If you have access to fresh hydrangeas, learn how to dry them with this simple tutorial. You can also buy dried flowers from craft stores or flower shops if you don’t want to do it yourself. Trim the stems of the dried hydrangeas after you have them so they are a manageable length. We discovered that 6-inch stems were ideal. Each bundle of dried flowers should be woven through the twigs of the grapevine wreath form, beginning on one side. Because the flowers are so delicate, proceed slowly and carefully.
Secure flowers
As you go around the wreath form, secure the bunches by winding grapevine through bunches of them. Use florist’s wire to fasten the stems to the wreath. Just wrap it around the wreath once, then twist it shut. Fill up any gaps once you’ve completed your circuit by adding smaller hydrangea blossoms. To keep the flowers in place, you can apply hot glue if necessary.
Spray and display
Spray the wreath with a clear sealer to safeguard the flowers’ color after they are firmly fastened to it. Before hanging the wreath on a sturdy hook or nail with a wire loop, allow the sealant to dry completely. Your final wreath can be stored by hanging it in the back of a closet after being gently covered with a garbage bag. Simply unwrap the wreath to display it.
How long does a wreath made of dried hydrangeas last?
They need to endure forever. They won’t fade away even if you touch them because doing so will cause the blossoms to fall off. I’ve got some in a crock I bought two years ago.
You might try using hairspray to attempt and preserve the blooms. Although I’ve never put that hypothesis to the test, you could easily do so.
What are you going to do with your hydrangea blooms then? Have you ever used them to create fall décor?
How may dried hydrangeas be prevented from disintegrating?
Yes, I am aware that using water to dry hydrangeas seems a little backwards, but I assure you that it is the simplest method. Thus, this is what you do:
- Cut:
- Cut the quantity of hydrangeas you intend to dry or incorporate into your current cut flower design.
- Make them 12 to 18 long. Once I get all the stems together, I normally make the initial cut longer than that and depending on where it would preserve the shrub in good condition.
- De-Leaf:
- Simply move your hand down the stem, pulling off the leaves as you go, by grasping it at the top just below the bloom. I suppose you could go up, but if you do, you run the risk of picking up too much speed and damaging the bloom as well.
- I frequently conduct my de-leafing in the garden, leaving the leaves to act as natural compost in my beds. If you do it inside, though, stripping your stems directly over a garbage can will make cleanup much simpler.
- Fill a vase with:
- Simply arrange your hydrangeas like you would any other flower arrangement, which will require some trial and error in placement if you want to enjoy them before they dry—I don’t know why you wouldn’t.
- I typically hold each stalk in one hand while moving the others such that the flowers with the straightest upward faces are in the center and the smaller and/or droopier ones are on the sides. I then make my final selection, keeping them all at the same level, after gauging their height in relation to the vase.
- The bottoms of your stems should then be pounded with a hammer to aid in their water absorption, however I’ve never tried it; feel free to.
- Just before placing flowers in the vase, I twist tie or rubber band the stems to secure them in place.
- Adjust the arrangement of the blossoms after placing them in a tall vase strong enough to hold the length of the stems.
- Insert Water:
- I’d advise adding the water before the flowers if your faucet doesn’t extend with a hose. Do it either way if you have one of those posh faucets.
- Usually, I would fill the vase about half and three quarters full, making sure that all of the stems were submerged completely.
- Dry:
- You might have to keep adding water until the flowers are completely dry, depending on how the blooms were when you started the drying process. If not, I’ve seen that they wilt and then dry wilted, which isn’t very attractive.
- Therefore, maintain watering if the flowers are still quite supple. You can stop watering them once they have dried out and feel and look like paper.
- You can enjoy your lovely dried flower arrangement for many years once a few weeks have passed. On our mantel, we really have a pair that has been there for about 9 years.
- Spray:
- When your hydrangeas are completely dry, mist them with hairspray aerosol (sorry, aerosol spray just works better than the pump spray kind…it just does).
- I used to believe that this was done to coat the blooms in order to keep their color for a little while longer. But now I believe it’s only to keep the florets together, making it less likely that they will fall off when you brush up against them and make a big mess.
How are dried hydrangeas kept safe?
Put the flowers in a vase with an inch or two of water, and remove all of the leaves off the stem (or at least the portion of the stem that will be immersed). Place the vase away from direct sunlight in a cool location. The water in the vase will aid in slowing the drying process, which will improve the preservation of the bloom. They will be fully dried and endure forever once the water has been removed.
The preserved hydrangea heads can be touched to determine how dry they are. They must feel like paper.
Due to the fragility of dried hydrangea flowers, it is frequently preferable to make your craft or dried flower arrangement before they dry. With this hydrangea wreath, I did exactly that. I used partially dried flowers to make the wreath, then I let the door dry completely. View the wreath’s instructions here.
Build out wreath with dried hydrangeas
I started by gathering all of my dried hydrangeas and putting them together into a wreath. I attached the flowers on a grapevine wreath that I purchased from a craft store as the base. I made two hydrangea wreaths from of my large collection of dried hydrangea blossoms: one large wreath from blue hydrangea blooms and one mini wreath from green Annabelle hydrangea blooms. All those flowers were produced in one season because once hydrangeas are established, they are incredibly fruitful.
It wasn’t difficult at all to attach the dried hydrangea blossoms to the grapevine foundation. Simply forcing the stems through the vines typically keeps them in place rather well. In addition to plugging in the dried flowers, I also pruned some excessively protruding little vine bits to safeguard the dried flowers.
After approximately filling in each of the hydrangea flower heads one by one to complete the circle, I filled in any significant vacant spaces to ensure enough covering. I use some hot glue to attach the flower stems to the grapevine wreath that don’t stay there very well.
If you like, you may wrap them in florist wire like in this post, but I was too lazy to do that and I knew I would leave it hanging on the wall when the project was finished. Whether or whether your grapevine wreath can hold the stems well and how much they’ll be handled once finished will determine how much you want to secure the flowers.
Spray dried hydrangea wreath with flower dye
After that, I colored the hydrangeas using a floral spray. The floral spray is a clear flower dye that gives flowers a very natural-looking appearance. The majority of flowers fade with time, therefore I used this spray to keep my wreath’s color consistent for a very long period while also enhancing the original flower and making it somewhat more brilliant.
I used the hue hydrangea blue, which is ideal for the flower I chose. Since the base color of my Annabelle wreath was lime green, I also used fresh green flower dye.
Fill in accent flowers
The next step is to add filler flowers, which is also why I didn’t mind if my first layer of hydrangea blossoms had a few minor gaps. I used billy balls and strawflowers from my yard to make this wreath. I wouldn’t even bother spraying either flower because they are known for having an endless lifespan.
After the hydrangea layer, I simply drizzle them evenly over the wreath, aiming to fill up any holes I may have. I use a hot glue gun to add a bead of glue to the end of some of the flowers’ extremely thin stems before inserting them into the wreath. In this manner, I was able to fasten them to the wreath without risking damage by pressing them in too firmly.
My advice for making a DIY flower wreath that looks good is to work your way down in size, so I started with the hydrangeas before switching to strawflowers and then craspedia. Another piece of advice is to change the quantity of several flower varieties. As an illustration, I used twice as many strawflowers as craspedia. The wreath will have more depth and interest if done this manner.
Applying a coat of UV protectant spray can prevent the flowers’ color from fading if you intend to hang your DIY wreath in a location with strong light. Although it is optional, this step can be useful if you want your dried flowers to maintain their brilliant color.
Due to the size of the green wreath with preserved Annabelle hydrangeas, I only utilized billy balls as accent flowers. Once I’ve preserved additional blooms, I might trickle in some little blossoms in the future.
Attach ribbon or string for hanging
I simply tie a rope to the back of the wreath once the flower-building portion is complete so I can hang it in my house! The use of a ribbon is yet another adorable concept. It strikes me as a fantastic idea to give this wreath more color and texture.
Mine is in the hallway leading to my living room. I believe it complements my gold mirror frame rather well.
That concludes the instructions for making this dried hydrangea wreath. I’m very happy with the way this project turned out, and every time I pass by it, it makes me feel better. I hope you get some fantastic dried hydrangea decorating ideas from this post!
Should I cut dried hydrangea flowers?
When should I prune my hydrangeas? is one of the most often asked gardening topics. We all have a tendency to want to hurry outside with the clippers and start hacking away when those billowy large flowers change from cheerful blues, purples, pinks, reds, and whites to uninteresting browns.
When to Cut Back Hydrangeas
The timing will vary according on the variety of hydrangea you have. First of all, be aware that hydrangeas do not require pruning unless the shrub has become unruly or too big for its location and requires some shaping up. Otherwise, simply deadhead wasted blooms and remove any dead branches from the plant.
How to Prune Hydrangeas02:07
But if you do decide to prune one, bear in mind to time it so that it blooms on old wood or new wood depending on the species of hydrangea you have.
If you wait too long, you can chop off the buds that are developing on old wood (stems from the year before the current summer), which would prevent flowers from blooming the following spring. Therefore, as soon as the flowers on these bushes have faded, they should be clipped.
The shrub should be clipped in the early spring before that new growth appears, but, if the shrub flowers on fresh wood (stems generated during the current season), which means that its buds are set inside the season.
Should you spray dried hydrangeas?
A fantastic technique to keep fresh flowers on display in a home is to dry hydrangeas. Drying flowers—specifically, hydrangeas—is done to eliminate all moisture from the flower petals and stem in order to preserve the bloom for an extended period of time. This can be accomplished by hanging the flowers upside down, putting hairspray on them, or letting the flowers dry naturally. Hydrangeas benefit from drying since it keeps their original color while also protecting the flower petals.
Water drying is a straightforward technique for hydrangea drying. The flowers must be in a vase that is half filled with water in order to use the water approach. Place the vase away from direct sunlight and in a cool place. Till the water starts to evaporate, let the vase stand without touching the flowers. The hydrangeas will have dried naturally when the water level drops.
Spraying the flower petals with hairspray is another simple technique for drying hydrangeas that makes use of a product that many people already have at home. Spray hairspray all over the hydrangeas using either an aerosol can or a pump. Tie the flower stems together to form a bouquet, then place the bouquet in a dry place, like a closet, to dry and become crisp to the touch.
The petals of flowers can be swiftly and easily dried by hanging them upside down. The stems of each bloom should be tied separately. Choose a spot that is dry, dark, and free of damp, then hang each blossom upside down. The petals will need a few weeks to completely dry using this procedure. The risk of the flowers disintegrating when displayed is eliminated once the blooms have dried.
Without using water, hydrangeas can be dried in a manner that is comparable to the water process. The flowers’ stems should be cut diagonally, and they should be put in an empty vase. Until the petals are completely dry, let the flowers sit in a dry spot in the vase. If a flower stem is on the flimsy side, hang it upside down or shorten it and put it in a smaller container.
Sprinkle some glitter over the top of the already exquisite flowers before drying them to give them a little extra elegance and beauty. When they are presented in the home, this will enable them to have a little sheen. Although glitter will adhere to the petals before they are completely dry, if using the hairspray approach, sprinkle the glitter first. The glitter will be fixed in place by the hairspray.