Lilies are one of the more popular flowers around here in Malaysia. There are many types of lilies. From the more commonly available ones such as the Stargazer lilies, Casablanca lilies, and Madonna Lilies to the rarer imported ones such as the Peruvian lilies, Sumatra lilies, African Queen lilies, and Maywood lilies. Despite the vast varieties of lilies, the care for fresh cut lilies, such as those you get from your local florists is rather similar.

The picture above shows a full bloom Casablanca Lily with its stamen intact. As you can see, all the stamens have already been pollinated. These pollens, if not removed, will stain the lily petals, your table tops, hands, or clothings. Thus, it is essential for you to remove all the stamens once the lily bud begins to bloom.

The best time to remove the stamens from the lily is when the lily bud is half-bloomed and the stamens are yet to be pollinated. You can easily pull off the stamens with your fingers. However, you would need a scissors to remove the pollinated stamens if the lily has fully bloomed (like the one in the picture).

This picture is solely for illustration purpose only. Please use a pair of scissors if you do not want to get nasty pollen stains on your hand or your surroundings. =)

A “cleaned” Casablanca Lily. (Notice there’s some pollen stains on the lily petals?)

Some lilies can have more than one bud on each stem. The timing and blooming process for each bud in a stem varies. One flower may wither earlier before the other buds have bloomed. If this is the case, simply cut the wilted flower off and allow the other buds to bloom.