Narcissus 'Replete' is among bulbs that can be forced to bloom indoors on water

Narcissus "Replete" flowers in a white ceramic pail. No soil is used; the plants are growing on water alone. Narcissus is a genus of bulb-grown flowering plants that includes species and cultivars of daffodils, jonquils and paper whites.

While these are all spring-blooming bulbs when planted outdoors in fall, paper whites are especially popular for forcing into early bloom indoors. Their clustered star-shaped white flowers make them perfect for the Christmas season and for other winter decorating. 

As a fun winter project, I decided to try water-forcing the larger bulbs of narcissus "Replete," which is described as a double daffodil. I highly recommend it as a bulb to grow indoors. It is now among several types of bulbs I have grown to flower on plain water. Others include amaryllis, crocus, hyacinth, muscari and tulips.

On a snowy Saturday that followed a warm and sunny Friday, the blooming narcissus flowers are a mood-lifting vision of spring.

Early this past December, I "planted" eight narcissus bulbs by setting them (pointed end up) atop smooth stones piled inside in my white ceramic pail. To get the good chill that many spring bulbs require, the container of narcissus bulbs was set on the floor of the unheated garage until late February. Then I broght them in and set them in a sunny spot in front of sliding glass doors.

Four reason to grow narcissus bulbs indoors on water

1. Flowering bulbs forced indoors on water offer the grower an opportunity to observe all a bulb's growth stages. Use a clear glass container, and watch how quickly the roots begin to form on some types of bulbs. With dense growth and colored glass marbles, the intertwined roots can become part of a floral design when a few bulbs are grown in a cocktail glass, or a vase. With every bulb, it's always exciting to see the first signs of top growth and it's truly a thrill when you see flower buds -- and they open. 

 2. Narcissus bulbs grow lots of strappy, slender foliage, and that can really give a larger container the feel of a lush indoor garden before the flower buds even begin to appear.

The mechanics of water-grown narcissus involve stones for the bulbs to sit on so that only their roots are in the water. 3. The  flowers have an exceptionally long life. The oldest flower in this group is still in perfect condition after having first opened on March 1. Each flower started as a small bud with a pointed top, that gradually enlarges and plumps up. Just before it flowers, the bud's weight causes it to hang downward from the stem. The buds show white tips before opening to reveal an array of six pointed outer petals with a classic daffodil-yellow center. The yellow center gradually changes color and becomes a ruffled swirl of Creamsicle orange and white petals.

4. After the forced bulbs have bloomed, they can be planted outside. I have muscari bulbs that I just threw in the backyard and on the side of the house. Without even having been planted, the little "grape hyacinths have returned each year since 2015. 

The only challenge in this particular bulb forcing project is that I didn't note beforehand that narcissus can grow tall. On my bulbs, each flower stem is about 2 feet tall. That required some creative staking with long metal skewers driven down between the rocks (hopefully without too much damage to the roots.)