Paper Whites and Daffodils

I am new to this, and have posted a question on the beginning gardener forum, that probably should have been posted here. But, I have a different question I'll ask here that also involves bulbs. What is the difference between paper white narcissus and other varieties of daffodils? Does it have something to do with the temperature they need during their dormant period? Can all daffodils be forced to grow in pebbles and water as well as potting soil? If you force daffodils, must they be put in a cool, dark place for several weeks, or will they grow and bloom without doing that?

I've forced paperwhites without a cool dormant period. Regular daffodils do. These requirements are a way for the plant to not end up growing from a warm spell in the middle of winter. I've never forced daffodils but I have hyacinths which need about 14weeks of temperatures under 40.

Hello again, Doug9345! Once again, thank you. Do you force your paper whites in pebbles or soil? What is the shallowest container that can be used? I will try forcing those at the "normal time" next winter.
Also, do you know much about calla lilies? I've ordered some of these to try to see if they will be blooming by June 23rd for the wedding. (Sorry, that last question is in reference to a thread that I inadvertently posted in the wrong forum. My daughter is getting married June 23rd, 2012 and I'm experimenting this year with forcing flowers to be in bloom then.)

I did soil. What ever you grow them in the pebble, marbles, aquarium gravel or whatever needs to be deep enough to keep the bulb with the flower from falling over.

I had a thought. Since the wedding theme yellow and green is you could do something like using pale green bowls with yellow glass pebbles to grow the daffodils in.

I think we are thinking very similarly. When I was shopping this afternoon, I was actually looking for green containers to use. I found plenty of clear glass bowls, but no green ones other than pot saucers which are going to be too shallow. I only found the natural pebbles, but they should work because they have a creamy cast to them and aren't very dark. She is wanting to keep things on the lighter side of the yellow spectrum. I hope the Yellow Cheerfulness aren't too bright. Do you know much about the Earlicheer daffodils? Are they on the same order as the Yellow cheerfulness?

I just went and found the product I was thinking of. They are called marble accents I got them at either JoAnn Fabrics or Michael's. You would find them in the floral department I think. Mine happen to be clear but I think they come in colors.

As far as colors I'd email one of the companies listed in the garden watch dog. I'm sure brent and becky bulbs or Bert at eflower.com could answer your questions. My daffodils grow in the yard year after year with out any tending and I have some out in the woods that I want to move but I don't get around to marking them in the spring so I don't know exactly where they are in the fall. But they are all really YELLOW. I don't know with the pale yellow ones how much do growing conditions affect them.

Really cheap glassware sometimes has a greenish tint because of contamination.

Great! I have both JoAnn Fabrics and Michaels within 35 minutes driving time. I'll check them both out. Thanks again for the help.