For keeps: How to dry flowers

From the editors of Good Housekeeping

Last update: June 9, 1999 - 11:00 PM

The next time you get a beautiful bouquet that you'd like to turn into a keepsake, try drying it out. To determine the best way to dry flowers, the Good Housekeeping Institute's chemistry department tested four popular drying procedures: air drying; silica gel; cornmeal and borax, and freeze-drying.

Each technique was used on a dozen red roses, an orchid corsage and a mixed bouquet (including larkspur, statice, baby's breath, lemon leaves and fern). The winner? Freeze-drying -- which was the most expensive, by far.

Before you begin drying any flowers, be sure you know the three basic rules:

Cut garden blossoms at their color peak, in the midday sun. If you're not going to preserve them immediately, place them in a vase of cool water in a dark location. Before drying, remove the leaves.

When sending flowers to be freeze-dried, enjoy them for two to three days and then ship them overnight. Wrap the stems in damp paper towels, put the bouquet in a plastic bag and ship in a well-cushioned box.

Once the flowers have dried, keep them out of the sun and avoid heat and extreme temperature changes. Ultraviolet rays can fade blooms and humidity makes them powdery.

Here are the steps to the four processes the institute tested to preserve flowers:

Air drying. Divide the flowers into bunches. Remove the leaves and tie the stems with twine, wire or rubber bands. Hang the bunches upside down in a warm, dry, dark area such as a closet, pantry or attic.

The roses darkened a great deal. The orchids took 24 days to dry and were shriveled and faded.

Silica gel -- which looks like white sand -- is sold in garden centers. (The institute paid $9.25 for 1½ pounds; it takes 3 pounds to dry 12 roses, but it can be re-used.) Cover the bottom of an airtight container such as a plastic sweater box with a 1-inch layer of gel. Cut the stems, put the flowers on the gel and cover with more crystals. Tape the lid to make the container airtight.

The flowers are dry when the petals feel papery. Check them after five days, then every two. Once they're dry, carefully lift the blooms out of the box with a slotted spoon. If any of the crystals cling, remove them with a blow-dryer set on low/cool or a fine artist's brush (brush gently).

The institute's samples dried in about a week and were close to their original color, but the process is so swift that flowers dried this way can become brittle.

Cornmeal and borax. The advantage of this system is convenience because cornmeal and borax (a laundry powder) are two household basics (each costs about $1 per pound). Combine equal parts of each and place them in an airtight container such as a plastic sweater box, covering the flowers. Check the flowers every three days. Once the petals feel papery, gently remove the powder from the blossoms.

These flowers looked better than the air-dried and were less fragile than those preserved more quickly, but the process was very slow (the roses took about five weeks to dry) and some foliage changed color.

Freeze-drying is a pricey method (about $5 per rose, plus shipping). Flowers must be sent to a company that specializes in this service. Once the flowers are open, they're sprayed with a starch to set the colors. Then they're placed in a chamber at 10-below F. for 10 hours until they're frozen solid. Next, the air is pumped out of the chamber and the blooms are slowly brought back to room temperature over a two-week period.

These flowers looked truest to life and will last the longest (up to a couple of years), but besides being expensive, freeze-drying is also slow (three to eight weeks). There also is the risk of the flowers being damaged en route.

On another matter

If you want to avoid the latest baggage crunch, it's best to know the latest Federal Aviation Administration guidelines for carry-on luggage. The dimensions (height plus width plus depth) of your bag should not exceed 45 inches. Two years ago, a typical carry-on measured 49 inches. Today's bags are more compact. For instance, the Silverado by Kluge measures 17-by 14-by 8 inches, adding up to 39 inches total -- a perfect size for the 14-by 9-inch templates that airlines now attach to security conveyor belts.

Look for more carry-ons recommended by the Good Housekeeping Institute at http:// http://www.goodhousekeeping.com.

-- Distributed by King Features.

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