We all love hydrangeas with their big heads full of beautiful tiny flowers. They come in different colors from pink, grey, blue, purple, red or light green. Once their fresh looking beauty fades away, you can still enjoy their presence for a longer time.
Hydrangeas are one of the flowers that take almost no effort to preserve—they dry in about two weeks' time and can last more than one year.
Wreath Loop with hydrangeas and berries.
Methods for an ideal preservation
You can preserve hydrangeas in several ways, but the water-drying method helps the flowers retain their color best and last the longest.
Cut the hydrangeas blossoms in September to October. Leave a 12 cm in stem and remove all the leaves.
Place the flowers in a vase with fresh water and to cove half of the length of their stems.
Keep the vase in a cooler place and avoid direct sunlight. Do not add more water. Allow the water to evaporate completely from the vase. This process will usually take about two weeks—at the end, your hydrangeas should feel dry to the touch and the stems should snap off easily. At this point, they are ready to use.
You can use also the air-drying method by hanging the individual stems upside down in a cool, dry location. Air-dried hydrangeas tend to be a bit more brittle than their water-dried ones, but they still turn out beautiful.
The above wreath was designed with freshly cut hydrangea kept in the water for 2 days. After few days off the water they are drying nicely in the arrangement for a long lasting natural home decor.
Hydrangeas in a bucket filled with water left in a cool, dry place to dry naturally for one to two weeks.
Use of dried hydrangeas
There are many decorative ways to display your dried hydrangeas. They're beautiful by themselves in a vase, but you can also mix them into seasonal wreaths, as wall decorations, to cover imperfections on the walls or add them alongside other dried berries and foliage.
Installation using dried hydrangea
Different ways of displaying dried hydrangeas
Dried hydrangea heads are great in designs, especially where you do not have access to water that easily.
I would be thrilled to see your own designs with dried hydrangea. Just tag me on your Instagram posts by using the address account @flowerme_bouquets
Mihaela