The traditional method for drying flowers is air drying. To air-dry flowers, you tie the stems together with string and then hang them upside down. Air drying flowers — especially when the weather is cold, wet, or humid — can take a very long time. As a result, attempting to air dry flowers in Milwaukee can sometimes take up to two weeks before the flowers are actually ready. Our flower experts at Welke’s Florist recommend adding heat to the process and using a faster method for drying flowers.

Dried Pink Roses

How to Dry Flowers in Hours or Minutes

Microwave

The fastest way to dry flowers is in the microwave. You’ll need a microwave-safe container and enough silica sand to cover your flowers completely. First, trim the leaves and excess stem length from your flowers. If you’re drying flowers from a mixed arrangement, like the “Beyond Brilliant Luxury Bouquet” it’s best to sort flowers by type because flowers of different sizes, density, and thickness will dry at different rates. As a result, you’ll want to dry them in separate batches.

Beyond Brilliant Luxury Bouquet

When your flowers are prepared, arrange them in the microwave-safe container and cover them completely with silica sand. Put them in the microwave with a cup of water and heat them in 30-second intervals, checking their progress each time. Most flowers will be totally dry after about two or three minutes total.

Oven

If you don’t have silica sand or if you want to dry your flowers with the stems completely intact, then you can dry them in the oven. This method isn’t as fast as the microwave, but it’s much faster than air drying. You’ll need a full day, between eight and twelve hours, for your flowers to dry. Preheat your oven to its lowest setting and line a cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper. Arrange flowers on the baking tray so that they do not touch or overlap, as this will cause them to stick together. Put them in the oven and leave the door cracked so moisture can escape. Be sure to keep an eye on them while they dry.

However you dry your flowers, it’s important that you remove all the moisture. Any leftover water inside the flowers will cause them to rot. When flowers are completely dry, they’ll take on a texture that feels similar to tissue paper.

Bouquet of Dried Roses

Why Dry Flowers at All?

Drying flowers is a great way to preserve memories from a special occasion. By drying a wedding bouquet or anniversary flowers, you can be reminded of your happy memories every single day.

There are also lots of wonderful things you can do with dried flowers to decorate your home. You can always display them in a vase, but there are plenty of additional options. For shorter-stemmed flowers that were dried in the microwave, we recommend arranging them on a wicker wreath base and hanging above a mantelpiece or in a bedroom. You can use dried flowers to make a shadow box display, an artful floral collage, or even a garland.

Bouquet of Dried Flowers in Glass Vase

For more tips about the best ways to dry flowers or recommendations on the best bouquets for drying, we welcome you to stop by Welke’s Florist.