Flower bulbs are my passion. Those that grow, thrive and multiply in southern California’s unique Mediterranean climate are my favorites. This is the story of two bulbs. Both are of Mediterranean origin and both grow well in Orange County. One is familiar and the other obscure.
Paperwhite Narcissus may be the most popular flowering bulb in the world. In just a three month period Roger’s Gardens sells more than 20,000 bulbs. Many go into a bowl of gravel filled with water, a small pot, a glass vase or another container for a simple process most people call “forcing”. The rest go into gardens.
Paperwhite’s are the longest cultivated and most widely grown Narcissus in the world. Although they originated somewhere in the region surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, they arrived in China about 1,000 years ago, probably introduced by Arab traders.
Most shoppers don’t realize that there are different hybrids of Paperwhite Narcissus; varieties with names like ‘Nazareth’, ‘Jerusalem’, ‘Israel’ and ‘Galilee’. For the past thirty years the marketplace has been dominated by a variety known as ‘Ziva’. ‘Ziva’ is a commercial bulb growers dream; dividing abundantly and growing quickly. In a dish of gravel ‘Ziva’ blooms quickly and reliably, but it does have faults. It has a very strong, overpowering, musky fragrance. It also has a tendency to rebloom poorly and does not persist well in a garden environment.
Paperwhite bulbs are grown by the millions in Israel (hence the names), where part of Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture, called The Agricultural Research Organization, has invested in efforts to create better and more productive Paperwhite varieties. The newest variety, called ‘Inbal’, has come out of these Israeli breeding efforts.
‘Inbal’ has several improvements over ‘Ziva’, greatest of which is its improved fragrance; much milder and more pleasant. It is also reported to perform better in gardens. I have grown ‘Inbal’ for two or three years in my garden and it has done well, but I’ll need more time to make a proper evaluation. Nonetheless, the fragrance is so much better than any other Paperwhite variety that, if for fragrance alone, I suggest searching out ‘Inbal’ when selecting Paperwhite bulbs.
The other character in this tale of two bulbs is an obscure, seldom grown, but striking bulb with an equally interesting story. On the wild, dry, exposed hillsides of Israel, just a short distance from the huge fields of Paperwhite Narcissus, grows a bulb with quite different qualities than the Paperwhite Narcissus. Giant Squill (Urginia maritima) are among the most interesting flower bulbs in the world.
The most obvious feature of Giant Squill is its size. The first sight of a Giant Squill bulb for sale at a nursery is a memorable experience. A mature bulb weighs in at as much as ten pounds, equal to one hundred Paperwhite bulbs; about the same as two or three large grapefruits. The flower spike of a Giant Squill is equally staggering in proportions. Rising to as high as five feet on a tall, graceful stalk. It is a giant among bulb flowers and is prized by the best high-fashion floral designers, fetching upwards of ten dollars a stem.
Apart from their obvious difference in size, these two bulbs provide an illustration of the wildness of a plant. In Israel, on the hillsides overlooking the endless fields of cultivated, hybridized Paperwhite's grows a truly wild bulb, the Giant Squill.
Paperwhite Narcissus have been cultivated for millennium, hybridized and re-hybridized by human hands as much or more than any bulb on earth. Growing in straight rows, in plowed, irrigated and fertilized fields, Paperwhite’s have been manipulated and manufactured to become the perfect plant.
Compare the Giant Squill, looking down from the wild hillside upon its now domestic brethren. Having grown nearly untouched by human hands, surviving on scant rainfall, with no fertilization or human assistance, the Giant Squill has retained all of its original qualities.
I find it fascinating that the Giant Squill bulbs sold at nurseries today are genetically identical to the plant that has grown on these arid Mediterranean hillsides for thousands of years. On the other hand, Paperwhite Narcissus have been bred and cultivated for so many centuries that no one is certain of their exact origins or characteristics. Paperwhite’s are human; a product of breeding and intervention. Giant Squill are raw, unchanged and wild.
Neither is necessarily superior to the other, but an understanding of the history and heritage of a plant helps one to understand it more fully and appreciate it all the more.
Ron Vanderhoff is the Nursery Manager at Roger’s Gardens, Corona del Mar
