We examined the use of postharvest hot water
treatments (HWTs) as a means of reducing leaf senescence in stored (4 ◦C for 2 weeks) and non-stored
Asiatic hybrid lily ‘Elite’ (Lilium sp.). A range of HWTs (45–55 ◦C for 2.5 or 5 min) was applied to leaves on
cut lily stems (but not flowers). Higher temperatures and the longer duration resulted in heat damage,
but treatments of 50 ◦C for 5 min and 52.5 ◦C for 2.5 min were found to be optimal for minimising leaf
yellowing with trace levels of heat damage for both non-stored and stored stems.