Flower Gardens

» Cottage_Garden - Do Paperwhites Bloom Every Year?

This came via email, asking if paperwhites bloom every year. The answer would be yes, and no. These are daffodils, and daffodils do bloom every year. But paperwhites are often not treated like normal daffodils.

For your paperwhites to bloom every year and grow like a perennial, they would need to be planted in the ground outside in zones 8-10 where they are hardy, and in an appropriate sunny location. You would have to let the foliage grow unimpeded and mature so the bulb renews itself, just as with any daffodil.

If you force your paperwhite bulbs indoors using gravel and water, they will be too exhausted to bloom again so you might as well just throw them out and start new bulbs next year.

If you live in zones 8-10 you could theoretically plant the forced bulb in the garden. It would not bloom the spring after planting, but it might be strong enough to bloom the following year after that.

If you live in a winter hardiness zone colder than 8, these bulbs do not survive winter cold outside.

So for most people, paperwhites only bloom once and for that reason are essentially treated as annuals -- thrown out after the flowers are done.

For more information on how to grow and bloom paperwhites, please see my article on How to Grow Paperwhites.

-- posted by Cottage_Garden