Last year I started my paperwhites too early. This year I'm hoping to be right on time. Paperwhites are extremely easy to force indoors and make for great holiday decorations. Simply fill a shallow dish about 2/3 full with gravel, pebbles or another soil less growing medium. Very gently press the bottoms of the bulbs into the medium, making sure the bulbs aren't touching. Add just enough medium to hold the bulbs in place. You want the top 3/4 of the bulb to be exposed. Add water so that it hardly touches the bottoms of the bulbs. Put in a dark cool place for about 2 weeks or until green shoots are almost 4 inches tall before moving into a cool spot with direct sun. Turn the bowl often to promote nice straight stems, you can tell mine are just starting to straighten up. You can then decorate the area surrounding the bulbs with bits of moss, rose hips, mountain ash berries (as I have here), bayberries, pine cones, old man's beard, twigs and sticks and whatever else you think would look nice. I used a seasonal candy can that was leftover from another Christmas that I felt could use a new purpose.
Paperwhites are delightful any time of the year. You could start some now for a burst of early spring in the new year. I will warn you though, I thoroughly enjoy their scent however I have met many others who find it less than pleasant.
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