It is likely that at some point you have found a dry flower between the pages of one of your books that you did not remember having put there. And it is that books are one of the most popular traditional ways of drying flowers. But they are not the only way to do it as we show you today by sharing four ways to dry a rose at home.
The rose is one of the most popular flowers in our gardens and one of the most gifted around the world. And it is usual that one wants keep them longer. Drying them is one way to do it and you can do it at home easily. It will not be a preserved flower, its appearance will change with drying, but you will be able to continue enjoying it beyond the three days that it lasts fresh.
between the pages of a book
The use of books is one of the most common techniques to dry both roses and all kinds of flowers and plants. And it is because it is very simple and anyone can use it at home without having to buy any product. It is not the fastest technique and you will have to wait to see the roses completely dry but there is a certain romanticism in the process that captivates.
To dry a rose in this way you only need some roses and a large and heavy book, which will work as a press. Keep in mind that the flowers will release moisture and that this could deteriorate its pages, so do not use a book that you do not want to spoil for anything in the world.
Do you want to prevent moisture from deteriorating the book and at the same time speed up the process? You can place a cardboard and a blotting paper between the flower and the pages in a sandwich mode: book page, cardboard, blotting paper, flower, blotting paper, cardboard and book page.
If you change the blotting paper every week and add weight as the process progresses, you will get better results. In approximately 5 weeks, you will be able to enjoy your dried roses. Flat and without volume, but equally beautiful.
Into the air
Another traditional way to dry a rose is in the air. And with this expression we do not refer to letting them dry in the sun, but to hang them in a cool, dry and dark place to let the rose water evaporate naturally. This way you will get a dry rose with volume unlike what happened with the previous technique.
To apply this technique the bud of the roses must be newly opened. Otherwise the petals fall off before complete drying. In addition, the roses should have a long, clean stem so that they can be tied together with a thin string without exerting too much pressure. Then you will only have to follow the following steps:
- Once the tie at the base of the stems, take a hanger and tie the string to the base of the hanger so that the roses hang upside down.
- You already have it? The next step will be hang the hanger in a cool, dry, dimly lit place so that the color of the roses does not measure too much.
- Let the roses be dry between 15 and 20 days.
- When they are completely finished, you can use a lacquer to spray them and thus give them strength and shine.
In the oven
Roses can also be dried in the oven, although the delicacy of these flowers means that they have to be be very careful with this technique to achieve a good result. Keeping the roses vertical and not rushing will be the keys to it. But let's go step by step:
- Place some kind of grid to help you keep roses upright Inside the oven.
- Then, place the flowers on these supports and make sure they hold well.
- Once the roses are in place, turn the oven on low, around 36-38ºC. Never above 40ºC or the roses will burn.
- keep the roses in the oven about 3 hours or until completely dry.
- Then turn off the oven, open the door and forget about them for a couple of hours.
- Last take them out of the oven carefully and apply lacquer to help them preserve themselves better.
with silica gel
If you are looking for a quick method to dry roses, silica gel will become your best ally. It is a common blotter and easy to find. that will absorb the humidity of the roses and will do so, moreover, without altering its natural appearance.
To dry roses with this technique, you will only need to place a XNUMX-centimeter layer of gel in a sealable container in which the roses fit. Afterwards, all you have to do is introduce the roses, cover them with more silica and keep the container closed for approximately 10 days before opening it again.
Now that you know how to dry a rose, will you dare to do it?