The Best Way to Dry Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas are the gift that keeps on giving!  Here are two different ways to dry your hydrangeas so you can enjoy them for months instead of just a few days.

Hydrangea Love

Do you have a favorite flower? Mine are hydrangeas!  When we planned our wedding 26 years ago… well I guess I should say when “I” planned our wedding 26 years ago 😉, hydrangeas were the focal point of all the arrangements. I’ve written other blog posts about arrangements I’ve created using hydrangeas. In Texas we had at least 10 Endless Summer hydrangea plants and they made me so happy! I would cut the blooms and bring them inside to enjoy. 

Unfortunately, I’m still trying to figure out what hydrangeas work best in Colorado. Next summer is my year to plant them. Until then I’m relying on store-bought hydrangeas for my arrangements. 

Antique Hydrangeas

I bought these beautiful antique hydrangeas at a local florist and have enjoyed them in a vase for a while now. Did you know that antique hydrangeas are just regular hydrangeas that change colors as the days get cooler!? I never knew that until recently. That’s why you can usually only find them late summer and early fall! They are perfect for fall arrangements so I was happy to find them at my local florist. I tried a couple of different methods to dry them. Here’s what I found to work best!

Drying Hydrangeas in a Vase

One way to dry hydrangeas is put them in a vase of water as you normally would. Mine were pretty for a week or so and then I noticed the blooms starting to loose their softness. Once you can see the blooms are starting to dry a bit, slowly decrease the water you add to your vase. Do this until there isn’t any water left. The hydrangeas will naturally dry this way. Here are some pictures of what mine looked like before and after.

Drying Hydrangeas with Hairspray

Another way to dry hydrangeas is with hairspray. I used my husband’s grocery store hairspray since his is less expensive than mine;) All you do is take a fresh hydrangea stem from your yard or the florist/store. Once you’ve enjoyed it in your arrangement, but it’s still pretty, take the bloom outside and discard all of the leaves. Then carefully spray the entire bloom with hairspray. Don’t forget to spray underneath as well. 

Use a skirt hanger to hang the hydrangea upside down in a basement or dark closet. Wait until the hydrangea is fully dried. For me this only took about three or four days. If you live in a more humid climate, it might take up to a week or two. 

And the Winner is…

In the first picture you’ll see the hydrangea I sprayed with hairspray and hung upside down in my basement. The last picture is one of the hydrangeas I dried in the vase. The middle picture shows the hairspray hydrangea on the left and the vase hydrangea on the right. Can you see the difference? The hairspray hydrangea’s leaves kept their shape better than the ones I dried in a vase. It was a fun experiment and I learned the best way to dry hydrangeas! Next time around I will only use hairspray.

How I Used my Dried Hydrangeas

I was gifted some beautiful cream colored French Countryside dishes from Mikasa. They are so pretty and great for every day use, or for a more formal table. When I was planning the tablescape, I knew I wanted to incorporate the dried hydrangeas. They made the perfect centerpiece for the table! I tucked in a few dusty blue faux hydrangeas and the arrangement was complete.

I put the rest in a pretty woven basket on the coffee table in our basement. I set the basket on top of a rectangular tray and they look perfect. It makes me so happy to see my favorite flower throughout our home.

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Grateful for you,

Julie

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