For many, its beautiful trumpet-shaped blossoms symbolize purity, hope, and life -- the spiritual essence of Easter and all the promises of Spring.
Whether you plan to give Easter Lilies as gifts or use them to decorate your own home, the following tips will help make your Easter Lilies keep on giving.
Two of the greatest charms of the Easter Lily are form and fragrance, so look for high quality plants that are aesthetically pleasing from all angles. Select medium to compact plants that are well balanced and proportional in size.
For the longest possible period of enjoyment in your home, look for plants with flowers in various stages of bloom. For example, the best selection would be a plant with just one or two open or partly open blooms, and three or more unopened buds of different sizes. The ripe puffy buds will open up within a few days, while the tighter ones will bloom over the next several days.
As the flowers mature, remove the yellow anthers before the pollen starts to shed. This gives longer flower life and prevents the pollen from staining the white flowers. When a mature flower starts to wither after its prime, cut it off to make the plant more attractive while you still enjoy the fresher, newly-opened blooms.
When selecting plants, be sure to also cheek the foliage. An abundance of dark, rich green leaves is not only attractive, but a vital sign of good plant health. The foliage should appear dense and plentiful, all the way down to the soil line, a good indicator of an active, healthy root system.
