I forget how many old varieties of paperwhites used to exist, but there is only a handful now. In later years, some of our most commonly seen paperwhites such as 'Ziva' have come out of Israel. They are valued for their ability to force well. To define "well" I use some of my old floriculture education.

When I used to work in the greenhouses at Texas A&M, I had the grand opportunity of working for Dr. Terri Starman with vegetative annuals and then with bulbs. Scheduling of the bulbs was everything, and one could say it is even more important for floriculture businesses. Knowing when forced bulbs will bloom allows the economic use of space and gives business owners a good idea of when they can hope to expect money from a finished crop. Therefore, a bulb that forces "well" not only looks good in shape and form (with many flowers in the case with paperwhites), but is consistent from one bulb to the next in terms of number of days from plant to bloom.

We still have old paperwhites blooming in yards all across the South and many of the names are long lost. Some are nothing to speak of, but others are and all are beautiful in their own way. There is a wonderful history on the paperwhite shown here with Narcissus italicus, and I want to gather more information before I write any more about it, but here is the picture. Also shown is a white Roman hyacinth.