How Long Does a Bouquet of Lilies Last?
Lilies have a unique look that is distinctive from other flowers–they are merely exotic. White lilies are perfect for weddings as it shows purity and tenderness. Lilies are also popular on several different occasions. This is because of the soft color and blooms lilies have. With that being said, if you ever receive a lily bouquet, you would want to treat them with care. There are a couple of caring tips you can follow to ensure your lilies stay as long as it can in a vase. You’d want to keep the beautiful gift from your loved ones, and here are some detailed tips and tricks on how you can prolong the life of the lilies.
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How long does a bouquet of lilies last?
Once you receive a lily bouquet, what you do next will determine the lifespan of those lilies. You don’t have to rush because inside the wrapped lily bouquet; the florist would have prepared a tiny source of water for your lilies. However, the flowers would need to be fed continuously. So once you’re home and unwrap them, move the lilies into another container of water while you prepare the vase.
How to prolong the life of lilies?
Lilies in a vase would last around two weeks with proper care. Lilies are even considered to last longer than other cut flowers, but they might only last for a few days without good maintenance. There are a couple of steps that you can do to ensure your lily bouquet has what they need.
First things first, you would need to disinfect your vase. While you do that, keep the lilies in another container of water. You can use your house disinfectant to clean the vase. But, if you don’t have any at home, you can use some bleach. Mix the disinfectant or bleach with water, one part each. Rinse the vase afterward before you put fresh water in there.
Once you’ve prepared the vase, you can now prepare the water inside the vase. Lukewarm, room temperature water is always the best for cut flowers. Distilled water is even better. It’s advisable to add plant food or preservatives to the water for extra nutrition and preserving the lilies longer. They come in little sachets that you can get quickly from a local florist. If you don’t have any, don’t worry because household items make suitable preservatives as well. Lemon juice, sugar, bleach, and water would do fine. You can also use lemon soda or apple cider vinegar for alternatives. Just check out what you have at home first! Remember to change the water every couple of days, especially if it starts looking cloudy.
Now that the vase filled with water is ready, you can’t merely dunk your lily bouquet in there. Grab a sharp scissor; flower scissors would be even more significant and cut the stems of your lilies at a diagonal angle. One or two inches will do. You will need to do this every time you change the water in the vase. This makes sure that the stems would absorb water without any trouble, which would make your lilies fresher for days. Just make sure your scissor or knife is sharp because the clean-cut makes it better. Next, make sure that you get rid of the leaves on the bottom. Leaves that go underwater will rot quickly and grow bacteria, which would affect the freshness of your lilies. So, strip them as well.
The next thing you need to do is get rid of the pollen. Pollens are in the stamens, which are the orange bits in lilies. This doesn’t help prolong the lily bouquet’s life, but if the pollen gets on the lilies’ petals, the pollen can eat the delicate petals. Some pollen in lilies cannot be removed, though, such as the ones in calla lilies. To remove the pollens, pluck the pollens from the stamens without touching the petals. Keep in mind that pollen stains can clean it up by dabbing sticky tape if you get any of that in your fabric. Water won’t help remove the color; it will only make it worse.
What you should keep in mind
Cut flowers from lily bouquet are temperature sensitive, so it’s best if you don’t put them in direct sunlight or near a source of heat. A cooler place is better than warm ones, although room temperature would do fine for your cut lilies. Don’t forget to regularly feed them with water because the water needs to be fresh every day. Whenever you replace the water, recut the stem as well. Recutting the stem makes lilies bloom and open up fast.
A little tip on how to keep your lily bouquet stronger is to store them in a refrigerator for less than 6 hours. However, you might want to get rid of fruits because cut flowers and fruits are not a good pair due to the ethylene that makes flowers wilt faster. Once you’ve done all these, you can let your lilies die naturally.
Is pollen dangerous?
Pollen can indeed trigger allergies, but because some lilies have easily removable pollen, that would be just fine. Another thing that could trigger allergies is the fragrance, especially stargazer lilies or oriental lilies with a pungent smell. You can get unscented lily bouquets because they are lower in pollen as well. If you have children, cats, or dogs in your house, keep lilies far away from them.
By knowing all these care tips and tricks, you can make sure that your gorgeous lily bouquet stays as long as it takes in your house. Understanding different types of lilies also matters! The steps explained above are essentials and can be applied to most cut flowers as well. If you receive flowers a lot, it would be better to keep some plant food, floral preservatives, and even garden scissors. I hope the lily bouquet you receive from your loved ones stays fresh and beautiful as long as possible! Checkout these flower bouquets are lovingly handcrafted by Windflower Florist.
