Lilies as cut flowers

When harvesting lilies, a gardener needs to decide whether the plant will be treatedas an annual, in which case the whole length of the stem can be cut to the ground, oras an herbaceous perennial, when only half of the stem length should be taken. Liliesyou expect to return to the garden year after year need the leaves on the stem tocontinue creating food for the bulb even after the flowers have been removed. If youdo not care if the plant reblooms next year, you can be more savage.Once the stem has been cut, only the leaves that would be underwater should beremoved. The upper leaves remaining on the stem will provide nutrients for theunopened flower buds and will help them mature normally as the cut stem ages.In many flower shops you will see all of the leaves below the terminal flower budsremoved, but this is a misguided practice. The remaining buds will not developproper color; if they do open the flower will not approach the typical size; most likelythe buds will drop.Lilies, especially the Asiatic and Oriental hybrids, are quite long lasting; each openblossom should last at least four to five days, and new buds will be opening as theolder flowers fade. The entire stem can last for more than two weeks, as long as thewater is kept fresh. Removing the anthers increases longevity and prevents the pollenfrom staining the flowers or anything else.Last, lily stems can be cut anytime after the lowest bud, which will be the firstto open, is showing its true color. It is better to wait until this first bud is cracking,meaning the tepals are separating along their seams and tips. You can easily tear thetepals if you try to separate the seams by hand. If you need to force lilies open for aspecial event (white lilies of any type are notoriously slow to mature), place the stemsin a solution containing two tablespoons of regular granulated table sugar (sucrose)per quart of warm water. Place the vase or bucket of lilies in a plastic bag so the liliesare completely covered and cinch with a twist-tie to create a warm humidity cloudaround the stubborn lilies. Lilies can be kept in this sweetened solution overnightif necessary, but do not leave them in sugar water for more than twenty-four hours.If the buds are still not open, replace the sweetened water with plain warm water,changing it every few hours until the lilies finally open.

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