Paperwhite narcissus bulbs can be grown indoors
You can grow paperwhite narcissus from bulbs. Place them in a pot that has growing medium designed especially for container plants.
Be sure the container has a drainage hole in the bottom to avoid having soggy soil (which will cause the bulbs to rot). When you fill the container with the growing medium, leave enough space at the top for the bulbs. Place them with the pointed end up on top of the mix. Finish filling the pot with medium while leaving the tips of the bulbs exposed. Leave a gap of ½ to 1 inch between the top of the pot and the medium to allow room for watering.
Place the bulbs close enough that they are almost touching each other. Check the bulbs frequently and water thoroughly when the potting mix feels dry 1 inch below the surface. Don’t water more than once a week until the bulbs begin active growth. They perform best in bright light.
Check houseplants for insects
Keep a close watch on your houseplants for insect problems. These show up more often when plants become stressed. New houseplants or gift plants can also arrive with pests, so check them carefully by looking at the stems and bottoms of leaves. Consider isolating these plants before adding them to your collection. Pests to look out for include the following:
- Spider mites: Look for webbing in leaf axils, stippled foliage, and weak, off-color leaves. Mites are often difficult to see without a lens.
- Scale: Sticky, clear honeydew is produced on leaves by these small, immobile, round insects usually found on the stems and veins of leaves.
- Mealybugs: Easy to spot, these insects look like piles of tiny cotton puffs.
- Whitefly: Whiteflies are a problem in many greenhouses because they can quickly move to neighboring plants. Look for tiny, white, moth-like insects often found on the undersides of leaves.
- Fungus gnats: Adult black gnats fly around the plant but do no damage. The immature larvae in damp soil can chew plant roots. They are often a problem in overwatered plants or flats of seedlings that are too moist.
• Tim Johnson is director of horticulture at Chicago Botanic Garden, chicagobotanic.org.