How to Preserve Flowers

Fresh flowers are so beautiful, so fragrant and so vibrant. If only there was a way to preserve their beauty and elegance, so that the flowers can be enjoyed year round. But wait a minute! You can do this! Preserving flowers is easy. Here are two methods to try:

Air drying

Air drying is one of the easiest methods to preserve flowers. Most flowers  do well in the air. Flowers are gathered just before the petals have fully opened, tied into small bunches and hung upside down in a dry, cool spot until dried. Depending on the variety, flowers will be dried within a few days to a week.

Here are some tips for air drying:

• the bunches of flowers should be small enough to that air can circulate around them
• the stems should be bunched so that the flowers are at different heights
• some flowers do better in the upright positions, i.e allium, flossflower, bells of Ireland, baby’s breath, yarrow

Drying in Silica Gel

Silica gel dries plants by gradually absorbing their moisture. Silica gel can be bought from a garden supply store or a crafts store. It’s used for flowers, such as peonies, daffodils, and irises that tend to lose their shape, petals or colour when they are dried. Pick flowers when they are dry (free from dew) and fully opened. And before you dry them, wire the stems first, as the gel makes the stems too brittle to work with.

Pour an inch of silica gel into a container with a tight-fitting lid. Daisy-like blooms should be placed face down, while rose-like blooms should be set face up. Spread the flowers out evenly, leaving some space around each one. Gently add more silica gel into the container until the blooms are covered with about an inch of material. Make sure the flowers aren’t covered with too much silica gel; if it’s piled on too heavily, the weight will distort the shape of the flowers. Put the lid on and tape it shut.

This method can take anywhere from a few days to a week for the flowers to dry. Drying time varies depending on the flower. You can check if the flowers are dried by touching them. If they feel papery, they should be done. You want them dry, but not brittle.

Here is a list of some flowers that are easy to dry:

• Safflower
• cockscomb
• bachelor’s button
• larkspur
• sunflower
• pansy
• zinnia

As you can see, preserving flowers is easy and doesn’t require a lot of effort and time. What are you waiting for? Go dry some flowers today!

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Lesley - Fun Flower Facts

I love flowers! I enjoy growing them, learning about them and I love creating bouquets of freshly cut flowers. In our climate where it’s winter most of the time the growing season is way to short, so I have started this blog to get my fix all winter!

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