Glad I gave air drying a chance after years of using silica gel

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?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryanprice20d agoTop Commenter

Wait, the stems STAYED flexible? That's wild. I've been air drying flowers for like 15 years and I can't say I've ever had stems that didn't get super brittle after a couple weeks. Especially hydrangeas, those are usually the worst about it. You must have hit some perfect humidity or something, because mine always snap off if I look at them wrong. I'm actually impressed, not gonna lie. Maybe I'll try again this summer and see if I can copy whatever you did.

the_mia18d ago

Honestly @ryanprice, hydrangeas actually dry better if you pick them a little later in the season when theyre less hydrated.