How to care for and clean dried flowers
You’ve just received a gift of dried flowers and now all you need to do is find the perfect place to display them, preferably somewhere you can enjoy their beauty every day. While they don’t require as much attention as fresh flowers - no worrying about adding water to the vase - you should still give some careful thought to where you’re going to put them to help them last as long as possible and get as much enjoyment out of them as you can. They do need a little maintenance over their lifetime so I’ve also shared some tips on cleaning dried flowers and what to do if they start to droop.
Choosing a location
One of the most important considerations in choosing a location is ensuring the room where you’re going to display your flowers is a relatively dry room and isn’t a place that gets humid on a regular basis such as a bathroom. Well-ventilated kitchens can be okay but it’s a good idea to keep your dried flowers a good distance from the stove to avoid the heat, humidity and grease (which can settle on the flowers and make them sticky) that results from cooking.
Choose a location for your flowers where they’ll be lit by indirect sunlight. The colours of your flowers will naturally slowly fade over time but direct sunlight will cause fading to happen much more rapidly. Heat can also cause your flowers to become more brittle and fade faster so it’s a good idea to shield them from the heat of radiators and fireplaces. You’ll also want to keep the arrangement somewhere that isn’t going to be subjected to strong breezes or cross-drafts - because dried flowers are so light, a gust of wind can easily carry loose stems out of a vase.
Other things to consider - pets and weather
If you have a pet that likes to chew, you’ll want to make sure your design is out of their reach. My cats have gotten up on the back of a chair to reach a dried flower picture I had hanging in our living room and onto a side table to chew on the twiggy bits of a wreath.
Most dried flower arrangements are made with the intention of displaying them indoors. If you’re planning to hang a dried flower wreath on an outside door or wall for example, it’s best for the wreath if the location is protected from the weather. Be prepared for your outdoor design to have a shorter lifespan than an indoor one.
What to do if your dried flowers start to droop
Some dried flowers may droop if exposed to humid conditions. If this happens, you can try to dry them out again and straighten the stems by hanging the flowers upside down in a warm, dry room. Leave them to dry for about a week or more if needed. Another solution to drooping dried flowers (specifically in a bouquet) is to trim the end of the drooping stem so that the head sits lower in the bouquet and is supported by neighbouring flowers and foliage. It’s also a good idea to consider relocating your dried flower arrangement to a less-humid room.
Cleaning dried flowers
Dried flowers are going to gather dust! To clean the dust away, take your flowers outside on a dry, still day. If you can turn them upside down without the design coming apart, you can give them a gentle shake to loosen the dust. Or, set a hair dryer to cool on the lowest setting and direct the air over the design to gently blow off the dust (this is best done outside too). Clean them as often as you think is needed.
Now you’re all set to keep your flowers looking their best. If you have any more dried flower care tips or questions, please leave them in the comments!
