Millions of people around the world grow flowers at home to improve the scent and visual aesthetic of their gardens, as well as encourage local wildlife to visit their yards. The top five most popular garden flowers are the Iris, Tulip, Lilac, Zinnia and Rose flowers.
These flowers, while beautiful and great-smelling, unfortunately only bloom during late spring. One of the best parts about this time of year is the riot of colors growing in your garden, but sadly it only lasts a few short weeks until summer.
While some flowers may last until the first frosts of winter, there a number of ways to preserve them all year round. Preserved flowers can be used in a variety of applications, from pot pourrie to vase arrangements around the home.
Drying flowers for preservation can be a complicated process, but luckily diatomaceous earth has a number of properties that makes this process simple, easy and economical.
Diatomaceous earth is composed of 85% pure silica, which is a naturally absorbent mineral. This unique and organic substance will draw the moisture out of flowers without damaging their color or appearance.
Drying flowers with DE is chemical free and completely non-toxic. In this article we’ll provide a simple step-by-step process for drying flowers with diatomaceous earth.
What You’ll Need
- Flowers
- Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth
- An Airtight Container
- Sieve or Diatomaceous Earth Squeeze Applicator
Step 1: Air-Dry Flowers
To begin the drying process, cut the flowers you would like to preserve and hang them upside down. Flowers should be hung in a dry, shady place safe from wind and rain. After 2-3 days of hanging, the flowers should be dry enough to desiccate with diatomaceous earth.
Step 2: Apply Diatomaceous Earth
Once you’ve air-dried your flowers, you’ll need to prepare your storage container. Place a fine layer of diatomaceous earth on the bottom of the airtight container. Lay the air-dried flowers on top of this DE layer, ensuring the flowers do not touch each other.
Step 3: Seal Container
Before sealing the container, use a sieve or diatomaceous earth sieve applicator to apply a fine layer of DE over the flowers. Seal the container and leave the flowers to dry for 3-4 days.
Step 4: Turn Flowers
You’ll need to rotate the flowers during the drying process for the best result. Reopen the container and delicately turn the drying flowers. Add another layer of diatomaceous earth after turning the flowers and wait a further 3-4 days.
Step 5: Brush Flowers
After 7-8 days, the diatomaceous earth will have completely drawn out the moisture in the flowers without damaging their color or appearance. Open the container and carefully remove the flowers.
Brush the flowers delicately to remove any excess diatomaceous earth and arrange them as desired. Dried flowers will last the entire duration of winter and release their scent throughout the house as they reabsorb moisture from the atmosphere of your home.
Diatomaceous Earth Information Guide:
We have a wide variety of food grade diatomaceous earth resources for you look through to make your life a little easier and chemical-free. Please check out the other valuable resources and versatile application uses for silica-rich diatomaceous earth below:
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Please reach out regarding any information above. In the future, more share-worthy useful enhancements, experiences and effects of diatomaceous earth will be added as the benefits continue to pile up. Always welcome for more insight and awareness, click the button to see the most recommended beautifully blended product that combines both high quality food grade diatomaceous earth powder and pure organic silica together in one formula.