Drying long-stemmed roses from an arrangement or favorite garden specimen will enable you to prolong special memories and make long-lasting decorations. There are a number of techniques to successfully dry long-stemmed roses. Hanging up the roses to air dry is the easiest drying method, while using a floral desiccant like aloe gel will dry the roses more quickly and maintain better blossom shade. It is also likely to dry roses in fridge, but this will definitely leave the petals fragile.
Air Drying
Remove all of the leaves from each rose stem.
Bundle roses together using rubber bands, forming one or more small bunches of a few blooms each and minimizing contact between individual blooms.
Hang each package of roses upside down in a dark, dry and warm location. Check for dryness starting following a week.
Test the roses for dryness by gently touching several blossom petals in different spots. If dry, they’ll feel totally immune to the touch and papery.
Spray the rose blooms with a spray sealant for crafts to best preserve the bloom color, if desired.
Drying Using a Desiccant
Remove all of the leaves from the rose stem.
Place 1/2 to 1 inch of a desiccant such as silica gel, oolitic sand, or even a fine sand or cornmeal and borax mixture at the base of a container big enough to hold the rose flowers and stems. Follow directions on the desiccant packet in case you need to mix anythingelse.
Lay the roses on top of the desiccant gently, spacing the roses so that they aren’t touching each other.
Gently spoon desiccant around and over the roses till they are completely covered. Insert an extra 1/2 to 1 inch of desiccant. Place the lid on the container.
Remove the lid and then gently tip the container marginally to barely expose the blooms after about three days or even more, depending on the specific desiccant used.
Feel the rose petals gently. When they do not feel papery and dry, then re-cover the blooms with the desiccant and lid and then await dryness again following another day or 2.
Lift the dry roses out with a small spoon below the rose bloom or by lifting on the stem.
Gently brush any desiccant remaining on the rose blooms off with a dry, soft brush.
Spray the rose blooms with a spray sealant for crafts to best preserve the bloom color, if desired.
