Drying Roses

Dried roses can be used for long-lasting floral arrangements and crafted into special items such as wreaths. Cut about 1 inch of the stem when you are going to dry the whole bloom. There are several ways to dry roses. The simplest method is to air dry the blooms. Hang the blooms upside down from a wire in a warm, well ventilated area. Blooms will dry in 2 to 4 days.

Drying roses in silica gel produces blooms with better color and petal shape compared to the air drying method.

Place a 1-inch layer of silica gel in a container that has a tight-fitting lid. Place the bloom face-up in the silica gel and gently spoon some silica gel over the bloom until it is covered. Place the lid tightly on the container and leave in a dry place. Check the roses in a few days (miniatures take about 3 days, large roses 6 days) and recover if the blooms are still moist.