When should I dry my flowers?

Timing is everything. Before drying your fresh blooms, there are some things you should know. Learn the best time to dry flowers and use our helpful methods to make them last a lifetime.

Thanks to the rise in popularity of dried flower bouquets, people want to get their hands on their own.

Whether you’re pressing dried flowers in a frame, making confetti for a wedding, creating lavender bags with the kids, or simply wanting a delightful dried flower bouquet sat on your living room side, the things to do with dried blooms are truly endless.

But before you invest time and money into drying your fresh flowers at home, there are a few things to know to ensure you’re picking the best time to dry flowers. Here’s what we suggest.

When is the best time to dry flowers?

Before you dry your fresh flowers, there are a few factors to consider.

This list includes the time of the day, the season, and the type of flower.

When picking your fresh blooms, it’s best to avoid the hottest part of the day as this can cause flowers unneeded stress. Instead, pick your flowers on a dry morning as the sap rises, but once the dew has dried from the flower.

Picking flowers midway through their blooming cycle is ideal for the drying and preservation process. As you dry them, they will continue to open slightly, so it helps if they're not fully open to limit the number of petals falling off or drooping.

Once you have picked your flowers from your gorgeous garden, remove the excess foliage, tie the stems together and hang them in an airy enclosed space away from the light. Leave them there for two to three weeks to completely dry out.

As the seasons change, different factors might affect how we dry flowers. For example, winter isn’t ideal for drying fresh flowers as it’s cold and icy, and there aren’t many options.

However, you can still lap up the winter scents and create dried oranges, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and star anise. There’s always something you can be drying if you find the process enjoyable.

We’ve found that drying flowers is often easy during the warmer months as the weather helps with the drying and with more options to pick from. Mould is also less likely to develop on dried flowers in this climate.

Depending on the type of flower you intend to dry will influence when you decide to dry them. Some say that come September and October, most flowers are coming to the end of their growing season and can stay on their stems for weeks, making this a good time of year for drying.

Drying flowers is fun, and you can experiment with different flowers, times, and seasons to find the best time to dry flowers and find pleasure in the process.

Useful ways to preserve dried flowers

This floral home interior aesthetic is rapidly becoming the new fresh flower, and people can’t get enough.

So, if you’re drying your flowers at home, steal our tips and tricks to make them last as long as possible.

When you come to the end of the drying flower process or want to preserve dried flowers, there are ways you can enhance their lifespan.

Use dried flower cleaner – a cleaner helps to keep dust and dirt away, restoring their lustre for longer. We suggest using the Chrysal Silk and Dried Flower cleaner and the Professional 2 Concentrated Chrysal.
Dust your dried flowers – to keep them clean and healthy.
Spray them with hairspray – aerosol hairspray is a household product that can seal and protect your dried blooms. It won’t keep them intact forever, but it’s an affordable option to keep petals from breaking or falling off.
Purchase some acrylic spray – you can find acrylic sprays in hardware stores, and this is another option for sealing dried flowers. During different seasons, you can use metallic or coloured acrylic sprays to create varying looks.
Cover them in lacquer – a glossy coating will help to preserve flowers. It provides a tough, shiny layer that protects them from moisture in the air.
Try using silica gel – you can press and preserve your flowers with silica gel. This method allows you to conserve the flower in 3D.
Place the blooms in a dry and cool place – to stop your dried flowers from wilting, fading, and disintegrating, put them in a cool, dark, dry place to help them last.
NO water – dried blooms don’t like water. Watering them will make their stems weak and mouldy, reducing their lifespan. The clue is in the name; they need to remain dry.

Preserving sprays and methods will stop your elegant and delicate blooms from reabsorbing unwanted moisture. If your flowers are well-preserved, they won’t wrinkle, and rot and they’ll be the gift that doesn’t stop giving.

Buy beautiful, dried flowers instead

If drying fresh flowers feels like a chore, you can get your floral fix from The Last Bunch.

All stems in our arrangements are natural, meaning no two bouquets are the same.

We want to make sure all life’s moments are memorable. And what better way than with a bouquet that will be with you through the tears and smiles, love and loss, fired and hired, makeups and breakups?

Whether you’re looking to spoil yourself or someone special with a pet-friendly bouquet, a mini save the bees bouquet, or blooms from our bestsellers, we have an option for all occasions and tastes.

While you’re here, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.