At the end of the summer season, hollyhock flowers often dry on their own. The dried-out blossom that was dangling from your hollyhocks plant will be blown off. You will discover seeds within the dried flower, and you will distribute these seeds to your friends and family so that they may grow hollyhocks at their own houses. You may also save these seeds for use in the next year’s growing season to develop additional hollyhock plants. These hollyhock seeds often dropped off the plant and spread themselves around the area.
Because the blossoms of the hollyhock are larger, you cannot preserve them by pressing them. Larger flowers, such as hollyhocks, roses, mums, and many others, will have their blooms distorted if they are pressed. However, I will discuss a drying method that you can use if you want to save the hollyhock flowers for a longer period of time.
Drying Methods
At home, flowers may be dried in three primary ways: in a microwave, with the use of a desiccant, or by simply exposing them to air. There is another technique known as freeze-drying, but it cannot be done at home since a typical freezer is not cold enough for the process. The freeze-drying process takes a couple of weeks and needs specialized freezers; as a result, it is an inefficient and expensive approach to use if you are not going to establish a flower-drying company.
Before Drying
Because dried flowers are so delicate, fully opened blooms may lose some or all of their petals during the drying process. You will need hollyhocks that have not yet begun to deteriorate and do not have any leaves that have fallen off in order to get the finest possible outcomes.
During the drying process, making sure that the hollyhocks are not exposed to sunlight will help them maintain their vibrant color.
If you are receiving your hollyhocks from the garden rather than from a florist, be sure to choose them in the morning when there is no wetness on the petals. If you are getting your hollyhocks from a florist, you may pick them whenever you like. Choose only roses that are in good health since you do not want the drying procedure to result in any discoloration or rotting of the hollyhocks.
Hollyhocks leaves do not dry up very well so it is necessary to strip hollyhocks of all of their leaves before keeping them with the stems. After that, trim the stems to the desired length, but make sure they are at least six inches long.
Air Drying
The most frequent approach is drying the flowers in the air since it does not need any other supplies beyond the flowers themselves. It is also likely the least difficult option.
When exactly should you begin using this strategy? When hollyhock buds have just opened but have not yet lost their form, air-drying is the ideal drying technique to use. When drying flowers in the air, they should be hung in the laundry manner with the blossoms toward the ground.
This is because you do not want gravity to work against you. Be certain that there is no moisture caught between the petals of the flower before you hang it. If you want the finest possible results from drying your flowers, you should do it in a location that is warm, dark, dry and has an effective ventilation system. Allow them to hang for between two and three weeks.
As soon as the flowers were ready, I took them off the thread and sprayed them with the colorless hairspray as a preventative measure.
Air Dry in a vase
If you’re drying miniature or spray hollyhocks, you may let them air dry in a vase. Just remember to dump the water from the vase if you don’t want your hollyhocks to rot. Water evaporates fast in hot conditions, thus it makes little difference. I once left flowers in a vase with water in Croatia in the middle of summer and went on vacation for a few weeks. The temperature outdoors was roughly 30 degrees at the time. When I returned, the flowers had dried wonderfully.
Tip: Spray hairspray on the hollyhocks. A less popular way of preserving the flower is to use hairspray to preserve it in excellent shape. It is most effective when used with the air-drying approach. Simply work your way around the hollyhocks with a can of regular hairspray, saturating the petals, stems, and leaves with the liquid. The hairspray keeps the petals in place and keeps them from coming off when hanging upside down.
Dry Hollyhocks with a Microwave
Because it must fit on the turntable, this technique is only suitable for flower heads or blooms with a short stem. Place your flowers on greaseproof paper and heat on the lowest setting in the microwave. You must check on the hollyhocks every 45-60 seconds since you don’t want them to burn. Some people suggest applying desiccant during microwave drying to prevent the petals from deforming.
Desiccant Drying – Preserving Hollyhocks with Silica Gel
Use silica gel to make your flowers seem more realistic. This material, which is available on Amazon or in craft shops, works best with strong flowers. Works well on fully opened flowers.
Put your blossoms in a big, airtight container and cover them with silica gel. When burying hollyhocks in the gel, cover them carefully until every part of the flower is hidden. Now carefully close the container. Gently reveal vivid, preserved flowers in a few days to a week.
If you don’t want to wait, put your flower-filled container in the microwave. Confirm that your container is microwave-safe. If you want to keep a bouquet, you’ll need a lot of silica gel. A modest bunch will take around 2-3 kilograms.
Press with a Book
Make advantage of the pressed technique if you want to do more with dried flowers than only make flower arrangements. Take a thick book and cover its pages with wax paper to make it more durable. The flowers should then be arranged with their undersides facing up so that they do not overlap on the wax paper.
Put some weight on the book once you’ve closed the cover. Ten days, up to a month, should be spent with the item sitting unused. Once there is no moisture left and the flowers have a papery feel, you may make bookmarks or stationery, or fill a picture frame with them to create attractive wall art.
Improve the Quality of Dried Hollyhocks
You might try steaming your hollyhocks to enhance their beauty if they did not come out as you had hoped and if you want to improve their appearance. They will feel like they have a fresh start in life after undergoing this treatment. However, you must exercise extreme caution since it is simple to cause harm to your dried hollyhocks.
To begin, place the Hollyhocks in your hand and hold it immediately over the steam that is coming from the kettle for a few seconds, or until the outer petals begin to respond. The second step is to take the hollyhock out of the steam and carefully reposition its petals. If necessary, carry out the steps again.
Conclusion
Drying hollyhocks is a lovely and soothing technique that not only enables you to enjoy your hollyhocks for a longer period of time but also helps preserve the memories of your special event alive. You may prepare a bouquet of dried flowers to put on your desk, or you could just tie a hollyhock to a piece of rope and hang it on the wall. It is going to have such a stunning appearance, and it will be a memento for all time.
Hey! I’m Madhuresh, a passionate content creator, and a Plant lover. I created Shiny Plant to explore and learn about new plants. The purpose is to provide simple and effective Gardening Tips. Hope you’ll find this informative.