How to Dry Flowers for Beautiful Blooms That Last Longer Than a Season

Whether it's the flowers growing in your cut garden or the ones arranged in a sentimental bouquet, we can all agree that flowers should have a longer lifespan. Fortunately, there is one way you can make your favorite varieties last for months on end: dry them.

The subtle shades and lasting appeal of dried flowers can bring a bit of springtime beauty to your home during any season. Common techniques for drying flowers include air drying, pressing, and drying with silica. These methods work best when you choose the right flowers, cut them at the opportune time, and place them in a prime spot after they've dried. Ahead, experts share their best methods and tips for drying flowers.

How to Dry Flowers

There are a few different ways to dry flowers, and each will preserve the beauty of your blooms for longer.

How to Air Dry Flowers

The simple process of air-drying flowers gives you plenty of license to create a unique floral design. "Air drying is the easiest, most economical, and environmentally friendly method," says Jim Sutton, associate director of display design at Longwood Gardens. "It is also free from chemicals, so when the flowers are no longer usable, they can be put into the compost."

1. Gather fresh, just-bloomed flowers, cutting them with several inches of stem remaining.
2. Pinch off the leaves. Too much foliage will slow the drying process and can cause rotting.
3. Use a rubber band to secure the stems together.
4. Hang the flowers with the blooms facing downwards in a well-ventilated area out of direct sunlight.

How to Press Flowers

Let your flowers dry by pressing them, which allows you to use the blooms for bookmarks, jewelry, soaps, crafts, or baking. "Pressed flowers don’t work in a vase arrangement because the stem often needs to be snipped off, but are gorgeous pressed to the sides of a frosted cake, as cookie toppers, or attached to a place card for a special occasion," says Wingett.

1. Pick flowers on a dry day so they don't have a lot of extra moisture.
2. Sandwich two sheets of wax or parchment paper between two sheets of plywood. Secure the wood together with wing nut screws and bolts at the corner. (A large, heavy book also works for this process.)
3. Place the flowers between the wax or parchment paper layers, and close the press or book. If using a book, weigh it down to help the process.
4. Make sure all the moisture is gone and your flowers are flat and papery before carefully removing them.

How to Dry Flowers Using Silica

Silica crystals are the best approach for drying flowers if you don't want to change their form or texture. "Drying flowers in silica is best for very special flowers," says Sutton. "This method can get costly depending on how many flowers you want to dry."

1. Find a plastic, lidded container that's large enough to hold your flowers.
2. Fill the bottom of the container with 1 to 2 inches of silica.
3. Place the flowers (face up) into the container.
4. Use more silica to fill the container, completely covering the flowers.
5. After the flowers have dried, gently brush off any silica dust. (Silica crystals can be used again.)

How to Dry Flowers Using Glycerine

Liquid glycerine doesn't just remove the moisture from your flowers; it replaces it. "Glycerine will give your flowers a soft, pliable feel and often keeps the natural shine of the foliage," says Wingett. "The glycerine will get wicked into the stems, eventually replacing the water in the flowers, keeping them soft."

1. Mix one part glycerine and two parts water in a bucket, filling it 2 inches deep.
2. Place the cut stems of the flowers into the glycerine-water mixture.
3. After the flowers have absorbed the glycerine, remove them and allow them to air dry.

Best Flowers for Drying

The types of flowers you dry depends largely on the method you're using.

• Air drying: The best candidates for air drying are hardy varieties with sturdy stems: straw flowers, grasses and grains, hydrangeas, and roses, says Wingett. Sutton also recommends amaranth, celosia, lavender, eucalyptus, sea holly, yarrow, and gomphrena.
• Pressing: Pressing flowers is best done with smaller, delicate flowers with low moisture content. Leaves should be removed and pressed separately, says Sutton. Options include pansies, larkspur, forget-me-nots, small orchids, cosmos, borage, daisies, and the individual petals of roses and delphinium.
• Silica: Dry fragile blooms—like water lilies, roses, and mums—in gentle silica. This method will keep the petals of more delicate blooms from shriveling up while drying, says Wingett. 
• Glycerine: This method works for any flower you want to keep pliable and colorful, from small ferns to structural magnolia to globe-shaped hydrangea, says Wingett.

How Long It Takes to Dry Flowers

The time required to dry your flowers depends on the method you use—and the type of blooms. Thinner, smaller flowers will dry more quickly, while flowers with thicker stems and sturdier petals may take longer.

• Air drying: Two to three weeks
• Pressing: Two to four weeks
• Silica: One to three weeks
• Glycerine: One to six weeks

When to Dry Flowers

You'll have the most success drying flowers that are in bloom—but not yet beyond their prime. "The temptation to dry a beloved flower arrangement once it has passed its peak is when most people start to experiment with drying flowers, but the best time to dry flowers is when they’ve just opened their blooms and are still perky," says Wingett. "Harvest your flowers when they’re fully open but not to the point where the petals become soft and begin to fall off easily."

How to Add Color to Dried Flowers

The muted hues of dried flowers are part of their appeal. But if you want to recreate the more vibrant shades of just-opened blooms, Wingett recommends adding color during the drying process. "Experiment with adding dye to a bucket of water and placing the fresh flower stems in overnight to let the dye seep up into the stems and blossoms," she says. "I also love dipping dried flowers into a bucket of dye or watered-down paint, then hanging them upside down to dry again. There are wonderful eco-friendly plant-based dyes and paints that make great candidates for coloring your flowers."

How Long Dried Flowers Last

Once dried, flowers can last indefinitely—but they won't stay unblemished forever. "Time, cobwebs, and dust can make them look tired, but the worst element for dried material is sunlight, especially direct sun," says Sutton. "They will fade quickly and may become brittle and unsightly. Avoid putting dried arrangements near windows or anywhere the sun will hit them." Wingett suggests leaving your dried arrangements on display until the following year's blooms are ready to take their place. "I recommend giving them a year before tossing them in the green waste and refreshing them at home," she says.