Seeing as I work in a flower shop (and not just any flower shop, the end all be all of cool girl flower shops, saipua) you’d think I’d be good about keeping flowers in the house. Well, I’m not. When I do bring some home, my cats eat them or I get distracted and don’t change the water like I should. Shameful, yes? That’s when hydrangea drying comes in. Normally I’m a bit suspicious of dried flowers- too dusty, fussy and grandmotherly. But in sweet small vases, these hydrangeas look as good as new for months and will happily keep the little nooks of my apartment stocked in flowers through out the winter months. Perfect for budget minded, semi lazy, feminine flower freaks like myself. -Amy
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Hydrangeas are at the optimal drying stage in the early fall so get your clippers out asap!
What you’ll need:
- clippings of fresh hydrangea, I used lacecap (the pinkish) and mophead (the bluish)
- small bottles or vases
- clippers
It’s not so much a question of how to dry hydrangeas, as much as when to dry them. Generally, the later in the growing season, the better results you’ll have. Dusty pink or green tones are a good signs when looking for candidates for drying, the whiter varieties don’t dry as well.
To prep your flowers, strip off all of the leaves. Clip stems and place in vase, with or without water. Leave in a cool, dry space and let nature run it’s course.
Dried hydrangeas, and most dried flowers in general, look the best in naturally arranged clusters. The smaller size cuts down on the “grandma effect” that can sometimes stigmatize big mixed arrangements of dried flowers.
When arranging dried flowers, it’s a good time to use miniature vases that normally would evaporate water in just a day or two while holding fresh flowers. A few of my favorite repurposed vases are salt and pepper shakers, ink wells and medicine bottles.
