If you have a special floral arrangement like your wedding bouquet or anniversary flowers that you don’t want to toss or a beautiful bouquet that you want to enjoy forever, you can actually preserve the flowers by drying or pressing them. We prefer drying flowers, since it not only preserves their lovely colors, but also their shape and three-dimensional proportions. Plus, there are a variety of simple ways to dry your flowers. Any method on this list compiled by our florists at Currans Flowers in Danvers will work beautifully.
Dried Pink Roses
Five Simple Ways to Dry Your Flowers
No matter how you choose to dry your flowers, it’s essential that all the moisture is removed. Any remaining water or moisture in your flowers will cause them to decompose. Once completely dry, you can spray them (from a safe distance) with hairspray, which will guard them against moisture in the atmosphere, helping them to stay vibrant and beautiful-looking for years.
1. Hang Dry
The traditional way to dry flowers is to hang them. Gather them together and tie a string around their stems. Then tie the other end of the string to a clothing hanger, stick, or secure it to a beam on your ceiling so that the flowers hang upside down while drying. Although they’ll need several days to dry completely, it’s best to hang them in a location that doesn’t receive any direct sunlight, as this will bleach their colors.
Hanging Dried Flowers
2. Microwave
With the right supplies (silica sand and a microwave-safe container), you can dry flowers in the microwave in just minutes. First, trim any unwanted leaves and stems from your flowers. Then arrange them inside the container and cover them completely with the silica sand. Pop them into the microwave, along with a cup of water, and heat them in 30-second intervals, checking the flowers each time. Different flowers will need more or less time to dry completely, but most are finished after about two or three minutes.
3. Oven
To dry flowers in the oven, preheat it at its lowest setting. Arrange flowers with no overlap on a parchment or wax paper-covered cookie sheet. Bake them with the door cracked to allow moisture to escape. Most flowers will need about eight to twelve hours to dry completely.
Bouquet of Dried Roses
4. Dehydrator
You can also dry flowers in a kitchen dehydrator. Arrange them so there’s no overlap and set your dehydrator to about 100 degrees. Most flowers will require several hours to dry completely. You can remove them after about three hours, if you plan to finish drying them in a flower press.
5. Trunk of Your Car
It might sound ridiculous, but on a sunny day, when the inside of your car reaches toasty temperatures, you can actually use the trunk to dry flowers. We recommend only doing this if you don’t plan to drive anywhere, as jostling the flowers could damage them. Simply wrap them bouquet-style or lay them out on parchment paper in the morning. Close the trunk, leave them all day, and they should be completely dry by sunset.
Our Favorite Flowers for Drying
Montpellier Vase
While naturally flat-shaped flowers turn out beautifully in a flower press, those with thicker blooms are best dried. Some favorite flowers for drying include bouquets of roses, lilies, hydrangea, lavender, statice, asters, dragon’s breath, and globe thistle. Once dried, you can display the flowers as a bouquet or arrange them into a wreath for your front door.
For more flower preservation tips and recommendations on the best bouquets for drying, we welcome you to drop by Currans Flowers to view our full selection of arrangements.
