Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Drying Hydrangea...

It's that time of year here in the northeast...end of the summer, grass in burning out, autumn just around the corner and it's time to cut the hydrangea. The last few years our hydrangea bushes haven't had many blooms at all, but this year was great!

Here is this year's haul starting to dry.

drying hydrangea


We only have 2 hydrangea bushes in the front yard. There is a small window of time to cut the blooms and I missed the bush on the left. It was already dried up and breaking down.The back of the bush was still good though.

drying hydrangea

This bush was perfect. Still had large blooms. The original color of our hydrangea was light blue. Sorry I don't have a before picture.

drying hydrangea

It was bottom heavy, but that made it easy it cut.

You need to leave the blooms on long enough when they are starting to dry, because if the are still supple and full of moisture, they won't dry properly.

drying hydrangea

The blooms need to be cut late summer or right when then are still fresh looking and changing colors, but not when they are brown and dried up.

This is good...kinda of papery, not velvety

drying hydrangea

Our blue flowers to turn to shades greens and mauves.

drying hydrangea

Cut the stems as long as possible to make it easy to dry in a basket or vase. You can always trim away the stem.

drying hydrangea

I always remove all leaves.

drying hydrangea

There are different ways to dry hydrangea, like the water method, but I just dry them naturally in a basket.

Start by arranging the blooms around the outer edge of a basket.

drying hydrangea

and keep adding more.

drying hydrangea

and more...piling up row after row.

drying hydrangea

Arrange until you have a basket full!!

drying hydrangea

I cut a big basket and there are still blooms on the bush.

drying hydrangea

I just love all the different colors.

drying hydrangea

I leave them to air dry on the table or move it to a quiet corner of a room. As the months go by, the colors change even more, so it's like a different arrangement all the time.

As it dries, the flowers shrink, so I will re-arrange them or move them to a smaller basket.

drying hydrangea

Here is a basket of dried hydrangea that I've had for probably over 10 years. I store them in a box most of the year and bring them out for fall. There was a time in the past where I would spray them with hair spray to keep them in tact, but I can't remember if this was that batch.

drying hydrangea

I just love the color of these.

drying hydrangea

If anyone has other helpful tips for drying hydrangea, please share them in the comments section.

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great day,
~Karen~

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16 comments:

  1. Mine never dry... my mom has great luck and she is sweet to share with me. Your's are amazing!!

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  2. Thank you for this post. I have a lovely pink hydrangea which I haven't tried to dry before but I will now!

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  3. Hi Karen,Blooming beautiful!!!
    Love
    AMarie

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  4. Hi Karen, this is why I have a garden of assorted Hydrangeas' I have LimeLight, these are to me the best for drying and keeping to their color all through the winter. I have Pink Diamond their flowers are less densse but the colors are as the title suggest Pink, I have Little Lamb, Strawberry and endless summer but my ultimate favorite is the Oak Leaf family, I have Alice and Snowflake these are huge blooms and the leaves turn the colors of fall so lovely as an oakleaf, plus the stems turn an orange and crack and peel giving the bush a totally different look in winter. I have lots of Annabelle both green and pink(pink was hybrid to celebrate Breast Cancer) these I dry all the same as you. I have to be careful though cause my cat likes to eat the floweretts, I found out that they are not good for the cats, but I haven't had any issues.
    Thanks for sharing your lovely bouquet enjoy them through the winter months.

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  5. Perfect timing, I was googling how to do this with my hydrangea and you have the answer for me. I have a few my DH decided to trim bushes and he over did it so I just have a few - he meant well because I usually do the trimming.

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  6. I miss my hydrangea bushes we had back East....no Hydrangea bushes here in Arizona. I used to dry them in a vase...no water.

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  7. I dry hydrangea every year...out with the old and in with the new. The secret to a good batch is to look at the flower...if it looks leathery then it is ready. I use to hang them upside down in a cool place but now I just stick them in my container and let them be for the year. They never fail me. If they are cut too early (and don't look leathery) then they just go limp. Mine are not ready yet...need cooler nights. I usually cut them just before the first frost and before the rain comes. I live in Canada and the colours of mine are still vibrant blues, purples and one bush is white...Bumper crop this year!! YIPPEE!!

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  8. Are there any types of hydrangea that dry better than others. I have tried to dry them before, with no success. I tried to dry them in water, is that my problem?

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  9. Your basket of hydrangea is beautiful. I love these flowers, the colours are always different, and the fact that they keep changing colour, even after you've picked them, makes them a great choice for winter flowers. Like Paulette, I live on the west coast of Vancouver Island so it's not quite time to harvest them yet, probably at the end of the month, but I'm certainly going to try your method. Now to find the right sized basket.

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  10. They look amazing :) great job !!!

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  11. Your hydrangea colours are so pretty with lots of green. Mine aren't quite ready yet. We had a lot of rain on Monday so I'm waiting for them to dry out to check them. Sometimes a bit of cold temperatures at night (frost!) will help them along. I love doing up baskets or vases of them! Pamela

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  12. Wonderful tip. Thanks for the great images.

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  13. Hydrangea's are one of my favorites! that a tulips.

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  14. I am planning to cut some of mine next week so your lovely collection is a wonderful visual reminder. Tks.

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  15. I also spray my flowers with hair spray to help hold them together as they dry. You're the only other person I've heard to have done this. Thanks for the tips on drying these beautiful flowers!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment...I just love hearing from you!

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