How to Dry Sunflowers for Floral Arrangements

To harvest sunflowers for their seeds, let the flower mature on the stem until the petals fall off. If you want to dry sunflowers for floral arrangements, however, you will want the petals to remain on the flower. For that reason, the harvesting of the sunflowers should take place at an earlier, specific time. Once dried, sunflowers make a stunning centerpiece of any floral arrangement, and can also be used for other crafts, such as a dried sunflower wreath.

Things You'll Need

• Gardening shears
• String

Instructions

1. Watch the sunflowers carefully once they start to bud.

2. Wait for the back of the head of the sunflower to start changing from green to yellow. Then, wait for the flower head to partially open.

3. Clip the sunflower a minimum of a foot below the flower head, depending on how tall you want them to be in the floral arrangement. Bundle several clipped sunflowers together with string, tying them in the center of the stems.

4. Hang the sunflowers upside-down in a dark and airy location. A garage or shed with a partially opened door is ideal, as long as birds can't enter and eat the drying seeds.

5. Let the sunflowers dry until they are fairly firm to the touch, which should take around two to three weeks. The flower heads will be slightly fragile, so avoid brushing your hand across the seeds as this may dislodge them.

References

• Sunflower Guide: Drying Sunflowers

Resources

• University of Illinois: Harvesting and Handling Sunflowers