Whether as a nice thank you gesture, on special occasions or simply as decoration at the dinner table - the flowers add romance to everyday life. The queen of flowers in particular - the rose - enjoys great popularity as an absolute classic and is present in almost every arrangement. But as beautiful as thatdelicate rose petalslook, they are also unfortunately very sensitive and begin to wilt after just a few days. At the latest when the beautiful bouquet of flowers has to be thrown out, many people ask themselves the question: How can I make the roses last forever? We offer you three simple methods that you can use to preserve the roses!
First method: Preserving roses with glycerin
The first method has already been presented in numerous YouTube videos - the roses are preserved with glycerin. But in order for the end result to be satisfactory, you should pay attention to a few important points when preserving it. We explain the method in details.
If youPreserving rosesIf you want to, you can do this with glycerin - it is an environmentally friendly alternative to silica gel and has the decisive advantage that the flowers look fresh after preservation. An important prerequisite for success is that the roses are freshly cut, ideally from your own garden. Cut flowers that have already spent a day in a vase in the store can only be preserved to a limited extent with glycerin. This is because the cells on the stem close at the interfaces and the glycerin cannot be absorbed properly.
So get fresh roses from your own garden, cut the stems diagonally and let the flowers dry in a dark and warm place for half an hour. Then mix lukewarm water and glycerin 2:1 in a bowl. The temperature of the water should be between 37-38 degrees Celsius. Cut the stems of the roses again - the optimal stem length is 20cm. Carefully remove any leaves that may come into contact with the glycerin (as a precaution, you can simply remove all rose petals). Distribute the glycerin mixture evenly into several mason jars and place only a single flower in each jar. Allow the roses to submerge in water for at least 24 hours (around 72 hours is optimal). Once you remove the flowers from the glycerin-water solution, you will never have to come into contact with water again. Direct sunlight is also an absolute no-no. The shelf life of the roses can vary between 2-3 weeks (if the roses are not fresh) and 2-3 months (fresh roses).
Preserve the roses with candle wax - Cool idea for Halloween decorations with preserved flowers
For the next project you will need candle wax (for example a granulate mixture of stearin, casting paraffin and drawing paraffin), an empty and clean can, pot, ice cream sticks and, if desired, black wax paint (you only need this if you want to make spooky flowers for Halloween) .
And so you canwith candle waxpreserve the roses:
Set the stove to medium heat, fill a pot halfway with water and warm it up. Then fill a can with the wax granules and place it in the middle of the pot. Each granule has a different melting point, which is between 53 and 66 degrees. Depending on how many roses you want to preserve, you can wait for the granules to melt and then add wax.
Gently stir the wax with an ice cream stick. The wax is sticky, so we recommend that you use inexpensive cans and ice cream sticks that you can simply throw away afterwards and don't have to clean. The next step is optional: add 2-3 drops of black wax dye to the wax. This way the ends of the rose petals are colored black and the rose gets a gothic look, perfect for Halloween. Otherwise the roses remain bright red.
Now dip the rose in the candle wax and then let it dry in a beer bottle. To be on the safe side, you can put paper under the bottle so that the black drops do not fall on the countertop and damage it. After the rose dries, dip it into the wax again. Choose roses with thick stems that are sturdy and can support greater weight. Let the finished roses dry and thenon the tablePlace on the napkins for Halloween. Red roses appear artificially outdated and add the finishing touch to the spooky decoration.
Preserving roses: TheAllow flowers to dry
Everyone knows the method: a single flower is placed between two sheets of white paper and pressed between several thick books. The flower stays for at least 10 days, every 2 days the white paper leaves are replaced with new ones. At the end you can look forward to pressed flowers with fresh colors. But the method has one significant disadvantage - bouquets cannot be preserved. So if you want to preserve the beautiful bouquet of roses, you can hang it upside down. This is important:
First take the bouquet out of the water, cut the stems diagonally and pat dry with kitchen paper. Carefully remove wilted leaves and flowers. Hang the bouquet of roses upside down in a dark, warm but well-ventilated room. Be careful not to damage the stems when hanging. Spray the rose petals with hairspray - it will ensure that their color is retained. Allow the bouquet to dry for a week to 10 days and keep checking to see if the flowers are completely dry.
Dry flowers with silica gel
The final guide is for drying flowers with silica gel. Simply fill a deep and as long as possible rectangular microwave bowl halfway with silica gel, arrange the individual flowers at a distance of 1cm from each other, then cover with silica gel. Let it dry for a few days, then carefully remove the flowers and shake them slightly so that the gel falls.
