Fresh Cut Hydrangea from Kenya

Some people prefer to keep their fresh cut hydrangea for longer and even go to an extent of drying or preserving the cut hydrangea to preserve the beautiful blooms for use in your event or home decor. There are many varieties of hydrangeas.

Fresh Cut Hydrangea and How to Keep Your Cut Hydrangea Fresh for Longer

Hydrangea are very water-sensitive flowers. When you receive Hydrangea you will find a small water bag on the bottom of each stem. Carefully remove the little plastic water bag and cut about 1/2 to 1 inch up from the bottom of the stem WHILE HOLDING THE STEMS UNDERNEATH WATER. Cutting the end of the stems while they are soaked in water eliminates an oxygen bubble going into the stem, which restricts the uptake of water to the blooms.

Dried or Preserved Hydrangea Flowers

Do you know what the secret is to keeping fresh cut hydrangeas fresh longer and then getting them to dry perfectly? There are three basic methods of preserving hydrangeas: water drying, use of silica gel and air drying.

The Water Drying Method for Hydrangeas. Place the freshly cut flowers in a vase with fresh water. Make sure the stems are at least half covered with water. Move the vase to a cool spot, out of direct sunlight.
Dessicant silica gel floral preservative can be found at craft and floral supply stores, and can be used repeatedly to preserve flowers. Put blooms in a plastic container with a lid, cover them gently with the powder and leave covered for 2 to 7 days. Blue crystals in the powder will turn pink to signal water absorption.
The Air drying method: All you do is remove the leaves along the stem and bundle 5 or 6 of them together and hang them in a cool, dry place. And if that is too much trouble, you can also dry them upright in a vase.