How to Dry Bouquets

Bouquets can be dried for a number of purposes.

Flowers may be dried for a number of reasons. You may want to preserve a wedding bouquet, hang dry lavender for its aroma or simply display a dried bouquet for decorative purposes. Before you dry your flowers, inspect them to make sure they will dry well. Delicate flowers like lilies or pansies do not dry very well and should be pressed instead. Roses, baby's breath, marigolds, zinnias and other hardy flowers dry well.

Things You'll Need

• Scissors
• Ribbon
• Clothes Hanger

Instructions

1. Remove unwanted leaves from the stems. It will not make a difference in drying whether you leave a lot or a little, but your bouquet will look cleaner without extra foliage.

2. Cut the stems to a desirable length, but no shorter than six inches. As soon as they are cut, make sure the flowers are not in direct sunlight. The color of the flowers will keep their integrity better in a dark setting.

3. 

   Secure the bouquet tightly with a rubber band.

   Tightly wrap a rubber band around the bouquet if you are going to hang it. Do not use string since the stems will shrink as they dry and the string will not adjust. If you plan on hanging each flower individually, string will work fine.

4. Tie a long string to the stems and hang your flowers upside down. They will need to be stored in a dark, dry room like an unused closet or basement. For added convenience, you can hang them from a clothes hanger rather than hooks or nails. Let them dry for two to three weeks.

Tips & Warnings

• Spray your flowers with hairspray when they have dried for added protection.

• If you would rather not use this traditional method of drying flowers, consider having a professional freeze-dry your bouquet.

References

• Proflowers: How to Dry Flowers
• AgriLife Extension, Texas A&M: Drying Flowers