Hanging upside down keeps the shape of the flowers looking natural once they are dried. The stems will shrink as they dry, and string or wire will become too loose to hold the dried bundles. The simplest method is just to make your flowers or herbs into bundles and hang upside down to dry.
This will keep moisture from the air from affecting the blooms. Use a bit of silica gel in a cloth bag for desiccant. Silica dried and freeze dried flowers should be stored in an air tight box with some desiccant inside. Labeling is very important here, it’s harder to tell basil from oregano, 6 months later when they’re all crunched down to fine green leaves. Usually dating the box is a good idea too.ĭried leaves of herbs for cooking should be packed in air tight cans or jars, and kept out of the light too. Label the box on the outside so you don’t have to open it every time you’re looking for those pink peonies. If they are standing up it is easy to break the tips off. The bundles should be laid down flat in the box, not standing up. This keeps the bundles separate and protected from dust, breaking, and sunlight. Once the bundles are dry they should be wrapped to prevent damage and packed away in a closed box. Over this period, some indirect light will not seriously affect colour. Small fine plants, like larkspur will dry more quickly than heavy, large plants like sunflowers. Most plants will take 1 to 2 weeks to dry completely. Direct sun, right in the south window, will bleach colours out of leaves and flowers within two weeks. The ventilation carries the water vapour away from the plants and so speeds the drying. The warmth tends to dry the plants faster. You will need a warm place, with good ventilation, and no direct sunlight. The longer it takes to dry a bundle, the more likely you will lose colour, have damage from fungus and bacteria, and leaves will turn yellow rather than stay a fresh green colour. It is not usually necessary to remove the leaves from the stems, except for large plants like sunflowers, where the leaves are large reservoirs of moisture.īest results will be achieved from the fastest drying. Before processing, remove any brown, misshapen or dis-coloured petals and leaves.
It is much easier to clean fresh flowers than dried flowers. Slightly immature flowers also have a stronger connection between the petals and the stem and as they dry this should become more rigid, and stronger, if the flower is in the right stage of maturity. If the roses are starting to drop petals when you hang them up, they will continue to drop petals as they dry and you’ll be left with an empty stem. In general you should pick flowers just before they are fully mature, as they continue to develop a bit while drying. Plants with more cellulose, sturdier cells, like grains, or strawflowers, will hold their shape and dry better than soft fleshy ones like begonias or tulips.
Roses are very good and keep some of their scent. Any of the “everlasting flowers’ from the seed catalogues will dry well. Try anything at first, when you are just learning.
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