How to Force Paperwhite Blooms for the Holidays in 7 Steps

Bring some garden beauty inside this winter by forcing paperwhites. You'll love these charming flowers and their incredible fragrance, which fills a room. Gardening expert Melissa Strauss tells you how to do it.

Written by Melissa Strauss Horticulture review by Sarah Jay Last updated: December 7, 2024 | 5 min read

Close-up of paperwhite blooms with star-like white petals and a small yellow central cup, perched on thin, upright stems.

Contents

Forcing paperwhites to bloom is one of the easiest ways to bring the beauty of spring into the home in winter. These members of the narcissus, or daffodil, family are simple to force, and they smell incredible. A bowl of fragrant blooms is perfection for a living floral display or a wonderful hostess gift.

Forcing paperwhite bulb blooms is not difficult, and they don’t need cold stratification like other daffodils. It takes about four to six weeks to get blooms, so there is no time like the present to get growing. Follow these straightforward steps for forcing, and you’ll have wonderful paperwhites blooming before you know it!

Step 1: Select a Variety

Close-up of soft white petals surrounding a bright yellow center, forming a delicate, multi-petaled bloom. — Choose from a variety of white and yellow flowers for indoor display.

The first step in bringing these delightful flowers into the home is to select a variety (or two or three) to force. There is a wide array of forms, from singles, which look like classic daffodils, to the very double-petaled ‘Erlicheer,’ which is my personal favorite.

You will find mostly shades of white and yellow, though a few varieties have accents in coral and orange. The classic white varieties tend to be the most popular and easy to find. However, with the internet, the possibilities are much more widely available.

If you want an extra fragrant variety, try ‘Ziva.’ They have a reputation for holding this title. ‘Nir is another heavily perfumed variety. For a paperwhite with less scent, try ‘Wintersun.’ These have only a whisper of the musky, floral fragrance.

Step 2: Collect Your Supplies

On a light windowsill, a glass vase filled with water holds bulbs with sprouted roots and flowering plants featuring small yellow flowers and thin, vertical green leaves. — Grow bulbs in water using simple materials for strong and healthy flowers.

While you can plant your paperwhite bulbs in soil, forcing them to bloom in water works just as well. You can pickle them this way, so they grow shorter and, therefore, stronger, with less risk of flopping over. We will get to that in just a moment. The materials you will need for this project are:

A watertight vessel of some type. I like to use clear glass so the bulbs and their roots are visible. It’s easier to keep track of their growth this way and see that they don’t mold.
Water, of course. You can use tap water, but distilled is superior as it is gentler. Some tap water can contain a lot of minerals, softeners, or chlorine, which can be harsh.
A substrate for suspending the bulbs above the water. Small rocks are good for this purpose. For a more natural look, you can use river rocks. If you want something more colorful and festive, glass marbles or stones look nice.
Some type of clear alcohol. Isopropyl will work in a pinch, but vodka and gin work, and they aren’t as concentrated, so they can be easier to work with.
A support or other fashion to hold them upright if they grow too tall and want to flop over.
A pair of gardening gloves. The bulbs are toxic to ingest and can cause skin irritation to some people who are sensitive to them.

Now you’re ready to get started!

Step 3: Prepare Your Container

Forcing bulbs with dark brown husks, small roots, and young shoots on top, placed in a slightly sunken ceramic bowl filled with water and pebbles. — Fill a clean container with water and substrate for healthy bulb growth.

The most important thing about your container is that it is watertight unless you are using soil. To grow them in water, you need something that holds at least an inch or two of water. Make sure your container is clean and free from soaps or chemicals.

Add your substrate to the container and fill it with water just below the top of the substrate. You don’t want your bulbs sitting in water, or they will grow mold and fail to perform. The roots will grow down into the water quickly.

Set your bulbs on top of the substrate, with the fat side down and the pointed side facing upward. The leaves sprout from the pointed end, and the roots grow from the larger end.

Step 4: Get the Roots Growing

Close-up of a bulb sprouting white hair-like roots in a glass vase of water on a light windowsill. — Keep your bulbs in a cool and shaded spot until roots grow.

The first stage of forcing paperwhite blooms is to encourage is root growth. You want those roots to grow down into the water so that they can support the rest of the plant. They will anchor the plant to the substrate, making it stronger overall.

To make this happen, you should choose a cool location outside of direct sunlight. It doesn’t need to be completely dark, but there should be no direct sun at this point. If you can keep them around 45 to 50°F (7-10°C) for the first two to three weeks, they will grow nice, strong roots.

Check daily to see that the water is just barely touching the bottom of the bulbs. As they root, they will take in some water, so make sure to refill it when this happens.

When you see the green tips of the leaves sprout, your bulbs are ready for some sunshine. Narcissus are generally full-sun plants, and they will perform best in a sunny spot.

Step 5: Pickle Your Paperwhites

Several daffodil bulbs with dark brown husks and vertical green shoots in a glass vase with gravel and water. — Adding a bit of alcohol to water helps promote sturdier growth.

I highly recommend pickling your paperwhites for the best bloom-forcing results. You do this by adding a bit of alcohol to the water just after the green growth appears. The alcohol stunts the green growth, which makes them sturdier. Indoors, they can grow quite fast because of the temperature. When they grow very tall, they tend to fall over.

It’s important to get the alcohol-to-water ratio right, as too much will kill them. You want the water to be right around five percent alcohol, or 20:1. Most white liquors contain about 40% alcohol. A ratio of one part alcohol to seven parts water is appropriate.

If you’re using rubbing alcohol, you’ll need much less, as it is more concentrated. If you use 70% alcohol, your ratio should be about 10:1 or 11:1. Don’t exceed 10% total alcohol in your solution, as this is likely to kill them altogether.

Keep any leftover alcohol solution handy, and refill it with this. Don’t try adding the alcohol directly into the container. It will sit on top of the water and kill your bulbs. Always pre-mix the solution and top it off with that.

Step 6: Move Into the Light

On a wooden table in a bright room, a vintage white pot with blue patterns holds flowering bulbs with upright slender stems and small clusters of white flowers with yellow centers. — Place your sprouts in a sunny but cool spot for better growth.

Once your parpwhite bulbs sprout, they need a sunny spot and cool temperatures to advance the forcing process and prepare for blooms. Since it’s colder outdoors, placing them in a brightly lit window will achieve this dual purpose. Give them as much light as possible for the next few weeks.

Extra warmth will make the leaves and stems grow faster and taller, which you want to avoid as it weakens them. Depending on the variety, the flower clusters can be heavy. Once those buds form, taller stems will tip over. If you’ve pickled them, however, this is less likely.

Step 7: Support and Lower the Light

Small, white, trumpet-shaped flowers with a white corona in the center bloom on thin vertical stems against a blurred background. — Move flowering bulbs to indirect light to extend their flowering.

Once your buds form, it’s time to move them again to prolong the life of the blooms. They typically bloom for one to two weeks, but sun exposure will shorten that period. Moving them farther from the window or diffusing the light will make them last longer.

Even if you’ve pickled them, there’s a chance they may still be top-heavy and tip over. If you’re concerned about this, give them some support. If you want them unobstructed, you can use thin bamboo stakes to hold each stem. You can also tie a ribbon around the stems, bundling them together. They should support one another this way.

Popular Varieties

Here are some beautiful paperwhite varieties with colorful blooms that are ideal for forcing. Depending on your local nursery, you may have a wide range available.

‘Grand Soliel d’Or’

Close-up of large blooming golden-yellow flowers with a deep yellow cup on tall, slender stems, accompanied by long, narrow, grassy leaves on a black background. — Try a sunny yellow variety for bold and fragrant blooms.

	botanical name Narcissus papyraceus ‘Grand Soleil d’Or’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 1’-2’
	hardiness zones 8-11

If you want a sunny yellow variety with bold impact, ‘Grand Soliel d’Or’ is a gorgeous variety to try. Six golden petals open to a shallow bowl shape and reveal an orange cup. They have a light and pleasant fragrance that is neither overwhelming nor imperceptible.

These take a little longer to bloom, about six to ten weeks from the time you start them. For flowers before the New Year, start in early November or late October.

‘Ziva’

Pure white, star-shaped flowers with a small yellow cup on tall stems and grassy, clumping leaves on a blurred background among blooming bright yellow flowers. — This easy-to-grow variety blooms beautifully by Christmas time.

	botanical name Narcissus papyraceus ‘Ziva’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 1’-2’
	hardiness zones 8-11

‘Ziva’ is an early blooming variety, so if you wait longer to start, these will bloom before most. The later you start them, the faster they will bloom. Plant them by Thanksgiving for Christmas flowers. This is one of the most fragrant varieties and one of the easiest to grow.

‘Inbal’

Close-up of a cluster of large, white flowers with golden stamens and delicate petals with ruffled edges on tall, sturdy stems, surrounded by narrow, linear leaves in a garden. — Enjoy the delightful scent and beauty of this pure white variety.

	botanical name Narcissus papyraceus ‘Inbal’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 1’-2’
	hardiness zones 8-11

‘Inbal’ is a classic, pure white, single-petal variety. Its scent is noteworthy but not overbearing, and it’s typically considered one of the nicest-smelling paperwhites. The flower clusters are large, with blooms that open flat with a small white cup and three golden stamens in the center.

‘Erlicheer’

Close-up of a cluster of small creamy white flowers with yellow centers and double petals, complemented by long, narrow leaves. — Grow these large, cream, double-petaled blooms with a golden center.

	botanical name Narcissus papyraceus ‘Erlicheer’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 1’-2’
	hardiness zones 5-9

This winner for the Royal Horticultural Societies Award of Garden Merit is my favorite. ‘Erlicheer’ has fully double petaled blooms in cream with a golden glow from the center, perfect for forcing indoors. The flowers are large, and bloom in clusters of six to eight per stem. They have a moderate to strong fragrance and make excellent cut flowers.