How to Dry Flowers: Simple Instructions for Air Drying
Drying Cut Flowers & Ornamental Grasses
It's easy to forget that the bright colors of peak season can be kept and enjoyed all year. Air-drying is one of the simplest ways to preserve flowers, which is why it's one of the oldest and still the most popular.
If you want to dry flowers yourself, you probably already have everything you need, plus somewhere to hang them. Suitable flowers may even be growing in your garden or a nearby field.
Here's how to do it, along with ideas for using and selling dried flowers that carry summer color indoors through fall and winter.
Selecting a drying space
Barn lofts were built to keep hay dry, and those same conditions, dry, airy and dark, are exactly what drying flowers needs.
A good spot for air-drying has three qualities:
- Dry. The drier the air, the better.
- Well-ventilated. Air movement keeps moisture from lingering and stops mold from forming on stems and petals.
- Dark. Garage, barn and house attics are often ideal, since most have few or no windows. Darkness isn't essential for drying, but it helps flowers keep their fresh color instead of fading. (On the other hand, some growers deliberately let grasses, grains and thin-stemmed flowers sun-bleach for a soft, faded look in fall arrangements.)
You'll also need something to hang flowers from. For a bouquet or two, a few hooks are plenty. For bigger batches, run sturdy wire between rafters as drying lines, much like a clothesline.
Choosing flowers for drying
Some flowers dry better than others:
- Very juicy flowers such as peonies usually dry less well than those with less moisture.
- Fragile flowers such as carnations are also harder to air-dry than tougher ones.
For best results, choose species and varieties known to dry well. Classic drying flowers include:
- Statice
- Celosia
- Ammobium
- Gomphrena
- Helipterum (Rhodanthe spp, or paper daisy)
- For foliage and filler, ornamental grasses
For more ways to broaden your flower offerings, read our article on materials beyond blossoms.
Many seed sellers flag the flowers, grasses, herbs and other materials that dry well with a label such as Ideal for Drying & Crafts symbol.
When to cut
Stage
When your flowers are up and blooming, the next question is when to cut them.
- Flowers for fresh bouquets are often cut with only a few buds open, but flowers meant for drying should be nearly fully open. They'll open a little more while they dry, but not much.
- Some flowers are exceptions, so check the harvest notes in the variety description or on the seed packet.
- Cut any flower meant for drying before it sets seed.
- Overmature flowers also drop pollen, which is messy, or lose their petals, leaving bare stems.
Time of day
- Morning is the best time to cut, but because you're aiming to dry the stems, let the dew burn off first. Wet stems take longer to dry and are more likely to mold.
- As with fresh flowers, cutting in midday heat can make them wilt. Even in the cooler evening, plants may not have recovered from the heat and won't be at their best.
How to Dry Flowers, Step-by-Step
-
Cut flowers & strip leaves.
- Leave stems long enough to bundle, and think about how you'll use them: long stems for tall vases, short ones for boutonnieres.
- Strip the leaves right in the field. Bare stems dry faster and look cleaner.
-
Place upright.
- Stand cut stems upright in a bucket or similar container to carry large amounts out of the field easily.
- Straight stems are usually preferred, though not always.
- Check the variety notes or seed packet for species-specific drying tips.
-
Gather in small bunches.
- Group the stems into small bunches. Big bunches take longer to dry because less surface is exposed to air.
- Dry each species or variety on its own or mix them. You can assemble bouquets before or after drying.
- Stems and flowers shrink as they dry, so bouquets made ahead may end up with gaps.
-
Secure stems.
- Bind stems with a rubber band, string, twine, wire or unflavored dental floss.
- Rubber bands are handy because they tighten as the drying stems shrink.
- With other ties, use a slip knot so it cinches tighter by itself.
-
Hang.
- Hang bunches upside down from hooks or wire with paper clips, floral wire or twist ties.
- Hanging them upside down keeps stems straight.
- Leave room between bunches so air can circulate; ventilation is essential.
-
Exceptions: Not every flower needs to hang upside down, and you might want some with curved stems.
- Trailing amaranths such as 'Emerald Tassels' and 'Love-Lies-Bleeding' look lovely dried and arranged so they cascade toward the floor.
- Letting some stems dry upright in a vase so they curve naturally adds depth to dried designs.
-
Wait!
- Most flowers dry in about a month, depending on the size of the blooms and stems. They're ready when stems and flowers feel stiff.
- Warmer conditions and more air movement, from natural drafts or fans, speed drying.
Step 2 • Stand stems upright in buckets.
Step 3 • Make small bunches.
Step 4 • Fasten the stems.
Step 5 • Hang them up.
Dried flower care • Avoiding problems
Sun bleaching and mold, seen on this celosia, rob dried flowers of their best color.
Dried flowers have few problems. As covered above, sun fades color and excess moisture invites mold, and both are easy to prevent.
Dust is another issue. Dried flowers are fairly fragile and can't simply be wiped clean. For long-term storage, wrap them in tissue paper and box them once fully dry.
Some flowers, strawflowers for example, have very brittle stems once dried, so many growers cut off the stem after harvest and push floral wire through the flower head instead, making them easier to bunch later.
Dried flowers keep for up to about a year; after that, most gather dust or fade.
Celosia comes in many heights and intriguing forms, in all the classic fall colors, making it ideal for dried autumn designs. Pictured is a color mix from the group of Celosia argentea var. cristata with crested heads that look and feel a bit like a brain.
Uses for Dried Florals
As winter growing and season extension catch on, demand for local products all year has grown too. Like other value-added goods, dried flowers let winter CSA shares and indoor market tables offer more than vegetables. Treat dried flowers as another storage crop that needs good handling before it goes to market.
Most dried flowers end up in long-lasting arrangements. Good design always sells, and flowers dried out of the light will keep their color for months, a cheerful sight in midwinter. Take apart your dried bunches, pick the elements you and your customers like best, bind the stems and decorate as you like.
Seasonal and holiday decorating is a classic market for dried flowers. Celosia comes in all the warm fall shades, so it looks right at home on a Thanksgiving table. A month later, people swap November décor for winter holiday decorations for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the solstice and New Year's. Beyond bouquets, evergreen wreaths, garlands and swags trimmed with dried flowers make great decorations, and some wreaths are made entirely of dried flowers.
Tiny bouquets, just 4–6" tall, make charming hand-held posies, boutonnieres or accents. Add dried herbs or a few drops of essential oil for a traditional nosegay.
More ideas
- Little bouquets also make thoughtful gifts for family and friends, or fragrant nosegays for Valentine's Day.
- Winter weddings have grown in popularity. For couples concerned about the footprint of flowers flown in from other continents, dried flowers are an option. Couples and planners can talk with a grower well ahead of time so flowers can be planted, grown and dried to order before the date. The bouquet, boutonnieres and all the ceremony and reception flowers can be dried, too, and kept as lasting mementos.
- Some edible flowers, and many herbs, can be dried for later use.
- Dried flowers add a floral touch to tea.
- Potpourri made from top-quality ingredients smells wonderful and looks lovely.
- Some dried flowers make natural dyes.
See our article on materials beyond blossoms for more ways to broaden your flower offerings.
Off-season cottage industry
Dried flowers on display at an Amsterdam market in September.
When fall frost threatens and you're scrambling to cover and harvest vegetables, remember your flowers. You tended them all summer, and cutting and drying them lets you enjoy their color long into winter.
With local flowers booming, there's plenty of opportunity for keen flower gardeners and growers in this niche, and for vegetable growers curious about flowers, it can be a good starting point. Combined with some creativity, dried flowers could grow into a satisfying small business.
