Dry Flower for Winter Beauty

While garden flowers are still at their peak, plan to dry some now. With technology come new methods, and the most recent of these for drying flowers involves the microwave oven. Silica gel is one of the best of the traditional drying materials. Basically, the function of any drying material is to hold the petals in position while the moisture is removed. If silica gel is not available, borax mixed with either clean sand or cornmeal may be used. Even kitty litter is used by some people, but coarser grained materials develop a rougher texture on the petals as they dry.

The process for drying in a microwave oven is relatively simple. Start with a non-metal container such as a Pyrex baking dish. Put a small amount of silica gel or one of the other supportive materials in the bottom. Place the flower with its stem cut off facing upward on this base. Then gradually and carefully sift more silica gel or borax cornmeal around the petals until they are totally covered. Wire stems should not be attached to the flowers until after they have dried. Time for microwave drying may vary from 30 seconds to several minutes, depending on the quantity and thickness of the flowers involved. A few trial runs should be made.

After the flowers are removed from the oven, they should be allowed to remain in the supporting material overnight, or up to about 24 hours. Removing the flowers too soon usually leads to drooping petals, especially on flowers with large, delicate petals. If petals eventually droop, they may be placed over steam briefly to soften and then repositioned carefully in the silica gel for one or more days until they have dry.

Leaves may also be dried in a microwave oven. Autumn leaves retain much of their color. Leaves may be placed between paper towels in a large, flat dish. Although drying time vary with the quantity and type, allow about a minute on each side. Since this process is relatively new, there are still many variations and degrees of success. Plan to experiment to develop the best methods for your own conditions and types of flowers. If a microwave oven is not available, you can still dry flowers of equal beauty.

There are many successful techniques for drying flowers. Generally, the more rapidly a flower dries, the better the color retention will be. The silica gel method, in which flowers dry in about three days to a week is one of the best combinations of borax with either clean sand or cornmeal are also quite good for burying flowers to dry in them. These materials require about two weeks for complete drying.

Some flowers may simply be hung upside down in a warm, dry place, certainly the easiest and most inexpensive method. Foliage, as well as being dried in the microwave oven, can be preserved in glycerine. Cut branches and place them in a mixture of about one part glycerine and two parts water. The absorption process normally takes one to three weeks.

http://extension.missouri.edu/xplor/agguides/hort/g06540.htm