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You are here: Home / How to / How to dry hydrangeas

How to dry hydrangeas

By Beckie Fox Filed Under: How to

Hydrangea macrophylla `Masja’ (Photo by Joanne Young)
Hydrangea macrophylla `Masja’ (Photo by Joanne Young)

Hydrangeas are one of the easiest flowers to dry, and given their size, you need only a few to fill a table arrangement or decorate a wreath.

Drying hydrangeas

Cut when the blooms are partially dry and slightly papery — usually between August and October. If cut too soon, the blooms will wilt and not dry; cut too late and they will be brown and less attractive.

There are several ways to dry hydrangeas once cut — such as immersing in silica gel, hanging upside down or inserting stems in moist floral foam — but I find the easiest and most successful method is “water drying.” The blooms desiccate slowly, which helps them keep their shape and colour. While simple air-drying works, too, the end result is more brittle and fragile.

After cutting eight- to 12-inch (20- to 30-cm) stems, strip off all leaves. Place the stems in a few inches (about 8 cm) of water, and set the vase out of direct sun. Leave space around the flower heads for air circulation and to preserve their shape. Then, simply wait for the water in the vase to evaporate; by the time it’s gone, the hydrangeas should be dry.

It’s worth trying any type of hydrangea, but I find bigleaf, smooth and panicle ones dry best. Bigleaf hydrangeas dry to muted blue, purple, rose or green, depending on the cultivar; panicle and oakleaf flowers are pink or rose; and smooth hydrangeas dry to pale green, ivory or tan.

More on hydrangeas

  • Why isn’t my hydrangea flowering?
  • Understanding blue hydrangea
  • The luxury of hydrangeas

Published: July 19, 2016 | Updated: February 5, 2019

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About Beckie Fox

Beckie is Editor of Garden Making. She is a Master Gardener and published author in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ann Larkin says

    August 8, 2020 at 4:20 pm

    Beckie
    Can i have permission to use your article in our Horticulture Society newsletter?
    Thanks
    Ann

    Reply
    • Beckie Fox says

      August 10, 2020 at 10:31 am

      Hello Ann,
      Yes, but please include gardenmaking.com as the source. It would also be greatly appreciated if you encouraged members to subscribe to the free newsletter. Thanks!

      Reply
  2. Maureen Anstey says

    August 8, 2020 at 9:25 am

    leaf curl on the hydrangeas. why on some and not on other types?

    Reply
    • Beckie Fox says

      August 8, 2020 at 12:50 pm

      Hi Maureen,
      There’s an item on the website about leaf curl. Here’s the link to it [https://gardenmaking.com/get-rid-leaf-curl-on-hydrangeas/]. I hope it helps.

      Reply

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