Drying Flowers: Harvest, Hang & Store for Long-Lasting Arrangements

Preserve garden beauty with air-dried flowers. Keys to success:

• Harvest: Late afternoon, after heat, before dew. Cut stems long, strip foliage. Choose not-fully-open, flawless blooms.
• Bundle: Small bunches, heads not touching. Secure with rubber band.
• Hang: Upside down in warm, dry, dark, well-ventilated space (garage, attic, closet).
• Time: 1–3 weeks until crisp.
• Store: Airtight containers (better than cardboard for pest protection).

Best Candidates for Drying

Annuals: Celosia, Gomphrena, Helichrysum (strawflower), Limonium (statice), Lunaria (money plant), Nigella (seed pods), Calendula, Centaurea (bachelor's buttons), Gaillardia, Grains (oats, wheat, millet), Ornamental grasses.

Perennials: Achillea (yarrow), Astilbe, Artemisia annua (sweet Annie), Echinacea (cones), Eryngium (sea holly), Echinops (globe thistle), Gypsophila (baby's breath), Hydrangea, Physalis (Chinese lantern), Rudbeckia (cones), Solidago (goldenrod).