Care Instructions for Paperwhite Flowers

Use 6- to 8-inch pots that are at least 12 inches deep for paperwhite bulbs, to give the bulbs the room they need to take root and grow. Make sure that your pots have drainage holes, to keep the bulbs from sitting in water at any time.

Fill your pots half full of quick-draining potting soil and set the bulbs on the soil with their noses pointing up. The bulbs can sit closely, but should not touch each other. Fill the pot to within 1/2 inch of the top with potting soil to bury all but the noses of the paperwhite bulbs.

Set the pot in a sunny location where it gets full sun for eight hours a day and temperatures between 60 and 63 degrees Fahrenheit. Water the soil lightly every day to keep it moist, and expect blooming in three to four weeks.

Water flowers with 2 inches of water a week once they bloom, and keep them in sites that get eight hours of full sun every day, with moderate temperatures in the 60s Fahrenheit.

Leave the paperwhites to their life span for healthy future growth. As the flowers fade and the foliage dies back, the leaves yellow and wilt. Do not cut the foliage off, as it gathers nutrients for the bulbs' future blooming.