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Since ancient times, people have been interested in preserving flowers. The techniques used in flower management include the following:
- Air-drying
- Floral pressing
- Freeze-drying
- Silica gel pressing
While air-drying and floral pressing have been in use since prehistoric times, freeze drying and silica gel drying have been developed in the last three hundred years.
At Flowersnthings, we know you would love to preserve your wedding bouquet, to remind you of the happiest day in your life. The method you choose to preserve flowers depends on how much you want to spend, how long you want the flowers to last, and how you want the flowers to appear after preservation. Air-Drying Flowers:
It is very easy to air-dry flowers. The following is a brief overview compiled to help preserve your flowers:
- Divide your wedding bouquet into smaller bunches of flowers.
- Remove the leaves and tie the stems with wire, rubber bands, or twine.
- Hang all bunches upside down in a dark, warm, and dry room fortwo to three weeks.
Air-Drying is the easiest and least expensive way of preserving flowers, but air-dried flowers tend to darken in color, shrivel, lose shape, and do not last long.
Silica-Gel Pressing:
Silica gel formula, which is easily available at garden centers, can be used to preserve flowers. Approximately, three pounds of silica gel is required for 12 flowers. The following is a brief overview compiled to help preserve your flowers:
- Cover the bottom of an airtight container with a layer of silica gel.
- Cut the flowers’ stems and leaves, and lay the flowers on the gel. Add more silica on top and close the container with tape.
- Open the container to check after a week?if the flowers feel papery, they have dried.
- Remove the flowers from the container.
Silica gel drying is quick and inexpensive, if done at home. Although flowers look and feel more natural when you use this method, they last only a little longer than air-dried flowers because they soon become brittle.
Floral Pressing:
Flowers can be easily pressed at home, between sheets of blotting paper. The following is a brief overview compiled to help preserve your flowers:
- Place the flowers between the sheets of paper and two boards of wood, with weights on top.
- The flowers will dry within two weeks, can last a lifetime, and you can add paint to enhance the color.
- However, pressed flowers do lose their shape, and pressed roses do not look natural.
It is ideal for flat-faced flowers, like pansies, petunias, violas and daisies. However, roses have to be pressed petal by petal.
Freeze-drying:
Freeze-drying is an expensive and complicated method. Nevertheless, this preserves the bouquet for the longest possible time. The following is a brief overview compiled to help preserve your flowers:
- The bouquet is photographed and then the flowers are separated.
- Each flower will be dehydrated and treated with a chemical solution so that it retains its colors.
- The flowers are loaded into the freeze dryer, where the temperatures are 25 degrees below zero and the flowers are put in a vacuum chamber.
- They remain in the freeze dryer for a two-week period, during which the moisture is drawn out and the temperature is gradually raised to room temperature levels.
- On removal from the freeze dryer, flowers are chemically treated to protect them from fading and moisture.
Freeze-dried flowers are an ideal technique to preserve flowers. The flowers not only retain their shape and color but also last for a lifetime.
Get in touch with us for your flower preservation and management needs. Resources Autumn Wedding Flowers Types Of Flowers
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