Flowers are a popular choice for celebrating special occasions. Whether it’s your wedding day, you’re celebrating an anniversary, or another special event, you can actually save your flowers as an extra-special memento, keepsake, and even heirloom to remember your big day by. Our Kansas City florists at Toblers Flowers put together this quick, yet complete, guide to drying and saving your special occasion flowers.
Dried Pink Roses
The Best Ways to Dry Flowers
While many people like to press their flowers in order to preserve them, we recommend drying, instead. Drying flowers not only preserves a flower’s beautiful shape in three dimensions, it also works well for every type of flower. Whereas, pressing flowers doesn’t work very well on bouquets that contain thicker flowers like roses.
The best method for drying flowers is simply to hang them upside down and allow them to air dry. This traditional technique yields dried flowers with vibrant colors and life-like posture. To air dry your flowers using this method, you should first remove their leaves and then bind the stems together with string. Use the other end of the string to hang them. Be sure to hang them in a location where they won’t be in the path of direct sunlight, as this will fade their colors. The only drawback of drying flowers this way is that it usually takes several days for flowers to dry completely.
Bouquet of Dried Roses
To speed up the process, you can dry your flowers in the oven. Preheat your oven to its lowest heat setting and line a baking tray with parchment or wax paper. Arrange the flowers on the tray so that they do not overlap. Any place where the flowers are touching will stick together and dry unevenly. In order for the moisture to evaporate, you’ll need to leave the oven door cracked throughout the eight to twelve hours of drying.
For even speedier results, you can microwave your flowers. You’ll need a microwave-safe container and silica sand. First, remove leaves and excess stems from your blooms. Then arrange the flowers in the container and cover them completely with silica sand. Put a cup of water in the microwave with them and heat on 30-second intervals. Check the flowers between each interval, but most will be dry within two or three minutes. This method is fast, but you’ll likely have to trim away most of your flowers’ stems.
Bouquet of Dried Flowers in Glass Vase
Dried Flower Preservation Tips
In order for your flowers to last a long time, it’s essential that they be dried completely. You’ll know there’s no more moisture in the flowers when they begin to take on a texture similar to tissue paper. Once dry, you can further protect your flowers from fading and rot by applying a few coats of hairspray all over the blooms and stems. (Be careful to spray from a safe distance.) This will strengthen their delicate structures, lock out humidity in the air, and also help to protect them from fading in the sunlight. It’s also a good idea to display them in a spot where they won’t be in the path of direct sunlight or near a humidity source, like a bathroom shower.
Beautiful Garden
For more flower preservation tips or recommendations on the best types of flowers for drying and preserving, like our Beautiful Garden bouquet, we welcome you to stop by Toblers Flowers to talk with a florist.