Drying Fresh Flowers

Dried fresh flowers make great accent pieces to your home decor.

Dried flowers can make an attractive statement in your home decorating, and drying fresh flowers is a relatively easy process. There are different methods to dry fresh flowers, which means removing all the moisture from the flowers while preserving the original shape. If you want to use fresh flowers from your garden, the University of Florida extension service suggests picking fresh flowers during midday when the food and water stored inside the plant are at their lowest levels.

Things You'll Need

• Scissors or floral shears
• Floral wire
• Rubber bands
• Twist ties
• Hanger
• Sand
• Silica gel

Instructions

Air Drying

1. Use scissors or floral shears to cut off any foliage attached to the stems that you do not want to remain for the finished products. The stems are heavy and take longer to dry than the blooms; you can remove most of the stems with the scissors and wrap floral wire around the remaining portion the stem.

2. Wrap the stems of three or four flowers together with floral wire or connect them with rubber bands.

3. Use twist ties to attach the groups of flowers upside down from a hanger.

4. Hang the flowers in a dark, dry place that maintains a moderate temperature for up to three weeks. Attics or closets are ideal places to air-dry fresh flowers, as the moisture content in the air is generally low.

Using Drying Agents

1. Prepare the flowers as in Step 1 for air drying fresh flowers.

2. Pour about an inch of fine sand in a container. Scrape away a small amount of the sand in the center of the container to make a depression in the sand.

3. Lay a single flower in the depression in the sand with the flower head upright. Gently push the sand toward the flower head to hold it steady.

4. Gently gather a small amount of sand in your hands and sprinkle the sand slowly in a stream over the flower petals. Begin with the outside petals and work toward the inside petals until the sand is built up around the whole flower head.

5. Place the container in a dry place for four to five days. Gently remove the flowers from the sand, taking care not to damage the delicate petals.

Microwave Drying

1. Prepare the flowers as you would in Step 1 in the first section, with the exception of using floral wire. Do not use wire for microwave flower drying.

2. Place a single flower in a microwave-approved container and secure it by adding silica gel around the flower. Do not cover the container.

3. Place the container in the microwave along with a small cup of water. The cup of water will prevent over-drying.

4. Cook the flower in the microwave on high power. Cooking times vary according to flower type. According to North Dakota State University, carnations require 2 1/2 to 3 minutes to cook; roses require 1 to 1 1/2 minutes; dahlia's require 1 to 2 minutes; and sunflowers require 1 3/4 minutes in the microwave.

5. After heating, allow the flower to sit until the silica gel is cool; this takes from 2 to 6 hours. Gently remove the dried flower from the container.

Tips & Warnings

• Some flowers suggested by North Dakota State University for air drying include hydrangeas, Queen Anne's lace, golden rod and baby's breath.

• Roses, daisies and carnations are good flowers for using drying agents.

• Microwave oven temperatures vary; you may need to adjust heating times accordingly.

References

• University of Florida IFAS Extension; Drying and Preserving Plant Materials; Patricia White et al.; November 2010
• North Dakota State University; Methods of Preserving Flowers; Ronald C. Smith; June 1993