How to Dry Annual Flowers: 5 Methods for Lasting Beauty

Preserving Flowers

You don’t have to say goodbye to summer blooms. At least five drying methods preserve their beauty for winter enjoyment. Many flowers—strawflowers, daisies, celosia, baby’s breath, statice, ornamental grasses—air-dry well. Strip leaves, then hang or place in a dark, well-ventilated area.

Stiff-stemmed flowers (bells of Ireland) can stand upright in a jar. Floppy-stemmed flowers hang upside down in loose bundles from nails, hooks, or wire hangers. Or staple chicken wire to a frame and slip stems through the holes. Forgotten vase arrangements often dry naturally—great for foliage.

Sand drying: Fill a sturdy box with an inch of fine sandbox sand. Lay flowers on top, gently cover completely with sand, leave uncovered, and check after three weeks.

Verbena is excellent for drying. Learn to grow it.

Best Annuals for Drying

Air-dry upside down: hollyhock, zinnia, cosmos (in sand/silica gel), love-lies-bleeding, prince’s feather, cockscomb, plumed celosia, snapdragons (silica gel). Most ornamental grasses—hare’s-tail, quaking grass, foxtail millet, squirrel-tail grass—dry perfectly hung in bunches; harvest when fresh. Dusty miller leaves press elegantly.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Classic air-dry: Gather small bunches, hang upside down in a dry, airy, dark place. Coat hangers work well.

2. Many-petaled flowers (zinnias, marigolds) often dry best in silica gel. Lay heads on a layer of gel, cover completely, seal, and check in 2–7 days.

Timesaving tip: Starflower, statice, globe amaranth, and love-in-a-mist dry perfectly just stuck in a bottle.

More Drying Techniques

On Wires

Papery flowers like strawflowers dry easily. Clip blooms just as they begin to open, insert a 20-gauge wire through the stem end, stick the wire into foam board, and dry 3 weeks.

Upside Down

Globe amaranth, baby’s breath, fernleaf yarrow, artemisia, liatris, ammobium, statice, celosia, 'Victoria Blue' salvia, hydrangea, and long-stemmed roses air-dry well hung upside down. Tips: cut at bouquet length in mid-morning at peak bloom; if delayed, stand in cool water.

In Silica Gel

Dahlias, zinnias, feverfew, delphiniums, snapdragons, and daisies dry best in silica gel (craft stores). Place heads face-up on 1 inch of gel in an airtight container, gently cover, seal, and leave 2 days to 1 week—check often to avoid brittleness.

Flower Pressing

• Book method: Fold flowers in paper towel, place between magazine pages, weight with heavy books for 2 weeks. Best for thin flowers: pansy, coralbells, bleeding heart, lily-of-the-valley, hardy geranium, bellflower.
• Flower press: Allows pressing more and thicker flowers.

Pressing Instructions

1. Arrange petals. For complex flowers (roses, carnations, mums), dismantle petal by petal on a padded board, no overlap.

2. Layer and press. Cover with blotting paper, then cardboard. Repeat for a second board. Stack between wooden press boards, bind with rubber bands.

3. Dry for weeks or microwave on defrost for ~3 minutes (time varies). 4. Cool completely, then remove petals with tweezers; store flat in envelopes or boxes.