Was going through her old gardening notebook she kept in the attic of our house in Boise, and she had a recipe for drying roses using borax and cornmeal. Apparently people did that way before silica gel was common. I tried it on some pink petunias last weekend, worked better than the $12 bag I bought. Has anyone else dug up old family tricks that beat modern stuff?
I always thought silica gel was just extra hassle and money, so I hung my hydrangeas upside down in the garage like my grandma did. They looked great for about 2 weeks, then turned brown and crispy in a sad way. Finally caved and bought a 2 pound container for around $14, buried the same kind of blooms in it for 4 days, and they kept their color perfectly for months. I was wrong. The moisture wicking really does work better for delicate petals. Has anyone else made the switch and never looked back?
I spent last Saturday tying up a fresh lavender bunch with twine, but the stems were too brittle and they snapped clean off at the knot. I had to redo the whole bundle three times, and I finally switched to thin florist wire instead, which held way better. It took me about 45 minutes longer than I planned, but the finished piece looked way more secure. Has anyone else had luck with a specific wrap or tape for stem-heavy flowers like lavender?
The directions said leave them in for 3 days but after 36 hours the petals were so brittle they crumbled when I touched them, has anyone else switched back to just hanging them upside down in a dark closet instead?
I put together a bouquet of blue hydrangeas and pink statice about 4 months ago, and the hydrangeas have turned this weird greenish-brown while the statice faded to almost white. I was really surprised because I thought they'd mostly hold their look after drying. Found a blog from a florist in Portland that says UV light and humidity can shift pigments way more than people expect. Has anyone else had a bouquet completely transform on them like this?
I've been drying hydrangeas for years just hanging them upside down in my basement in Portland. But last summer I decided to try silica gel for the first time because my blue hydrangeas kept turning brown on the edges. I grabbed a 5 pound bag from the craft store and buried the blooms for about 4 days. Honest to god the color stayed perfect, bright blue like the day I cut them. The problem was I got impatient and pulled them out a day early, so a few petals were still a bit damp. They got moldy within a week and I had to toss about 6 out of 10 stems. What I learned is you gotta wait the full time, maybe even an extra day for thick headed varieties. Has anyone else had luck keeping color on dark purple hydrangeas with silica? I'm trying those next month.
Everyone says to hang eucalyptus upside down to dry, but I tried leaving mine upright in a vase with no water (like a total rebel) and the stems drooped into this lovely cascading shape that looks way more natural. I learned that not every flower needs to be stiff as a board to look good in a dried arrangement. Has anyone else broken the 'hang upside down' rule and gotten a cool result?
For about 3 years I always hung my eucalyptus and lavender stems upside down in bunches with rubber bands. Then my neighbor Sarah invited me over in March and her dried flowers were just laying flat on a wire shelf with no rhyme or reason. She said gravity makes stuff droop all weird and she was right. Now I dry my baby's breath and ferns flat on a mesh screen and they keep their exact shape. Has anybody else tried laying them out instead of hanging?
I used to dry flowers in my oven on the lowest setting, but it always made the petals too brittle. Last month I got a $30 food dehydrator from a garage sale and tried drying a batch of lavender. It took about 4 hours on the herb setting and the color stayed way better than my oven tries. Has anyone else switched from oven drying to a dehydrator for flowers?
Ngl I fought with thumbtacks and string for months trying to dry flowers in my basement. Everything would fall halfway through and I'd find a pile of petals on the floor. Finally tried clipping stems to a wire clothes hanger with binder clips last week. Thirty bouquets hanging from one hanger in my closet now and not a single stem dropped. Has anyone else tried using something random from the house like hangers or chip clips for drying?
I fought against putting eucalyptus in my bouquets for like 3 years. Thought it would just wilt and drop leaves everywhere. Finally tried it last winter after a friend gave me a bundle from her garden near Salem. The scent lasted almost 5 months and the leaves dried perfectly without crumbling. Anyone else had good luck with a specific drying method for it?
I stopped by Peterson's Flowers on Main Street last Saturday to pick up some fresh stems. They had these giant dried baby's breath wreaths hanging from the ceiling, but instead of the usual round shape, they made them look like cloud clusters. The owner said she just clipped the stems short and hot glued them in bunches onto a wire frame. It gave me an idea to try that on a smaller scale for my own wall. Has anyone else seen creative display tricks at a shop near you?
Last month I crammed way too many stems into a wreath form and it looked like a tangled mess within a week. Has anyone else found a good rule for how much space to leave between stems when you start?
I was dead set on using silica gel for preserving flowers because I thought air drying would make them too brittle and faded. Tried hanging a batch of hydrangeas from my backyard last July and they kept way more color and shape than I expected, even the stems stayed flexible. Has anyone else found a method they thought wouldn't work actually turned out better?
So my aunt June came over last spring and saw me just sticking fresh eucalyptus straight into a vase. She laughed and said I had to hang it upside down in a dark closet for at least 2 weeks first or it would just rot. I thought she was being dramatic, but I tried it with one bunch and left the other in the vase. After about 10 days the vase batch started drooping and getting this weird musty smell, while the hung batch kept its color and shape perfectly. Now I hang everything - lavender, baby's breath, even those big hydrangea heads - and they last months instead of weeks. Has anyone else had a relative give them some old-school flower drying advice that actually worked out better than what you see online?
I lost a whole batch of lavender from last season when the twine loosened up in my humid basement, but swapping to thick rubber bands that grip the stems tight has kept every bundle intact for 3 months now - has anyone else found a weird fix that saved a bouquet?
I went to a workshop last month where the instructor threw in fresh seeded eucalyptus with dried lavender and strawflowers. Within 3 days the eucalyptus had shriveled and dropped leaves all over my display. The moisture from the fresh stems actually made the dried lavender stems go soft and start to mold near the base. Has anyone else dealt with this issue where fresh and dried materials just can't share the same vase for more than a couple days?
I was looking up tips for preserving silver dollar eucalyptus and found a fact from a 2018 extension service article. Turns out it needs 3 to 4 weeks of hanging in a dark, dry spot with good airflow, not just a week like I always assumed. I've been rushing mine for years and wondering why they drooped after a month. Anyone else been doing this wrong and noticed a big difference after waiting longer?
I was grabbing some eucalyptus for a new arrangement last Saturday and this woman told her friend dried flowers are just 'dead plants you pay $12 for'. At first I was annoyed, but then I thought about it - she's not wrong from a certain angle, but she's missing the whole point of preserving the beauty. Has anyone else run into folks who just don't get why we bother drying them?
I used to think you had to order special lavender from some fancy online shop or grow it yourself for months. Last spring I was at the Kroger on Elm Street and saw a bunch of dried lavender bundles in the floral section for like $4 each. Figured what the heck, grabbed three of them. Hung them upside down in my laundry room for two weeks and they held color way better than the expensive stuff I got from Etsy last year. The scent is still going strong after five months which surprised me. My mom even asked where I got it because she liked the arrangement I made for her birthday. Has anyone else found decent dried flowers at regular grocery stores or am I late to the party?
I went to this small farm in Sequim, Washington back in June and saw how they hang their lavender in big open barns with fans running. They said air flow matters way more than darkness. I always thought you had to keep dried flowers in a dark room but they had them right in bright light and the color stayed perfect. I tried it with my own batch from the garden and honestly the purple is way brighter than anything Ive done before. Has anyone else noticed a big difference with airflow?
I saw this tip online about using glycerin to keep dried flowers flexible instead of brittle. So I bought a big bottle of vegetable glycerin from the craft store for around $40. Mixed it with warm water and put some eucalyptus stems in it for two weeks. They came out super soft and bendy but also kind of greasy and weird looking. Anyone else tried glycerin and had it work better for certain flowers than others?
Last winter I kept losing dried hydrangeas to mold in my garage. A friend from the local garden club told me to toss in those little silica packs you get from shoe boxes. I thought she was crazy but tried it with a batch of 12 stems. After 8 weeks not a single head had gone fuzzy. Now I save every pack I find and buy bulk ones on Amazon for $15. Has anyone else found a weird trick that actually works?
She was blunt about it at first but she was right I was just hanging them upside down and hoping for the best. Now I spray everything with a light coat of hairspray and hang them in the dark bathroom for 10 days and they keep their color way better. Anyone else get harsh feedback that actually helped?
So last weekend I went to the Pacific Northwest Dried Flower Expo in Portland. Watched a guy demo using silica gel in a microwave and he got perfect shape retention in like 2 minutes flat. I've been air drying everything for 15 years and half my stuff comes out droopy and brown. He said air drying is fine for tough stuff like baby's breath but silica is a game changer for delicate petals like roses or peonies. My question is has anyone else switched methods after seeing a pro do it and was the cost of the silica worth it for the results?