Effortless Oven Dried Flowers for Crafts
How to dry flowers quickly. Effortless Oven Dried Flowers for Crafts and then how to make your own DIY potpourri too! Make baked dried flowers for crafts! For more floral ideas see my Plants page.
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What to do with dried flowers?
I am going to show you the process of drying flowers in the oven to use in craft projects, floral designs, or potpourri.
My husband sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers for my anniversary and instead of tossing out the flowers when they started to die I dried them out and made some DIY Spring Citrus Potpourri.
I am so impatient, I wanted to dry the flowers out fast instead of waiting two weeks for nature to do it for me. Funny how we live in that “I want it now” mode these days. We are all so spoiled.
Depending on what you are using the flowers for you may first need to check other ways to dry out flowers at the bottom of the post.
More Related Floral Projects to try:
- How to Make Potpourri from a Floral Bouquet
- Oven Dried Oranges & Lemon Slices
- DIY Cut Flower Food Recipes
- DIY Cemetery Flower Arrangement by Intelligent Domestications
How long do dried flowers last?
Let’s answer the burning question that everyone wants to know!
Fresh Flowers will last about 10 days in a vase in well-cared-for. See my floral designer tips in the article on DIY Fresh Cut Flower Food Recipes & Tips for ways to keep flowers looking fresh longer.
Dried Flowers can last 1-3 years or longer with proper care. It depends on the flower and how delicate the petals are. They last longer in low humidity and you need to keep them out of direct sunlight and bright light.
If you want even longer-lasting flowers, they would need to be preserved in a glycerin bath. Try contacting your local florist for a preserving service. Lots of people preserve flowers for wedding bouquets, decorations, and memorial flowers.
There are lots of ways to dry flowers. My favorite and super-easy way to DIY dry flowers fast is in the oven.
How to Make Oven Dried Flowers
Supplies:
- Flowers: Roses, Sunflowers, Zinnia, Small Daisy’s, etc.
- Baker Drying Racks
- Sharp Kitchen Knife
Instructions:
- Set oven to 150-200 degrees Fahrenheit depending on how low your oven will set. I used my Convection oven setting to 175 degrees.
- Trim the entire stem off of the flowers leaving only the top blooms.
3. Spread the blooms evenly on the drying racks.
4. Bake the flowers for 1.5-2.5 hours.
5. Check your flower tops every half hour and if they are dry remove them so they will not burn. Large thicker blooms will take longer to dry and small thin blooms will dry very quickly.
6. Let them cool and they are ready to use for crafts or a potpourri mixture.
Even More Ways to Make Dried Flowers
There are many ways you can dry out flowers for crafts and floral arrangements. Here are some of the most popular ways you can do it.
1. How to Air Dry Flowers
Air dry flowers by bunching the stems together and then hanging them upside down out of direct sunlight. This is the best way to dry flowers for floral design. You can leave the stems on.
2. How to do the Silica Gel Flower Drying Method
Cut flower tops and add to an airtight box of silica gel to dry. Checking for dryness in a few days, up to a couple of weeks.
3. How to Press Flowers
Pressing flowers or leaves in a book or between two wood boards. Cover the flower with a paper towel, place the flower between pages, and close to press.
Place heavy books or objects on top of the book containing the flower. This method takes a couple of weeks to dry the flower.
4. How to Vase Dry Flowers
Leave the stems in a vase with no water. FYI This can make the blooms drop or lose leaves. This method is not recommended for using dried flowers in floral designs.
I hope this post solved all of your How to dry out flowers problems! Think twice next time before throwing away those beautiful bouquets. You can reuse them by making them into potpourri or other floral projects that lasts all year!
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Hi Kim!
Can you do this without cutting off the stems?? I want to place them in a vase. All the methods I’ve found so far say to cut the stem off and I don’t want to!
Hi McKinsey, when you trim the stem it opens a seal the plant makes on the end stem to receive water and nutrients. You can do just a small trim for it to work. Even if you don’t trim them, they will be ok. The will last longer though if you do. Make sure there are no leaves below the waterline. They cause rot and the water to turn yellow. I hope this helps.
How long do the flowers last after?
Hi Madison,
It depends on the flower and how delicate the petals are. They can last 1-3 years or longer with proper care. They last longer in low humidity and keep them out of direct sunlight and bright light. If you want longer-lasting they would need to be preserved in a glycerin bath. Try your local florist for a preserving service.
Kim
I have roses from my mother’s funeral service. It’s been two months, they are naturally dried out in a vase of water. Please advise can I preserve them at this point.
Hi Mary,
There are lots of ways to preserve flowers. You can use a spray, mold them into epoxy resin, soak them in glycerin and/or have them freeze-dried. I would do a Google search and find the way that fits your needs best. The freeze drying sounds interesting to me. Contact a local florist and ask if they have a service they use.
Kim
Hi Kim, can you please specify if it’s 175-200 degrees Fahrenheit or Celcius? Thanks.
Hi Nathalie, it is 175-200 degrees Fahrenheit.
Hi Kim, thanks for sharing your ways of drying flowers. I have tried using the oven method and my anniversary flowers turned out really great. Just to share a web which I came across which features adoring dried flowers