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How to Care For Lilies

Lilies are a gorgeous flower choice to add into your arrangements and are arguably one of the most popular flowers on the market after roses. However, when the flower blooms and the little things in the middle of the flower, which are called stamens, are exposed, they tend to shed their pollen all over the petals of the flower. This is most common with white lilies that have red stamens as these have the most pollen shed. To prevent this, as soon as the flower opens and blooms, or even right before it is about to fully open, it is vital to remove the stamens from the lily itself. All you need to do is a gentle pluck and they should pop right off. The pollen does stain your fingertips a little bit, so wearing gloves or pulling them off with a pair of tweezers or a napkin would be a better choice. But, what if you’re too late and the pollen gets all over the petals? If you’re like me and you love lilies and most of the time miss removing the stamens 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 the pollen falling onto your tabletop or desk where the arrangement of them are sat. Well, the answer to this small issue are pipe cleaners! Yes, you read that right—pipe cleaners! You can grab one from your arts and crafts kit or run to the dollar store and grab a pack of them. All you need to do is bend the pipe cleaner in half to form a 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 getting rid of. And voila! Your petals are now pollen-free with no mess! Now, you do not have to worry about rubbing and smearing the pollen all over the petals and your fingers since pipe cleaners are now your new best friend when you receive an arrangement full of lilies.