Dry roses - Tips and home remedies for preserving

• Classic drying
• Washing powder: an alternative
• Dry roses with glycerine

Roses! The love flower and transient beauty that can only be kept as cut flowers for a few days due to their sensitive petals. For this reason, it is a common practice to dry the roses to preserve their beauty, which is easier said than done. Nevertheless, there are various ways to preserve the flowers to enjoy them longer.

You got a rose from your sweetheart and want to admire it for several weeks ">

Classic drying

The classic way to dry roses uses hot air and a little time. The process is similar to many herbs and can be done in the same way. The following three variants are available:

1. Air dry: if you decide to air dry, it is best to dry a whole bunch immediately. Of course you can dry some roses, but the air drying takes a bit and therefore it is worth drying several copies at the same time. Proceed as follows:

• tie the roses together to make a bouquet
• this is best suited for a binding wire or a solid yarn
• Now also tie a rubber band tightly around the bouquet
• This prevents the roses from slipping out
• Hang the roses in a dry, dark place
• Moisture should not be contained in the room, as this greatly delays the process
• Boilers, attics and storage rooms are well suited for this purpose
• after a few weeks they are completely dried

The only problem with this method is the final state of the roses. These crumble after that pretty fast and must be treated with the utmost care. This method is therefore particularly suitable for replacing the petals at the end.

2. Oven: with the oven, the roses dry faster. The big advantage of this method is that you do not have to wait that long for the roses to dry. Proceed as follows:

• prepare baking paper on a baking sheet
• Preheat the oven to 50 ° C to 80 ° C
• Place the flowers on the baking sheet
• Now let the roses dry for several hours
• leave the door open a crack

You have to check the roses with this method every now and then. If they look dried, turn off the oven and remove it.

3. Dehydrator: the Dehydrator is used in a similar way to the oven, but usually no whole roses can be dried here. These are simply too long for the dehydrator. It is best to cut off the flowers and let them dry for a few hours at the same temperature as the oven.

The three upper methods are ideal for drying roses, if you want to use them for cooking. Often, dried roses are used to make potpourri or an edible ornamentation. If you want to use the flowers in this way, you only need to dry the petals, which must not be together during drying.

Tip: if you want to dry roses and then use them as decoration, you must spray them with a hairspray or varnish thoroughly. The hair spray protects the roses from crumbling and dust, which allows for easy cleaning and long-lasting enjoyment of the flowers.

Washing powder: an alternative

Air drying in combination with the use of hair spray can be considered as a classic home remedy. But there are other methods and home remedies that can help you successfully dry roses. For the use of washing powder offers excellent. Washing powder removes moisture from the roses, thus drying the roses. A big advantage compared to air drying is the preservation of the flower color. The color does not fade through the use of washing powder. When using this home remedy, proceed as follows:

Step 1: Use only washing powder. Liquid detergent does not provide the desired effect.

Step 2: Now choose a large, airtight container in which either the roses with stem or just the flowers fit. It is recommended to dry the roses with a stalk or as a bouquet.

Step 3: Now hold the roses in the jar and start filling the cavities with the powder. Pay special attention here to capture all gaps. Again and again, shake the vessel to distribute the powder better. Take your time here so that no cavities are created. Wear gloves when using silica gel.

Step 4: Once the roses are completely covered with the powder, close the lid and store the container in a dark place. This should be dry and warm. Do not stir it afterwards.

Step 5: Now you have to wait a few weeks. After about three weeks, check how the roses look. Be very careful.

Tip: if you do not have washing powder, you can use ordinary salt, or even better, silica gel. These have the same effect as the washing powder, but the silica gel is the strongest and the salt the weakest for this method.

Dry roses with glycerine

You are wondering if there is any way to preserve roses so that you still look fresh and do not lose their color ">

Step 2: Now cut off the ends of the rose stalks. Use the knife and cut the ends at an angle, as the florist would. This allows the roses to easily absorb the glycerine water.

Step 3: If you place several roses in the vase at the same time, it is worthwhile to tie them together carefully and without pressure. As a result, they retain their shape and do not tip over accidentally.

Step 4: Place the roses in the vase. Leave the roses in the solution until small droplets emerge from the petals. That takes on average five to 28 days. After that, the roses are preserved.

Depending on how the glycerin works, either only the flowers are preserved or even the entire flower including stem and leaves. If only the flowers are conserved, you can cut them off and decoratively use them for permanent arrangements or as decoration in rooms or as a single gift.

Tip: You can even preserve a variety of other flowers with this method. However, you have to try something here, because not every flower acts in the same way on the glycerin and the exposure time of the glycerol can differ greatly.