Do you have flowers you wish you could keep forever?
The hardest part about receiving flowers is that they often don’t last a week. Whether you want to keep a bouquet gifted to you by a loved one or turn it into a beautiful craft project, you need a way to preserve them. Luckily, drying flowers is a safe and easy way to ensure your flowers stay beautiful.
You don’t even need expensive materials to learn how to dry flowers in the microwave. Drying flowers isn’t only for craft projects. You can also dry flowers to preserve other flowers like lavender or butterfly peas to turn into tea.
Read on to learn more!
Prepping the Flowers
Make sure the flowers haven’t started to go brown if you want to keep their vibrant colors. You can pick them up yourself or order from an international flower delivery service.
Also, before placing your flowers in the microwave, you want to ensure that the flowers sit flat inside. To achieve this, snip off the flowers beneath the head where the flower meets the stem.
Prepping the Microwave
Before you start drying flowers in the microwave, you need something microwave safe to place the flowers on. Next, place a paper towel or a piece of parchment paper on the tray. This ensures that the flowers don’t stick to the tray, and it will soak up any moisture.
Flower Placement
After your microwave-safe tray is ready, place the flowers in an evenly-spaced row. Make sure that the flowers are facing up.
You’ll need to find something heavy to place on top of the flowers to flatten them. You can use a fire brick or another glass tray for this step. Press it down onto the flowers, but be careful not to rip them apart.
Microwave Time
Now it’s time to place your flowers into the microwave. Set the microwave to the highest heat and have the flowers in there for two minutes.
Once that’s done, take them out and carefully remove the flowers and replace the paper towel or parchment paper. Next, flip over the flowers, and put the fire brick or glass back on top of the flowers.
Place them back inside at the highest heat for another minute. After, you’ll want to take them back out and flip them over again. Keep repeating this every 30 seconds until all the flowers are completely dry.
Storing
Once your flowers have dried, handling them with care is essential. Your flowers will be very delicate and brittle, and you don’t want them to crumble when you pick them up.
After the flowers have cooled, store or use them immediately. If you’re saving them for a future project, make sure that you store them in an air-tight container. This helps to prevent any moisture from ruining your dried flowers.
How to Dry Flowers in the Microwave
If dried and stored correctly, your flowers could last years as long as you keep them away from air exposure or moisture. Now that you know how to dry flowers in the microwave, you can cherish your favorite flowers for much longer.
Are you looking for a gift to pair with a bouquet to give to your loved one? Check out our other blog posts to discover some great gift ideas.