How to dry flowers at home: four methods

Drying a bouquet is the cheapest way to preserve it, and it works better if you start before the flower is on its last day. A dried flower keeps the state it was in when it went into the process.

1. Hanging upside down: the universal method

It is the simplest and gives the best result in most cases.

1. Strip all the leaves from the stems.
2. Make small bunches of five or six stems, tied with string or a rubber band (the rubber band tightens on its own as the stems shrink).
3. Hang them upside down in a dark, dry, ventilated place. A closet with the door ajar works perfectly.
4. Wait two to three weeks.

Darkness is not optional: light fades color. A bouquet dried in the sun turns beige; the same bouquet dried in the dark keeps a good part of its color.

Works very well with: lavender, roses, statice, baby's breath, hydrangeas, eucalyptus, wheat.

2. Pressing: for flat flowers

Between two sheets of absorbent paper, inside a thick book, with more weight on top. Two to four weeks. It gives a two-dimensional result, ideal for frames, bookmarks or cards.

Works with: pansies, violets, daisies, leaves, ferns. It is no good for anything bulky.

3. Silica gel: the best result

It is the method that keeps the three-dimensional shape and color almost intact. You can find it at art supply stores and garden centers.

1. Put two centimeters (about an inch) of silica in an airtight container.
2. Set the flower in it, cut with a short stem, and cover it completely, letting the silica trickle in little by little between the petals.
3. Close it and wait two to seven days depending on how thick the flower is.

It is the only method that properly preserves an open rose or a peony. It costs more, and the silica can be reused indefinitely by drying it in the oven.

4. Glycerin: for foliage

One part glycerin to two parts hot water, with the stems in it for one or two weeks. The plant replaces its water with glycerin and stays flexible, not brittle. It is what is used for eucalyptus and the preserved leaves sold as decor. It shifts the color to darker tones.

How to make them last

• Away from direct sun: that is what fades them.
• Away from humidity: in a bathroom they go soft and mold appears.
• No water, obviously.
• Remove dust with a hair dryer on cool and the lowest setting.

Well kept, they last between one and three years. After that the color dulls and it is worth replacing them. The store-bought alternative, preserved and "forever" flowers, is compared in preserved, dried and fresh flowers.