How to dry out roses from a funeral?

[TLH1977]

Just wondering if anyone out there can help me. Our grandmother passed away this week and we saved some flowers from her funeral that we would love to keep around. Does anyone know the best way to dry out roses and have the keep there shape?

 

[Serena]

I'm sorry for your loss.


I know someone will know more than I do, but I think one way is to hang them upside down. Also, there is some kind of chemical that you can dry them with. I don't know what it's called though.

I'm sorry I don't have more details.

 

[CEDmom]

I'm also sorry for your loss. Unless you get them to a florist immediately there isn't much they can do to preserve them and it costs a lot. That's what I was told at least when I wanted to preserve my wedding bouquet 10 years ago. I had a lot of luck hanging it upside down in a closet for a few months. With the weather getting cold and the humidity low it should work for you. Put them in a closet that doesn't get much use. I still have the roses from my bouquet and they've faded a bit but still look nice.

 

[Virgo10]

When my Mom died, I wanted to preserve a single rose. I got something called silica gel. This stuff is amazing. There are great directions on the box and it can be found at most hobby shops or larger flower stores.

7 months later that rose still looks freshly picked.

Roberta

GO RED SOX

KEEP THE FAITH!!!!!!!

Edited to add... here's a really good site that talks about all different drying methods.

http://ag.arizona.edu/gardening/news/azdailystar/dry_and_preserve.html

 

[BethanyF]

I have had good luck with hanging roses upside down and not touching them for several weeks. I still have some here from my grandmother's funeral 2 years ago.
Did you know you can have the roses made into Rosary beads? If this interests you, call your church and ask them if they know of anyone locally that makes the beads. Funerals homes also have the information, but I have found that local people are much less expensive than the companies offered by the funeral home.
We recently paid $40 for a full Rosary and $15 for a 1 decade Rosary.

 

[Shugardrawers]

Drying and preserving are 2 different things. To dry, hang them upside down in a low humidity environment for several weeks as stated before. To preserve you need a tub of silica gel that you can get at any craft store although it may be too late for that. My suggestion is to press them. Place the flowers between 2 pieces of waxed or parchment paper and place heavy books over them. Don't touch for several weeks. By pressing them you can easily frame them later. We did that for my grandmother's funeral flowers. Micheals put them in a shadow box and they so pretty still.

 

[Lisa F]

Another thing you can do if you want to air dry them without having them shrivel up and close up on themselves is to dry them face down in kitty litter (just the regular clay kind) allowing the kitty litter to fill the spaces between the petals.

I'm so sorry for your loss

 

[teachingmyown]

You can also press them between heavy books. This can be tricky, though. Putting them between sheets of newspaper is a good idea and make sure they stay dry. I've had mixed results. Some flowers have pressed and dried beautifully, others have molded and made a mess. I've done roses, carnations, daisies, etc. If you google "dried flowers" or "pressed flowers" you'd probably come up with some good instructions as well as some display ideas for after they've dried.


I'm so sorry for your loss. I think of my Grandmother nearly every day. I like to think she's nearer me now that it isn't miles that are between us.

 

[melanie18]

I tried hanging a rose from DH's grandfather's funeral upside down (simply because I'm not very crafty). That was 7 years ago and I still have it.

 

[Towncrier]

My wife has preserved flowers from several funerals for friends by hanging the flowers upside down from the rafters of our basement. The reason for doing that is that rose (and other flower) heads droop and if you hang them upside down, the flower will be upright once the flower has dried. As everyone else here has stated, it's important to hang them in a dry place and leave them alone. In a few weeks, they will have dried enough that they can be used in a dried flower arrangement. Roses generally dry very well.