For a bouquet to look beautiful years after you receive it, it must be preserved using the right method. There are various alternatives for this:
How to preserve a bouquet of flowers?
To preserve a bouquet, you can air dry it, treat it with dry s alt or silica, use wax coating or use glycerin. Each method has its own advantages and is suitable for certain types of flowers.
- Air preservation,
- Drying with dry s alt,
- Wax coating of the flowers,
- Glycerin.
Air dry bouquet
This is probably the easiest option.
- The bouquet is tied tightly together again to dry.
- Then hang it upside down in a dark, airy place.
- Let it dry there until the leaves rustle gently when you rub it over it. Depending on the flowers, this can take up to two months.
- Additionally preserve the bouquet with a thin layer of clear varnish or extra strong hairspray.
This method is very suitable for roses, hydrangeas, gypsophila and protea. However, the flowers lose a little of their color. However, this gives the bouquet a very special charm.
Dry s alt or silica for delicate flowers
To preserve a bouquet of flowers in this way you will need:
- Dry s alt or silica gel beads
- a sufficiently large, tightly sealable container
- Cover the bottom of the container with about two centimeters of desiccant.
- Place the bouquet over the soil layer.
- Fill the gaps carefully with dry s alt or silica gel.
- Be particularly careful with the delicate flowers.
- Close the container tightly. Drying now takes three to seven days.
- After this time, remove from the container and gently shake off any excess dry material.
- Heat the wax in a water bath.
- Check the temperature. To prevent the flowers from burning, the temperature should not rise above 60 degrees.
- Dip each individual flower briefly into the wax bath and turn slowly so that the material is well distributed.
- Stand the flower up and shape the petals with a needle if necessary.
- Dry individually on a line.
- Once the wax has hardened, you can reassemble the bouquet.
- Cut the bouquet freshly so that the solution is absorbed quickly.
- Mix one part glycerin with two parts water and place the bouquet inside.
- Let it stand in the liquid until there are no more droplets on the petals.
If you dry the bouquet in this way, the color of the flowers remains almost unchanged.
Secure floppy flowers with wax
If you want to preserve a bouquet almost forever, you can cover the flowers with wax. Special dipping wax (€15.00 on Amazon), which you can get from craft supplies in a neutral color, is ideal. This coating gives the flowers a shiny appearance.
Preservation with glycerin
This method works well for small bouquets whose flowers have solid stems.
Tip
Roses can also be preserved by candying them. To do this, mix a cup of sugar with a cup of water and heat everything up. Pour the syrup into a container and dip the flower into it. If you wish, you can sprinkle a few sugar crystals on the flower. Let everything dry thoroughly.
