So, you just received an arrangement with lilies, and you're not quite sure how to take care of them or how to prolong their life. Well, look no further than this post! Lilies are, arguably, one of the most popular flowers on the market after roses and are a wonderful choice to add into your arrangements. Upon receiving an arrangement with lilies, you may notice that some, if not all of them, are closed. Don't be alarmed. This is not a mistake and also may look different from the arrangements you see online on our website—we use open lilies on our site pictures to showcase how they look once they bloom. Receiving lilies that are closed helps prolong their life in the arrangement as they have yet to bloom. Open lilies have a shorter lifespan than those that are closed. When the flower blooms and the little pods, called anthers, that are attached to the filaments in the middle of the flower, which are called stamens, are exposed to air, they start to gradually shed their pollen all over the petals of the flower. This is most common with white lilies that have red anthers as these have the most pollen shed. To prevent this, as soon as the lily bud opens and blooms, it is vital to fully remove the anthers from the stamens. All you need to do is a gentle pluck and they should be able to pop right off. The pollen will stain your fingertips, so wearing gloves or pulling them off with a pair of tweezers or a napkin would be your best choice. But, what if you're too late and the pollen has already shed all over the petals? If you're like me and you love lilies, but most of the time forget to remove the anthers until it's too late, you've probably accidentally rubbed the pollen into the petals trying to get rid of it and clean it off, as well as having the pollen falling onto your desk or tabletop where the arrangement is set. Well, the answer to removing pollen shed on your petals are pipe cleaners! You can grab one from your arts and crafts kit or run to the dollar store to grab a pack of them. All you need to do is to bend the pipe cleaner in half to form an elongated U shape, slightly resembling the outline of a spoon, and with the spoon tip of the pipe cleaner, you are going to lightly scrape away at the fallen pollen on the petals. Just continuously drag the pipe cleaner with a light hand along the petals of the lily where the pollen is as well as wiping off the pollen from the pipe cleaner on a spare piece of napkin if there is a lot of excess pollen you are removing. And voila! Your petals are now pollen-free with no mess! Now, you don't have to worry about rubbing and smearing the pollen all over the petals and your fingers trying to remove it, and now pipe cleaners are your new best friend when you receive an arrangement full of lilies.
|
