Last updated on December 7th, 2011
IS THERE A NARCISSUS that inspires poetry more than ‘Erlicheer’? This tazetta daffodil (above; click to enlarge) enchants with 7-15 fully double, creamy-white, powerfully perfumed blossoms atop every stem. You can enjoy these scented snowballs outdoors in April (if you want to wait that long), or force the bulbs indoors, as I do, for February bloom.
Erlicheer looks well in any window garden that features spring-flowering plants. Above (click to enlarge), bulbs in two pots flank the tall, ‘Red Lion’ amaryllis on the sill, while ‘Blue Jacket’ hyacinths, also sweetly-scented, and forced in bulb vases, bloom on the latch ledge. (This red, blue and white picture is the first thing I see in the morning, for it is in my bedroom window.)
For a successful adventure with Erlicheer, plant 5 bulbs in a 6-inch pot. Water well, then place the pot in cold-storage for 10 weeks. Afterward, bring the bulbs to sunlight and warmth (but not too warm; keep temperatures closer to 60- than 70-degrees if you desire a full month of bloom).
In exchange for your continued care after blooms fade, these hardy bulbs can have a fine future in the garden outdoors. Cut off faded flowering stalks, but let the green foliage remain. Provide food, water, and full sun until yellowing foliage signals dormancy. Withhold all moisture, and let the soil dry out. Remove the bulbs, and place them, for the remainder of spring and summer, in the cool cellar. I store mine in a paper bag filled with dry sawdust or vermiculite. In early October, give the bulbs a permanent location in some sunny spot outdoors.
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Related Posts:
Hardy Bulbs for Winter Windows
How to Grow Hyacinths in Bulb Vases
Photo Gallery: Flowering Bulbs for February
Sharon says
Kevin, I have Erlicheer in my garden. It naturalizes well, and the fragrance, as you said, is unbelievable! I didn't know the bulbs could be forced for indoor bloom. I could really use the color and scent now…we're about to get another snowstorm!
Gregory says
I'll put this one on my list for next fall. Really beautiful, especially when you enlarge the picture.
Eric says
Kevin, does Erlicheer have a musky scent like the Ziva paperwhite? I can't stand muskiness!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Eric – Erlicheer is neither musky nor cloying. Just honey-sweet, and intoxicating.
Justin says
With all the snow that's been falling, you must be grateful for the blooming bulbs in your windows!
Randy J says
Kevin,
I will definitely try this one next year both indoors and out.
Today, weather permitting (arghhh) I am off to Seattle where the Narcissus are actually blooming outdoors!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Randy J – Do bring back some of that zone 8 weather, okay?!
Susan M. says
I found your blog by searching for forcing Erlicheer narcissus. I'm very pleased to have found it, and I hope you can answer my question. I recently purchased a kit of paperwhites at a post-season sale and, having never tried this before, am so enjoying them in bloom now. So I went on line and ordered 10 Erlicheer bulbs thinking to grow them in water also. Now I'm not so sure this will work. Can I grow them in water, and should I use the gin treatment? Is it too late to grow them at all this winter? What do you recommend? Thanks very much for your help.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Susan M – Welcome. Erlicheer, like all Dutch bulbs, should be planted in autumn. It needs a cold, dark rooting-period. You can grow it in either pebbles and water (no gin, please) or soil.
I can't guarantee success with a February planting. But since you have the bulb, why not try it? Unfortunately there's no getting around the rooting period: 10 weeks in a cold, dark location.
I hope you'll visit again. You might want to sign up for my weekly newsletter, too. I always remind readers to plant, in the fall, certain bulbs (like the exquisite Erlicheer) for a scented sequence of indoor bloom.
Susan M. says
Thanks so much for your prompt reply, Kevin. Since I live in far northern NY (near the Canadian border), we may have enough winter still that I will enjoy forcing the Erlicheer bulbs yet. I'm so hoping to experience the scent I've read about.
I did sign up for the newsletter! I spent several hours last night wandering through your previous postings and already found several great ideas new to me (like those clever “greenhouses”). I”m looking forward to following you through the coming gardening year. Great blog…
geriod baronne says
what are your suggestions for planting the Erlicheer paper whites in zone 9? ..I would like o plant them a head of time in 200 black nursery containers that measure about 6 inches in diameter.. If I plant them a head of time I will then place them in the ground removing the 200 black nursery containers that have other plants that have finished blooming. I rotate my plants as the seasons come and go…I call it instant gardening
. How many weeks a head of time should I plants the erlicheea until the green leaves begin to show?? I also have added gin to the water to stunt the growth of the plants from blowing over in the wind. When I order the paper whites should I put them in the refrigerator? if so for how many weeks?
I have to tell you that last year after all my single paper whites were planted I was rearranging my garden house and found a stack of about 50 paper white bulbs that had been lying in a plastic container with another container on top of them.. They were over a year old. I contacted the The Louisiana AUG department and I was told to throw them out that they were over a year old and would not bloom. I was not sure what kind of paper whites they were. . Just by chance because they were firm an looked new almost new I planted them in containers.. Much to my surprise they came up and they were Erlicheea’s.. They are now my favorite kind of paper white..