It’s terrible news for Britain’s dry cleaners but great news for flower lovers – Sainsbury’s have developed a pollen-less lily.
At long last, customers will no longer have to worry about getting hard-to-remove lily pollen stains out of clothes, carpets and wallpaper.
The supermarket’s new lily variety could also be a boon for millions of hay fever sufferers who love the colour and scent of flowers – but dread the debilitating effect of pollen on their allergy.
Sainsbury’s flower technologist Robert Honeysett said: “This is the breakthrough the entire flower industry has been looking for.
“It removes the final hurdle which could see lilies becoming the UK’s biggest selling household flowers – a step worth millions of pounds to the economy.”
All previous attempts to develop pollen-less lilies have ended in failure, resulting only in plants which have mis-shaped flowers which don’t last very long.
Sainsbury’s flowers are the result of an extensive breeding campaign which, for the first time, has created lilies with all of the colour and beauty of the original flowers – but shrunken anthers incapable of producing pollen.
So potent is lily pollen at staining fabrics that techniques for the best way to remove the vivid marks have entered into folklore.
Entire websites have been devoted to the issue, attracting enquiries from anguished lily pollen victims all over the world.
Radical suggestions have suggested leaving garments in the sun for several days, rubbing the area with Styrofoam, using solutions of extremely strong bleach and even simply giving up and throwing the garment away.
However, most experts now recommend first removing pollen particles using sticky tape, before dabbing the fabric with isopropyl alcohol and soaking up the stain using paper towels.
Sainsbury’s expects limited volumes of the new pollen-less lily to go on sale later this summer with volumes increasing substantially next year.
Enquiries:
For further information please contact Melanie Etches on 020 7695 8451. Find out the latest from the Sainsbury’s corporate site or follow J Sainsbury plc on Twitter.
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