If you have a special bouquet of flowers like your bridal bouquet or anniversary flowers, then it’s only natural to want to save it in order to preserve your happy memories. Sometimes it can be tough to decide whether drying or pressing flowers is the best choice. Our Marco Island and Naples flower experts at Marco Island Florist have put together this quick and simple guide to understanding when you should press and when you should dry your special floral arrangements. Plus, we’ve provided some helpful tips and information on how to save your flowers.
Bouquet of Dried Roses
When You Should Dry Your Flowers
Drying flowers is the best method of preservation, if you want to display them as a bouquet, in a shadow box, or use them to make a floral wreath because drying flowers preserves their three-dimensional shape, as well as their beautiful colors. It’s also the best flower preservation method for flowers with thicker blooms like the roses and peonies found in our lovely Jolie bouquet.
Jolie Bouquet
The best way to dry flowers is to hang them upside down to let them air dry. To do this, you should remove their leaves first and then tie their stems together with string. Use the other end of the string to hang them from the ceiling or a clothing hanger. Your flowers will need several days to dry this way, but they’ll turn out looking vibrant and life-like.
If you don’t have several days to wait, you can dry your flowers in the oven. Preheat it to the lowest heat setting and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange flowers so that they do not overlap. If they’re touching, they’ll end up stuck together. Allow moisture to evaporate by leaving the oven door cracked. Keep an eye on the flowers while they dry for eight to twelve hours.
Hanging Dried Flowers
When You Should Press Your Flowers
Pressing is another option for preserving flowers. Unlike drying, pressing flowers does not preserve their natural shape, but leaves them paper-thin, instead. We recommend pressing flowers, if you want to use them in a decoupage project, include them in a keepsake scrapbook or photo album, or display them in a botanical frame. The best flowers to press are those that don’t have thick bulbs or are naturally flat-faced like freesia, gerbera daisies, and even hydrangea.
Pressing Flowers
To press flowers, you can use a traditional flower press which is designed to press flowers between two heavy boards, while absorbing their moisture into parchment paper and cardboard. You can also make a home-made press by sandwiching flowers between parchment or another absorbent paper, like coffee filters, and using heavy books to press them. Both of these methods will require several days for the flowers to dry completely.
If you don’t have time to wait, you can speed up the process by using a clothing iron on a low heat setting with the steam turned off. First, flatten your flowers between books. Then, still between paper, iron the flowers to remove their moisture. You’ll know they’re dry when they start to feel like tissue paper.
Bouquet of Dried Flowers in Glass Vase
For more information about preserving flowers or help picking the prettiest floral arrangements for celebrating special occasions and saving for years to come, we welcome you to stop by Marco Island Florist.