Your hydrangeas can be be preserved in a number of other ways. If you’d rather, you can let your blooms air dry by hanging each stem upside-down in a cool, dry area. Despite being slightly more fragile than their water-dried cousins, air-dried hydrangeas nevertheless look stunning.
You can also leave the blossoms on the plant to dry until they feel papery. The colour might not be as vivid and the products won’t stay as long as they would if you used the water-dried approach. Regardless of the technique you use, aim to replace your dried flowers every year or so, just in time for the branch to yield the next crop of fresh flowers.
Warning
A word of warning with this hands-off method: If you live in a region with a lot of rain, there’s a possibility that your flowers will turn brown before effectively drying out.
How do you dry hydrangeas while preserving their colour?
You may appreciate the blossoms’ timeless beauty all year long by drying them. Vase drying and silica drying are the two basic techniques for hydrangea flower drying. Silica drying results in more bright colour, whereas vase drying is simpler and less expensive. Use the vase-drying technique, which results in blossoms with vintage colours, to keep things straightforward.
Timing is Everything
The key to success is knowing when to cut hydrangea blossoms for drying. Even though you might be tempted to cut blossoms off the plant as they reach their height of colour, it’s crucial to let flowers start drying on the plant. The petals of the flowers will start to feel papery and change colours after they have graced your garden for a few weeks. Depending on the environment and soil pH, oakleaf hydrangeas like TaraTM take on traces of coral or rose, and big-leaf hydrangeas like Dear DoloresTM pick up hints of purple, burgundy, or turquoise. It’s time to grab the pruners when you see colours changing and petals becoming less flexible.
Making the Cut
After the dew on the petals has dried in the morning, trim the stems. Cut stems at an angle with sharp shears or pruners, leaving 12 to 18 inches of stem. Cut the leaves off the cuttings, then put them in a bucket of water. Picky because cuttingdrying brings out flaws in the blooms. Select the nicest flowers to dry and leave the others for the garden to enjoy.
Arrange in Vases of Water
What, we dry flowers with water? Even though it might seem counterproductive, drying hydrangeas in water-filled containers helps keep their colour. Put cuttings in vases or other transparent containers and add water until the stem is immersed by a few inches. Don’t pack the vases too tightly. Each bloom needs space to keep an open form and adequate airflow to dry. To give each flower enough room, try staggering the stem lengths.
Allow to Dry
Put containers in different rooms of your house so you may enjoy them while they dry. Keep the flowers away from direct sunshine, though. As the flowers dry, let the water naturally evaporate from the containers. Drying time for blooms can be two weeks or longer. If the water in the vase has evaporated but the flowers have not yet dried, you can add extra water.
When the stem snaps easily and the petals feel stiff, the dried flowers are ready to be used. Simple vases filled with dried hydrangeas, wreaths made of dried hydrangeas, and window boxes decorated with dried hydrangeas all look charming. They are ideal for our flexible Golden Rings tabletop setup as well.
When should hydrangeas be picked for drying?
Hydrangeas dry best when left on the bush after their prime and are trimmed when they start to naturally dry out at the end of the season. According to Marzec, if you remove your stems too soon, they may shrivel up. He advises waiting until late summer or even early October for late-blooming kinds. Pay particular attention to the petals, which will start to fold under as the colours fade, and the leaves, which start to feel papery and less fresh, she advises. According to Chris Link, co-owner of Nebraska-based online nursery Plant Addicts, the colour of the bloom is another important consideration. Most hydrangea blooms begin as one hue, such as green or white, and change to another, such as pink or red, according to him. Simply clip the blossom when it is the desired shade of colour, but before it becomes brown.
Cut flowers with stems that are between 12 and 18 inches in length for the greatest displays, and make sure to remove any leaves before drying. Link advises against trimming stems too short on some hydrangeas that bloom on old wood because doing so could affect the flowers of the following year. This would only be concerning if you removed the blooms extremely late in the year because the flowers would probably already be brown by then.
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 centre 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 colour 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 hydrangeas dried and pressed?
In comparison to pressing them flat and letting them dry naturally, microwave flower drying gives the flowers a more natural appearance that I find more appealing. However, I usually save a few flat and naturally dried florets from each mop head so that I always have some on hand for designs.
An example:
The flower’s florets changed colours as they dried, going from strawberry milkshake pink to Victorian purple, green to a light green grey, and rusty red to a light burgundy and green.
In between several layers of kitchen paper, place the florets. On the lowest setting, place it in a saucer and heat for 30 seconds.
After turning the flowers, re-microwave for 30 seconds. Check the flowers frequently to ensure that the stems’ moisture does not boil. Mine took roughly two and three minutes in two different microwaves.
Try it out, and just use the lowest level for 30 seconds at a time. Additionally, changing settings will result in various colour variants.
The flowers will hold their shape and keep their colour. A batch that I dried two years ago is still useful.
Between two paper towels, place the flowers. Place the flowers inside a thick book or an old magazine to dry. The paper towel will soak up the moisture and stop mildew from growing.
Set the stem in a large bowl of water, supporting it at the head with the vase’s edges.
In order to keep as much of the vase’s natural colour as possible, place it in a dimly lit area. If the flowers lightly rustle like dried grass as your hand runs over them, they are suitable for usage. The flowers will be completely dried when the vase is empty.
Do I need to chop the dried hydrangea flowers?
Myers advises leaving the dried blossoms on your hydrangeas if you’re looking for an easy way to spice up your winter yard. Bigleaf hydrangeas produce their final rush of flowers in the fall, so to enjoy the dried blossoms all winter long, stop deadheading at that time. To aid in the production of healthy buds in the spring, these can be removed.
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 colour 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.
Can hairspray keep dried flowers fresh?
Many people who enjoy fresh flowers are aware of how to extend the life of cut flowers by pruning the stems, keeping vase water clean and free of bacteria, and storing them in the refrigerator overnight. Spraying your flowers with hairspray is a lesser-known technique that will extend their lives and keep them standing even longer. This is how you do it:
- As normal, trim the flower stalks.
- Spray hairspray on the flowers before placing them in a vase, being careful to keep the nozzle far enough away so that the force won’t harm the delicate petals. Don’t go overboard: A light coat is preferable to drenching them in hairspray.
- Upside-down and in a well-ventilated area, hang the flowers until the hairspray is totally dry.
- Flowers should be placed in the prepared vase (with water, as usual).
- Repeat as often as necessary.
Hairspray is another option for protecting delicate dried flowers, particularly bouquets with unique personal value. Moving them around won’t damage them as much, and the colours will fade less over time. Here is an outline:
- Fresh flowers should be hung upside-down in a cool, dark place until totally dry (about two to three weeks).
- Spray the flowers’ surface evenly and thoroughly in a well-ventilated area. To prevent harm to the flowers, keep a sufficient distance between the hairspray nozzle and the flowers.