How to Dry Cut Flowers at Home

Cut flowers can make a really wonderful gift. They’re beautiful, thoughtful, and can be meaningful. But they’re also transitory. While this is often a good thing – we all have enough clutter in our homes, without additional well-meaning gifts to accommodate – sometimes you want to keep a memento. Of course, you could take a picture. And you probably will! But sometimes, you want to keep something a little more tangible. And that’s where drying selected flowers can come in.

How to Dry Cut Flowers

Whether you’ve received a beautiful arrangement like Pink Radiance, or you are wanting to preserve your wedding bouquet, drying a selection of blooms can be a wonderful way to create a lasting memory. And there are a couple of different ways you can do it.

Hang drying flowers

The traditional way to dry flowers is to hang them. It’s a really simple process, you just need a little patience for the flowers to be completely ready.

1. Select your flowers

Not all flowers can be dried successfully. But if you have blooms such as roses, achillea, amaranth, delphinium, hydrangea, chrysanthemum, and dahlias, the hanging method works really well. Choose flowers that are at their peak and showing no signs of wilting or decay. Flowers that have only just opened are perfect.

2. Prepare your flowers

Once you’ve selected your flowers, cut away any foliage and trim the stems. Tie string around the stem securely enough to hold the flowers upside down. If you are working with smaller flowers, such as pansies, it’s OK to group them into small bunches. But for larger flowers, work individually.

3. Hang your flowers

Find somewhere dry to hang your flowers. If you have ceiling hooks, that can work perfectly. Otherwise, try using an old coat hanger to tie the other end of your string to. Your flowers must be suspended upside down, and left for around three weeks. If you want your flowers to retain their vibrancy, make sure that they are hung in a dark place, away from direct sunlight. A shed, or an understairs cupboard would be perfect.

4. Finish

If properly dry, your flowers should last for a couple of years on display. To make them last a little longer, you can spray the dried blooms with unscented hairspray. Or keep them under glass.

Microwave drying flowers

If you haven’t the patience (or space) to hang dry flowers, it’s possible to dry them in the microwave.

1. Prepare your container

Line a microwave-safe your container with silica gel. The bigger the flower you’re trying to dry, the more gel you’ll need. But in most cases, 7-8cm will do the job.

2. Prepare your flowers

Again, start by removing any foliage and trimming your flower stems. This time, you’ll need to trim the stems short enough to fit within your container. Place your flower on top of the silica gel, with the flower facing up. Then place more silica gel over the flower.

3. Microwave your flowers

Different flowers dry at different rates, so there are no hard and fast rules here. In most cases, it’s a good idea to microwave your flowers for a minute, check how they feel, then repeat the process, until they feel dry. Larger, ‘juicier’ flowers, such as ball and pompom dahlias, will take longer.

4. Finish

When your flowers feel like they are fully dry, remove your container from the microwave and half cover it. Leave your flowers to settle for 24 hours, before gently removing the silica gel. That done, they are ready to display.

When you receive cut flowers for a birthday, anniversary, or other special occasion, it can be nice to keep a special memento. Drying a few key blooms from the arrangement is the perfect way to do just that.

Are you looking for flowers for a special occasion? Find out what Blue Florist has to offer.