How To Dry Flowers
Do you have a flower arrangement that you’d like to keep forever? Maybe one with sentimental value? At our Hanover farm we dry everything from hydrangeas to pussywillows to sorghum. Take a look below to find out how to dry your flowers and enjoy them year after year!
There are 3 main ways to dry your flowers…Air dry, air drying with a drying agent and combining heat with a drying agent. Here’s what to do:
Air drying-
This is the simplest, but longest way to preserve flowers. Simply gather your stems into small bunches (about 1/2 inch in diameter) and wrap them with a rubber band. Make sure your rubber band is tight, as the stems will shrink slightly while drying. Hook a paper clip through the rubber band and hang the flowers upside down in an area out of direct sunlight. The more light your flowers receive, the more they will fade. Your flowers will dry after 2-3 weeks, you’ll know they are dry when they become stiff and brittle.
Using a drying agent-
You can speed up the process by using a drying agent like silica gel. This is particularly a good idea when drying fragile flowers or flowers with a lot of moisture. Get a shallow airtight container and spread an inch of silica gel on the bottom. Then place your flower heads on the silica gel and surround the flowers with at least another inch of silica gel. Seal your container and let it sit for about 3-5 days. Silica gel can be found at just about any craft store and it is reusable.
Combining heat and a drying agent-
If you want to speed up the process even more you can add heat. Just microwave the container with flowers and silica gel for 2-3 minutes, but make sure you allow the flowers to cool completely before you open the container
Once you’ve dried your flowers try to keep them away from direct sun light, as exposure to sun will cause them to fade.
Here are some flowers that dry well, click on the flower name to view arrangements containing these flowers:
