Real Estate Blog - How to Dry Hydrangeas for Staging Projects

Home : Blogs : Maureen Bray ~ Home Stager Portland OR ~ Room Solutions Staging : Home Staging in Portland Oregon Blog

How to Dry Hydrangeas for Staging Projects

room Solutions Home Staging portland oregon

Ginger Foust recently wrote a blog about growing a curly willow tree to harvest it for home staging inventory.....and asked about drying hydrangeas. If you'd like simple steps on how to dry hydrangeas for your home staging projects, check out these easy instructions from eHow.

======================================================================

By eHow Home & Garden Editor: Introduction: Large, colorful hydrangeas are impressive in the garden and even more so when they have been dried and preserved. The trick to preserving these lush blooms is cutting them at just the right time.

Look closely at the hydrangea flower heads toward the end of the blooming season. There are actually two types of flowers on each head. You will see that the larger flowers have a tiny flower on top.
Wait until the tiny flowers on top have almost opened. The color will just have begun to fade. This is the prime time to cut them.
Cut stems at least 12 to 18 inches down from the base of the flowers.
Remove any leaves from the stems.
Place the cut flowers into a deep vase filled with clear, fresh water. The stems should be submerged at least half way.
Place the vase in a cool, dry area away from direct sunlight. You can enjoy the flowers during the drying process.
Allow the water to evaporate naturally from the vase. Once the water is completely gone, your hydrangeas should be dry and ready to use for floral decorations or craft projects.

Tips:

You can spray paint the flowers once they have dried if you want to change or enhance the color.
Cut the dried hydrangeas into smaller segments to use in craft projects.
Wire the small segments onto dry twigs or branches, or use a hot glue gun to attach them to floral arrangements.

=======================================================================

Maureen Bray @ Room Solutions Staging in Portland, OR offers home staging solutions to homeowners, investors, and realtors. Give us a call at 503-246-1800 and let us help you with your home staging needs.

Staging that sells Portland homes!

Posted by Maureen Bray ~ Home Stager Portland OR ~ Room Solutions Staging on 07/04/2007 05:40 PM

Comments (18)

Home Staging in the Home Selling Channel

home staging projects, drying hydrangeas, home staging portland or, room solutions staging portland oregon

Originally posted at: Home Staging in Portland Oregon Blog: How to Dry Hydrangeas for Staging Projects

Post is included in group: Staging Secrets
Post is included in group: Staging Crafts & Creatives
Post is included in group: Stager's Coffee Clutch

18 Comments on How to Dry Hydrangeas for Staging Projects

JUL

2007

Do you find that the flowers stay intact or do they shed? I love hydrangeas, but that is my only concern.

Thx! e-how is amazing. Mine, in Georgia, are probably just right for this project.

Lori ~ They stay intact. I dried some a year ago and they still look lovely....they are a bit fragile and should be handled carefully, but they look beautiful. You should give it a try ~ Thanks for stopping!

Karen ~ I only just discovered e-How and am sure I'll find lots of helpful info there. Your hydrangeas must be a bit ahead of ours here in Oregon....mine are just starting to bloom so won't be ready for drying for about a month or so. Give it a try and let us know how it comes out!

JUL

2007

Maureen, love it! Since I finally have some after trying to grow them for years I'm going to give this a try. My plant may be too young and I know that stems aren't long enough but it's worth the effort.

Maureen,

I have 2 huge Hydrangea bushes in my yard and always wanted to use the flowers - now I know how! I especially like the idea of spray painting them!

VAL

Ginger ~ Even if the flowers are small, give it a try as I'm sure they'll be pretty when dried. This process is so easy, you really just stick them in some water and let the water evaporate....mine still look great from last year's project.

Val ~ You're so lucky to have huge hydrangeas! I like the idea of spraying them too, hadn't tried that before. Let us know how they come out OK?

JUL

2007

I have used these flowers for making wreaths before and here in Eastern Canada I wait til the first frost hits them. They turn a beautiful pink-taupe. I pick them from the bush and insert right into the styroform wreath form. Then dry til totally dry, and spray with hairspray. They are fragile but last a long time. Thanks for sharing the paint idea too!

Nicola ~ Thanks for sharing your experience in using dried hydrangeas. Do you have any pictures of your completed wreaths to show us? It's funny, years ago I thought you bought a "blue" or a "pink" hydrangea, but later learned that their color can be manipulated by adding alkaline or acid supplements to the soil!

Darn Maureen,,,,I dont have any pictures now,,,,,but I must make more this fall,I aslo add a pretty ribbon , something to match the colors and very dainty too!

I have 2 large blue hydrangea bushes, and when its done blossoming and the blooms are just beginning to turn pink/green, I cut them. Be careful not to cut the stems too long, or you may cut off leaves and tiny flower buds for next spring.

I then tie the stems to a string, and if I have a lot of blooms (last year I did about 70), then I tie 6 or 7 stems to a very long string. I then tie the string to some exposed pipes in the basement so they hang up-side down. The cool and dry air in the basement is perfect, and they'll be dry in less than a week.

I used my dried blooms on my mantle at Christmas, hot glued onto faux greens, and mixed with berry picks and pine cones.

Sorry for the huge picture, but at least you see the hydrangeas on the mantle pretty well!

Monica ~ Wow - 70 stems from your 2 hygrangea bushes last year? You're lucky to have that many to work with ~ they look beautiful on your mantle with the faux greenery. I'm not sure what the difference is between drying them in water, like I've done before, and hanging them upside to dry.....but it seems like both methods produce good results. Thanks for the photo too ~ your kids look pretty excited about what Santa brought them! :-)

I dry mine upside down and spray with hairspray when dry. They look great in a shallow bowl all stuffed in. Now I have colored ones this year so am anxious to see how they dry.

JUL

2007

Kathleen ~ Thanks for your feedback on how you dry and display your hydrangeas.....when you say now you have colored ones this year, what kind were the ones last year?? This evening I felt kind of guilty, I was watering my hydrangea bush and was eyeing it for when I could "harvest" the blooms!

Thanks for this. Every year I try to dry a few and some are successful and some are not. Now i know why!

Kim Dillon, Creative Eye Home Staging

Last year it was my old plants so a creamy white on some and a very light lime green on the others. This year I planted 3 that are presently pink. Next year, I may try to get them to grow blue - now I have to remember what to add to do that - is it Epsom Salts? That works good on my roses anyway!!!!

Kathleen ~ Having acidic soil (low pH) gives you blue hydrangea blooms and having alkaline soil (higher pH - 7.0 and above) gives you pink hydrangea blooms. To get blue blooms, you can add aluminum sulfate: Add 1/2 oz (1 Tbsp) of aluminium sulfate per gallon of water around hydrangeas that are 2-3 years old throughout the growing season. Water well in advance of adding the aluminum sulfate and be cautious not to burn the roots. You can also encourage blue blooms by adding coffee grounds, fruit & vegetable peels, and grass clippings.

Epsom salts are made of magnesium sulfate and are good to use on annual bloomers like azaleas, magnolias, ornamental trees (crabapples, dogwoods, etc.) after they bloom in the spring and again about June 1. It helps grow and set flower buds for next year's blooms. They're also good for roses, as you know, and seem to "green up" various plants.

You can test the pH of your planting area with an inexpensive pool water testing kit. Dissolve a bit of your soil in a bucket of distilled or bottled water and use the directions on the kit for testing. It's simple and tells you what you're starting with.

This blog does not allow anonymous comments