How do you prepare lilies for winter?

Answer 1

Lilies are difficult to preserve because of their high moisture content. Drying them (the most common preservation method) yeilds poor results. The reason is that the large petals of the lily do not dry to true color nor with smooth results. If you should decide to try to do this, I would reccommend the silica method. This involves a container large enough to hold the lily without touching the sides of the container and silica granules. Pour the silica into the container enough to hold the lily upright, then gently settle the silica onto the flower until the lily is completely covered by the silica. Let the container sit open for about two weeks then slowly and carefully pour the silica out of the container. The lily should be dry and preserved in as good a shape as possible. Spray with a polymer plastic to further preserve the lily.