Drying flowers is a simple and fun way to create keepsakes from special bouquets, corsages, or flowers from your own garden. It’s actually super-easy to do, and you’ll love the results! You can use your dried flowers in arrangements, wreaths, mixed into bath salts or homemade soaps, or displayed in shadow boxes or preserved in resin to use in jewelry. There’s really no limit to the creative ways to use dried flowers.
Whatever flowers you choose should be in excellent condition. If cutting flowers from your own garden, harvest flowers right before they’re fully open because they will continue to mature after being cut. Avoid those with damage because it will appear more evident after the flowers have dried.
Ready to try drying flowers? Here are four easy methods including air drying, using silica gel, pressing, or even microwaving flowers to make them last all year long!
How to air dry flowers?
This is the easiest way to dry flowers. Remove foliage from stems, then let your flowers dry upright in a vase with no water, keeping them out of direct sunlight. Or bind the stems together with a rubber band, and hang them upside down for two to three weeks in a cool, dark place, such as an unused closet or laundry room. (Avoid damp areas such as the basement or bathroom, which have too much humidity.) And, try not to bump them while they’re drying.
Best flowers for air-dry method:
Hydrangeas, baby breath, lavender, bachelor’s buttons, larkspur, statice, strawflower, yarrow, most herbs, ornamental grasses such as fountain grass and pampas grass.
How to dry flowers with silica gel?
The silica gel method works well for flowers with a high-moisture content, especially individual blooms. Place about an inch of gel in the bottom of a Mason jar or large plastic container with a tightly-fitting lid. Place the blossom in the jar and spoon silica gel gently over the flower until it’s covered completely. Seal the container, and check in about a five days. After removing the flower, place the silica gel on a cookie sheet to dry out; you can reuse it for years.
Best flowers for silica gel method:
Anemone, cosmos, lilac, marigold, lily of the valley, rose, zinnia.
How to press flowers?
Pressing flowers is a fun way to preserve blooms to use for scrapbooking or making cards. Pressing works especially well for flat flowers, but you can select flowers at any stage from bud to full bloom. Use a flower press, which is a small device of wood and plastic press plates held in place by wing nuts to apply pressure.
Or DIY your own press by using cardboard or plain white packing paper to separate the blooms, then weighing it down under a stack of books. Skip the old-school method of pressing between pages of book because you’ll ruin the book. Replace the paper every few days, then leave it in place for a month. Use tweezers to remove the blooms from the paper.
Best flowers for pressing method:
Pansy, viola, sweet alyssum, cosmos, daisy, Queen Anne’s lace, sweet pea, ferns.
How to dry flowers in the microwave?
The microwave method is fast and yields brighter colors. Use silica gel to hold the flowers upright in a microwavable container. Leave the container uncovered, and place a cup of water inside the microwave during the process to avoid over-drying the materials. Drying times will vary, based on the plant and your microwave’s power. Typically, start with 30 second increments until you learn what works best for each type of flower.
Best flowers for microwave method:
Violets, daffodils, peonies, mums, dahlias.
Shop These Flower Drying Essentials
Silica Gel Flower Drying Crystals
Flower Press Kit
Double-Glass Frames for Pressed Flowers
Metal Flower Drying Rack
Arricca Elin SanSone has written about health and lifestyle topics for Prevention, Country Living, Woman's Day, and more. She’s passionate about gardening, baking, reading, and spending time with the people and dogs she loves.
