As colors fade with colder days, bringing festive, fragrant flowers into your living space is essential—and timing their blooms can help enhance the holiday magic.

From delicate paperwhites to striking amaryllises, watching bulbs bloom into elegant floral displays can be an enchanting holiday tradition. Simply place them in soil or some water with pebbles by the window, and watch them grow.

Paperwhites like zivias add a graceful presence to a windowsill, with small, fragrant flowers topping green stems. The double amaryllis varieties, like Aphrodite and Gervase, are popular for their multiple petals that create a graceful peony or rose look.

Whether giving them as a gift or growing them in your own home, timing is essential—should they bloom for the holidays or after seasonal decorations are packed away?

South African amaryllis bulbs from warmer climates bloom earlier, typically in two to four weeks, whereas Dutch amaryllises take four to eight weeks. Paperwhites, depending on the variety, can bloom in two to five weeks. Bulbs like the traditional Merry Christmas amaryllis bloom quickly.

If you don’t want to wait for blooms, poinsettias offer immediate seasonal cheer. Adorn your home with popular varieties like prestige red, red glitter, Maren and marble.

Poinsettias can’t tolerate Virginia winters or direct heat. Keep plants away from heaters or fireplaces. Choose a sunny indoor spot, and don’t overwater. You also can keep your poinsettias year-round by placing them in a dark closet from sunset to sunrise to initiate re-coloring.

Oaxalis, Christmas cacti and cyclamens also make for stunning festive décor and unique holiday gifts.

Read more in Virginia Farm Bureau’s fall Cultivate magazine.