NO PLACE LIKE HOME -- karen wight

It’s not too late to plant Paperwhite narcissus for Christmas and New

Year blooms. Paperwhites and their fresh fragrance are synonymous with

the holidays and add a beautiful touch to any setting.

Start with the best bulbs you can find, the bigger, the better. No. 1

double-nose bulbs are best. The size of the bulb is directly linked to

the amount of energy the bulb has stored to produce large, multi-headed

blooms on strong, solid stems.

Your container will determine the number of bulbs you plant and also the

medium in which you plant them. If you are using terracotta pots with a

drainage hole, your best choice of planting material is potting soil, but

be sure to add a handful of gravel to the bottom of the pot so you have

good drainage. Plant the bulbs close together with just the top of the

bulb showing. The more bulbs, the showier the display. You can cover the

top with decorative moss or shredded bark if you like. Water thoroughly.

If you have a special container or cachepot that you want to use that

does not have a hole in the bottom for drainage, then plant your bulbs in

gravel, polished stones, washed marble chips or glass marbles. Fill your

container with your choice of material to a half-inch below the rim.

Place the bulbs pointed end up and push them into your planting medium

gently until they are almost covered. Add enough water to reach the base

of the bulb.

Place your container in a cool, dark location (like a garage) until the

roots are well established. When you see the green shoots appear, you can

place them in a low-light area inside.

Be sure to keep the planting material moist or the water level up in your

gravel. Turn the bowl occasionally so the growth will be even. You can

apply a liquid fertilizer high in phosphorus once a week to maximize the

growth.

Depending on the weather, bulbs can bloom within four to six weeks of

planting. During the flowering cycle, the ideal spot is bright but not

sunny, free from drafts, and cooler temperatures (between 60 and 70

degrees).

To keep the stems from getting too leggy, be sure the bulbs have adequate

sunlight. This will help avoid the long lanky stems that bend with the

weight of the flowers once they start to bloom. If you do end up with

long-legged flowers, try tying the stems together with some raffia or

ribbon. This will extend their life for several days. These flowers are

just too beautiful and fragrant to miss out on any of their glory.

After your bulbs are spent, you can either plant them in your garden next

fall or compost them. If you choose to replant them in your garden, don’t

expect blooms the first year. They need time to build up their reserves

again. Narcissus can be left in the ground to naturalize, which means you

don’t have to dig them up annually. If you choose to do this, you will be

rewarded with outdoor flowers year after year.

Other members of narcissus tazetta can be “forced.” Additional choices

include varieties such as Grand Soleil d’ Or (golden yellow), Cragford

(white with a scarlet cup), Orientalis (Chinese sacred lilies) and double

variety Golden Cheerfulness (yellow). They all make good choices for

indoor blooms.

Amaryllis is another bulb that is easy to grow indoors and because of its

large size, makes a great display. Amaryllis bulbs bear two to several

flowers, often eight or nine inches across on sturdy two-foot stems.

Color selections include reds, pinks, whites, salmon, near-orange and

some variously marked and striped. Plant them in planting medium with

two-thirds of the bulb above the soil line. Water increasingly when

leaves form. If you feed amaryllis with a light fertilizer every two

weeks until the leaves begin to yellow, you will be able to enjoy these

bulbs indoors for many years. Amaryllis can be left in the pot after the

foliage dies down. Keep the soil barely moist until the growth starts

again.

Run, don’t walk, to your local nursery and plant some bulbs this weekend.

You’re just in time for Christmas and the New Year. Forced bulbs,

poinsettias, live garlands and pine trees are a wonderful way to decorate

your home for the holidays.

* KAREN WIGHT is a Newport Beach resident who owned Wight House Design

for 10 years. Her column runs Saturdays.

TURKEY TREAT COOKIES

You need: Oreo cookies, chocolate frosting, candy corn, maltballs and

peanut butter chips.

Twist an Oreo apart. Spread frosting on each half. Place five pieces of

candy corn on one half for the tail feathers and press the “tail” cookie

into frosting on the other half which serves as the base. Place maltball

in the center of the frosting on the base cookie and, with a dab of

frosting, place peanut butter chip on the maltball. o7 Voila!f7 A

Turkey Treat.