Author: Gail Labrosse, Master Gardeners of Ottawa-Carleton; published with permission

Drying hydrangea flowers from your garden for a winter table arrangement is easy. The best time for picking the flowers is toward the end of the growing season, when they naturally start to dry out. Take a tall container of cool water with you when you plan to pick your bouquet.

  1. Cut each flower, leaving the stem about 30 – 45 cm long. Strip all the leaves off. Place flower stems in cool water, but no water should touch the blossoms. For easier handling, wrap an elastic band around the bouquet halfway up the stems.
  2. Boil a pot of water. Place the cut ends of the bouquet into the boiling water for 30 seconds to seal the stems. If using shorter-stemmed flowers, wrap the blossoms in paper towels for protection from the steam.
  3. Put the hydrangeas in a tall vase with no water. Drape the flower heads with paper towels.
  4. Mist the towels thoroughly with water and re-mist as the towels dry out for the first hour. Let the flower heads condition for 4 to 5 hours. Remove paper towels and arrange them in your favourite vase without water. If you need to change the stem length, re-cut it to the desired length and repeat step 2.

Annabelle and panicle hydrangeas are long-lived flowers. Dried or fresh cut, they make great flowers to decorate your home or your table. Remember to avoid placing them in direct sunlight to preserve their delicate colours

Comments

Leave a Reply

More From Gardening Calendar

Dog Violet

Dog Violet can be used as a ground cover. It grows well in native plant gardens, shade gardens, or in shady areas of rock gardens.

Health Benefits of Pineapples

Enjoy the health benefits of pineapple: it helps digestion, relieves inflammation, reduces mucous, and can protect against blood clots. Each scale on a pineapple is evidence of a different flower, and you can stop ripening the minute they are picked. Choose the best pineapple from its fresh, tropical, and sweet smell – the more scales, the smoother it is. Get all these benefits with a few simple tips from Vallarta Botanical Garden.

Black Ash Tree

Black ash has a large natural area in the United States and Canada. These trees thrive in damp environments and are typically found in northern marshy forests.

A Primer on Seed Documentation

Learn the importance of documenting seed information, including botanical names and cultivars, to ensure successful gardening and avoid mystery seeds.