With the New Year came bunches and bunches of fresh stargazer lilies. I filled the house with the happy, sweet smelling flowers and they made me smile every time I walked into the room — until I realized that the pollen was rubbing off on the white curtains I just put up.
Of course, the easiest thing to do is to cut out the stamen so that the pollen never has a chance of falling all over a table cloth, brushing off on your clothes are possibly destroying your new curtains. Alas, I did not do this. So here's what I did instead:
1. Do NOT rub it with your hands or a sponge: the wetness will basically set the stain.
2. Tape. Yep, use regular scotch tape to gently lift the pollen off of the fabric.
3. Soft Brush. You can also try a soft bristled brush to whisk it away, but this could still press it into the fabric.
4. Sunlight. I didn't need to try this (and it would be hard to get my curtains down) but many people online say that if you put the pollen in the sun for 3-4 hours that it bleaches out the color.
5. Tide Stick. I had a couple of spots left after using the tape and the tide stick did a good job of getting it out (or course the curtains are white so bleach would have done the trick but this wasn't my first battle with pollen).
How have you gotten pollen out of fabric?
Image: Laure Joliet
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A girlfriend of mine brought me some stargazers as a housewarming present. My mother always taught me to pull off the anthers (pollen sticks) as soon as I put them in a vase, but I procrastinated. Sure enough, one day I knocked them over and the red/orange pollen got all over our new carpet in our new apartment. I (freaked out) remained calm and (sped) drove to the grocery store and bought some Resolve carpet cleaner. Got it out like a charm, no harm done! Then the next week, I tried to make some fancy raspberry lemonade and froze raspberries in lemon icecubes... except one fell on the floor that I didnt see and the next morning there was a melted berry stain. Resolve to the rescue again! No stains, carpet looks like new.
those are my favorite flowers, so i've learned to REMOVE the pollen buds as soon as possible!
just hold a paper towel or napkin, wrap it around the stamens (?) and pull up. they'll slide right off. it does not damage the flower or make them die quicker. this way you don't risk them getting on clothing or home decor.
first thing i do with stargazers when they open is to spread out a tissue in my palm, grasp all of the pollen-y bits inside the tissue and remove them in one swipe. love the smell but hate the mess!
i've always been able to blow it away, but that's not a good solution. your tape trick sounds promising. i'll have to try that if one opens while i'm not around and threatens my linens.
Exposure to direct sunlight works really well.
When I worked in a florist years ago, we would just use a little pipe cleaner. Gently roll it across the mess. Usually the pollen came up no problem and stuck to the pipe cleaner fuzz. Of course snipping the pollen out or grasping it and removing with a tissue is best but sometimes they get ahead of you and there you have it - a big mess!
I learned to cut the stamen out about 10 years ago. I came home from work only to find my arrangement of lilies a bit askew. It didn't take me long to figure out which of my 3 cats had been at them...my all-white cat had an orange snout. The stains in her fur must have lasted for 2 weeks!
Vacuum cleaner! Saved many a top from pollen which has brushed off just in getting them home. Same principle as the tape but reduces the chance of rubbing it in.
I wonder whether stargazer lilies are another name for Peruvian lilies. They look the same.
I hate getting these flowers in an arrangement :( I really do not like the smell and the pollen is messy. At least now after reading this I will remember to cut out the stamen after getting these!! nothing personal to anyone else, I just don't think they smell as sweet as other people think they do.
I think Peruvian lilies are alstromaria...quite a bit smaller and without the scent. But they seem to last forever.