You would probably prefer to preserve all the flowers from the garden and admire them for a long time. Luckily, this is actually possible with some types of flowers - dried flowers, for example, last forever, while others can be pressed wonderfully. The ever-popular roses are also one of these flowers that can be made more durable and there are various methods for doing this. Everyone knows that you can hang them upside down and dry them. But what other ways are there to preserve roses?
The classic: preserving roses by drying them
The classic and least complicated method is probably hanging. But even though it is the most well-known, not everyone gets it right. How exactly can you dry and preserve roses?
- Remove the leaves from the stems.
- Tie rubber or string around the rose stem. You can dry up to 10 roses at once and together. Alternatively, you could string up string and hang each rose individually, which would be even better.
- Find a suitable place to dry: It should be dark (so that the colors don't fade due to sunlight, for example), dry and well ventilated.
- Hang the flower or bouquet as freely as possible.
- Let them dry in peace. This can take anywhere from 10 to 30 days, depending on the type of rose, the amount of flowers and the air conditions in the drying room.
- A rustling noise indicates that the flowers are sufficiently dry.
Rose heads dry in the oven
If you want to make potpourri or preserve the rose petals, you can also let the roses dry in the oven. To do this, cut off the stems and spread the flower heads on a baking rack covered with newspaper. Heat the oven to 50 or a maximum of 60 degrees and let the flowers “bake” for several hours. You can also preserve whole roses in this way. But since the flowers are lying down, they would become flat on one side, which doesn't look particularly nice.
Preserve dried roses with hair polish
And how can you preserve roses for a long time after drying them? Dry roses actually last a very long time. However, you can extend the duration even further by spraying it with hairspray. To do this, simply take each flower individually, hold the hairspray at an appropriate distance (as with the hair) and seal the flower head from all sides. When preserving roses with hairspray, it is important not to hold the spray can too close, otherwise the paint will liquefy and form drops on the rose.
Preserve roses by freezing
It is indeed possible to preserve roses by freezing, but it is less practical. The reason for this is that in this case it only looks fresh as long as it is actually frozen. Once thawed, it wilts immediately. Would you still like to try it? Spray it with water while it is still fresh and place it in the freezer immediately. This doesn't work with flowers that have already dried, or rather it is more difficult and it would be especially unnecessary to freeze a flower that has already been preserved.
You can use this technique, for example, if you want to preserve roses for a cake. Don't remove the flowers until you serve the cake.
Fresh roses are preserved using various materials
How can you preserve roses other than drying or freezing? There are materials that have preservative properties and are suitable:
Use wax from a candle
Did you know you can grow roses? Using wax is simple and effective. You can find out exactly how to proceed and what you should consider if you want to preserve roses with waxin our postread up on the topic.
Preserve fresh roses with glycerin
This is also a common method for fresh rose petals. It is best to buy glycerin at the pharmacy. How to preserve the roses with glycerin:
- Mix the product in a glass or suitable vase with water in a 1:2 ratio.
- Cut the flower stems diagonally, as if you were going to put them in a vase.
- Place the flowers in the prepared container and leave them like this for several days.
What happens? The flower absorbs the liquid. The water from the flower evaporates over time, as usual, while the glycerin remains in the flower, maintaining it. Your project is finished when droplets emerge from the petals. You will be amazed at how good your preserved rose looks.
Salt or sugar as simple home remedies
Preserving roses with sugar:
- Boil a syrup from 1 kg of sugar and a liter of water. Feel free to make a smaller batch by reducing the quantities evenly.
- Take the flower and dip the flower head into the syrup. Rotate several times to ensure that the syrup covers everything.
- The task will be easier if you use a narrower, taller container that is easier to submerge the rose in.
- Then let the syrup dry.
If you want to make the rose petal even more beautiful, you can sprinkle it with a little granulated sugar while the syrup is still liquid. This makes the whole thing look more glamorous or as if it were covered in ice crystals.
Preserving roses Salt:
- Pour a layer of salt into a sealable container.
- Put the rose inside.
- Cover them with more salt. At the end it should be completely covered.
- Seal the container and let it sit for two or three weeks. The salt removes the moisture from the flower.
How to use silica gelfind out here.
