How to Dry & Preserve Flowers at Home

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"Flowers and Paris is always a Good Idea "  

Dried Flowers , Stems , Branches seems to be having a moment right now and the world of decor is suddenly taken by a storm. But Before Pampas and Gypsophila took us over yasss the same delicate filler flowers in our Bouquets that we happily ignored for years, I was fascinated or lets say desperately wanted to get some Bajra Stalks (Pearl Millet) for myself, reason was ‘ Mitti ki Kushboo ‘ well in Rajasthan’s Haveli’s , Forts and Palaces dry bajra stalks have always been a part of decor and also considered very auspicious. Standing tall and upright in a humongous Vase. So I wanted them as a sweet Nostalgia to my roots (Bajra is also our staple diet by the way) and I seriously thought looking at them everyday will push me to learn how to make Bajra Roti’s after all. Truth is it’s easier said than done, trust me I can make Pizza dough from scratch but not this. That thing of getting a round disk with a gluten free flour , about 10 inches in diameter just through the pressure of your palms is no mean feat. So last year in August on our trip to Jaipur , I made it a point to fetch some Bajra Stalks (Check my Bajra Stalks Arrangement here ). We Rajasthani’s by the way are pioneers in drying everything from our Food to Flowers and lot of our existence is based on this art we call PRESERVING Ha Ha Ha.

Ok the real point of this blog is how do you dry flowers such Fragile beauties , Do they even last , How do you care for them , How do You Clean them, Which ones to Pick and many such questions some of my friends have asked me. So lets break this up in parts and answer so next time I don’t have to type 200 words on Instagram or WhatsApp and will rather just divert everyone to this guide. Smart right Driving Traffic !

How To Dry Flowers

This one is a no brainer , you hang them upside down against Gravity to avoid them from drooping and taking funny shapes. But here are few rules, clean and cut the bottom of the stems like remove any extra leaves or stems that you would not like before you dry them after drying they get brittle and may break. Make bunches of 5 or 6 stems so its easier to secure and manage them, grab a twine , or a rubber band and tie them. Now Hang them upside down on something or anything. SIMPLE NO ROCKET SCIENCE HERE ONLY LESSONS IN GRAVITY

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How Long does it take

I would say a minimum of 2 weeks in normal weather. But if its humid it could take a bit longer, last Summer in the humid Monsoon heat of Delhi it took me 4 weeks to dry some Gomphrena Flowers.

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Where to Dry Flowers

There are primarily 2 ways depending on the result you want. Retain Color or Bleached. If you want to retain the color of the Main flowers or Stems like Statice , then dry them in a dark room away from Sunlight but in a well ventilated area. But if you would rather like a more bleached , golden hue then dry them in any natural light area maybe close to a window with good ventilation. NOTE – Even the ones dried in a dark room would start to fade eventually over time.

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How Long do they Last

Well depending on how you treat them, but easily anywhere from 6 months upto a year or even two. I have had some for exactly a year now. But this will depend also on where you live, in high humidity areas they might droop again or , in very dry dusty areas they will catch dust and you can’t wipe them clean with water or any solution. But a good way to keep them dust free is to blow the dust lightly every few weeks or fortnightly when you dust your furniture. If you want to store them away for sometime for future use, I wrap them in Newspaper like a Bouquet, then put it into a cardboard box and store away. I managed to even Transport all my Stems along with the luggage here without any damage recently.

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How to Preserve Them

Well the hack is after your flowers are completely dry which is in about 2-3 weeks , give them a good coat of a Hairspray bought off the shelf, this will form another protective layer that will avoid shedding and increase their life. This is true specially for grasses like Pampas that shed so much, coat them twice I would say. If you live in very Humid climate that sees Monsoon rains for a few months, just store them away for these months wrapped in Newspaper and kept in a cardboard box, bring them out when the weather is better. But most of my dry flowers have done well without any Hairspray in Delhi and now Hyderabad.

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Which Flowers Dry Best

Well many many do and many don’t, its a really a long list. From Herbs to Flowers , the best way is to find out by picking and drying yourself. The first set I dried was obviously the Bajra (Pearl Millet) stalks , after that the baby breath trend caught me and what a beautiful flower to dry indeed, Statice, Roses , Cockscomb, Asparagus Fern , Some Random Road side grass I got from Jaisalmer also dried well. Even Bougainvillea did but it attracted insects so I threw them eventually. Dad dried some Cotton stems and Jowar for me that’s very heavy on the top yet they worked too. So its about getting your hands on anything you like or go foraging depending on where you live there are so many Flowers and Foliage that can be dried, try and see for yourself. Given the chance I would grow and dry Lavender to check all boxes but I cant so we will live with what we can find here.

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Will they Shed

Yes and some specially like Grasses (Pampas sheds heavily) do, and others also little bit because they get brittle after drying but this question is wierd because who gets a Dog or a Cat asking will they shed Fur. Pets, all animals, Plants , we humans too , we all do isn’t it. Now lets shed our inhibitions I say and try doing things that you want to. You can always apply the Hair spray to control this largely or throw them if they really cause a problem.

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Allergy

Good and important point , if you or anyone at home are Allergic specially to Pollen this could cause you trouble but I can also talk for myself as in I have acute asthma and allergy but not from Plants or Pollen so I did not face any problem. You should try keeping them in a corner to see how it reacts or consult your doctor for specific allergy tests. It would be wise to say don’t start off with a bunch on your nightstand to begin with if you are sensitive and allergy prone.

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How to Style Them

Short answer However you like them, but long answer is you could style them in multiple ways really, any Vase all by themselves or even mix them together with Real flowers , Faux ones, I have done both they are pretty versatile just get your imagination running. You could use them to style Table Scapes , Wedding Decor , Create Dry Flower Wreaths , Even Crafts and Gift Wrapping there are endless possibilities indeed.

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I hope this answers everything almost that was thrown at me from point to point. Now only if I could get my hands on a lavender bunch somehow, but till then Scented Candles Zindabad !

xoxo

Kamakshi