How to Air Dry Fresh Flowers for Decoration
Fresh flowers, harvested directly from your yard or garden, or obtained with a professional bouquet or arrangement, have a relatively short shelf life. Regardless of how clean you keep the water, or how many of those little florist bags you add to your vase, part of the novelty is knowing they won’t be there forever. That is, if you don’t dry them properly.
In an article for Better Homes & Gardens, Kelly Roberson talks about the air-drying process that allows you to use the materials for decoration all year round. Here’s what you need to know.
How to air dry fresh flowers
Most flowers can be air dried – great news for those looking for a down-to-earth approach. Roberson explains that flowers such as hydrangeas and thistles with sturdy stems can simply be placed in an empty vase in a cool, low humidity environment and dried that way.
But otherwise, it’s best to dry flowers that are hanging upside down, ”she says. Here’s what to do :
- Using a sharp garden or flower shears, cut the flowers in the morning when the dew is dry.
- When deciding which flowers to prune, Roberson advises choosing those that have not fully opened and are not fully ripe, explaining that “they continue to open as they dry and may lose their petals if [they] are fully ripe.”
- Once the flowers are cut, remove any unnecessary greenery, such as leaves or other foliage, from the stems.
- It is up to you to decide whether to keep the flowers individually or to group them into small bunches. If you are going to use bundles, tie them together with a floss or floss.
- Then tie the bundles and / or individual flowers together (as if they were hanging from a clothesline). Be sure to arrange the flowers and bunches to allow air to circulate between the flowers and prevent mold from growing on them.
- Hang the flowers upside down in a cool, dry and dark place. Roberson says setting a room fan to a low temperature can also help stop mold growth.
“You can tell the flowers are finished drying when they feel dry and hard to the touch,” explains Roberson. And there is no set schedule for drying flowers, she says: depending on the types of flowers you work with and the conditions of the room where you dry, it can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks. …