Prior to the neighbor's crabapple being cut down, my daughter cut several branches that were full of fruit. She wrapped them up in a trash bag and put the branches, leaves and all, into the freezer. My daughter loved the crabapple branches that I cut last year and used in a centerpiece for Thanksgiving. She is sure that they will look fine this fall when she takes them out of the freezer. I'm pretty sure this isn't what the experts would recommend but I didn't have the heart to tell her.
Karen Pendleton of Pendleton's Country Market gives a wonderful talk on "Growing, Drying, and Preserving Flowers in Kansas." During the growing season, Karen harvests all parts of plants to be used in the dried floral arrangements that Pendleton's sells. In the summer, the market is busy selling vegetables, fruits, eggs, perennials, herbs and cut flowers. In the fall, families come in to buy pumpkins. From fall until Christmas, is the busy time for selling dried arrangements.
Karen's talk was very inspiring. The day after Karen's presentation, I took a golf cart to a field by the nursery and cut some Queen Anne's lace, grasses, Rudbeckia, Ironweed, and Plains Coreopsis. This field will soon be cleared to make way for a mega church and shopping center. As I worked on the arrangement, my boss and I talked of where we could plant a male and a female bittersweet (ones we have for sale) so we could have the fruit to harvest. Thanks to Karen, I now look at the plants I am supposed to sell and see future arrangements for my desk and house.
These are a few of Karen's recommendations:
Air drying will give fast results and is recommended for these plants:
- Yarrow - white and yellow flowering varieties dry best.
- Artemesia - the perennial is a good base for wreaths.
- Cockscomb Celosia - strip off the foliage.
- Love in a Mist Nigella - wait until the seed pods are fully developed.
- Peonies - hold over a steam kettle to loosen the petals prior to using the dried flowers.
- Poppy Pods - pick when the pods are green.
- Salvia - holds the color well and is good for substance in arrangements.
- Ornamental grasses - harvest when the seed heads are fully open.
- Bittersweet - plant both a male and a female for fruit.
Glycerin is used for green foliage plants to keep them looking fresh (dye can be added to enhance the color):
- Sweet Annie Artemesia - harvest late summer when the flowers are yellow balls.
- Statice - it can be dried but lasts longer in glycerin.
- Goldenrod - cut before the first flowers open.
Some flowers do best with silica:
- Creeping Zinnia
- Rudbeckia - silica for three days and then spray front and back to seal.
- Sunflowers - select ones with short petals such as Sunbright.
Look beyond the flower garden for items to use in arrangements. Karen uses sweet corn tassels for wreaths. Okra pods that are too large to eat are used in designs. Grains such as Oat, Wheat, and Milo are also harvested and dried.
In searching for items to harvest, Karen cautions hobbyists to remember to respect private property. Before the bulldozers arrive and parking lots go in, I'll make another trip to the field next door and gather grasses for drying. And, as I go through the nursery with customers to select plants, I'll leave my pruners in the desk drawer. It would be wrong to load up plants with missing parts!
Mary Welling-Bonney has a craft article on all the methods of preserving flowers. Click on Drying Flowers to read her article.
Resources:
Click on Plants and Bulbs for more articles by Susan Mertz.
Susan Mertz - For 13 years, I have worked for nurseries in Kansas City. I am the marketing director for Loma Vista Nursery. A Garden Journal, is my ...
