosedive off the table since the flowers are so heavy.
The flowers are held on hollow stems (not a great structural idea) so try to keep the stem upright by turning the pot every day or so to keep it from leaning towards the light.
Bigger bulbs may produce two or more flower stalks. After the flowers fade, cut off the stalks but be good to the emerging leaves. Amaryllis enjoy a summer vacation outside. Keep them watered and fertilized to replenish the bulbs. Bring the plants indoors before the first frost. Stop watering them and let the leaves wither. They need a rest. In December, reactivate them by watering them to start the process all over again.
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