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A CHINESE BULB WILL GIVE OLD WINTER BLOOMING FAVORITES BIG COMPETITION
        People sometimes call them "sacred lilies,  but the flowers are neither.  Their name translates from Chinese as "spirit of the water,  shui xian hua (shway SHE-EN HWA). Chinese people all over the world enjoy them at this time of year. Especially now, the lead up to the Asian spring festival, the beginning of the lunar new year, the second new moon after the solstice, in 2008 February 7th. A photo hardly does justice to their blossoms. And there's the celestial scent.
        You start with bulbs shaped like fists palm up.  Getting them to bloom involves a little ritual.  First rub away their onionskin-like flakes.  Then float them in water for a day and a night.  After that you lay a shui xian hua bulb on its back in a bowl, you'll know which way, three quarters of an inch of water. Put some wet tissue or cotton on the place where the roots are starting.   Add some stones in to give it ballast. 
        Set it the shui xian hua bulb your brightest window. Change the water every couple of days. Once in a while, gently stroke the leaves and stems, often four or five blossom stems from each bulb. When you see the buds, do just the leaves lightly. It's the caresses that make the difference
        In three or four weeks, you'll see. If it's your first time, you'll be amazed.  If they've had you before, you'll remember.  Three or four weeks depending on how you care for them.  Many Chinese people hope that if the shui xian hua blooms right on the new year’s day, the year will be lucky. So if you want the blooming to hold off as you approach the February 18th spring festival, you put your bulbs in the coolest sunny window.  A warmer sunny window hastens the blossoming.
        The ancestors of these flowers originated in Spain when it was still a Muslim state.  All along the southern silk road where it isn't too cold, there are patches of the white petalled, gold centered, blooms in the early spring. After this revered flower made its way across two continents, it found a home in China, Zhangzhou.  In this southeast city, just across from Taiwan, the bulbs are almost everywhere. 
        "We plant 1500 acres and produce millions of bulbs that we sell all around the world,  says He Yansen, Department of Agriculture researcher in Zhangzhou. 
        This species is always an early bloomer in the spring, but Mr. He says that shui xian hua get some special treatment. 
        "In addition to smoking the bulbs for pests, we treat them with a special tea that helps many stems bloom very early, really in the heart of winter,  says Mr. He. 
        Even though most of his bulbs are sold in China, wherever Chinese people are, there will be shui xian hua. They've been in this country since the 1870's but now they're more widely available. And the scent appeals especially to those who don't like paperwhites  almost animal smell.  Some say they think these new/old shui xian hua entering the market will give the old standby, red amaryllis, a little competition this year.
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