It is a real feast for the eyes - the cornflower with its bright blue flowers. In addition, the plant, which originally came from the Middle East, brings with it many extremely valuable ingredients that are said to have healing effects. No wonder, then, that many hobby gardeners and cooks care deeply about preserving the splendor of flowers. We will show you how to dry cornflowers - quickly, easily and reliably!

Cornflowers retain their intense color even after drying

Harvesting and drying cornflowers - simple instructions

If you put the freshly picked cornflowers in a flower vase, they unfortunately only stay beautiful for a very short time. They quickly lose their bright color. In order to enjoy their attractiveness over a much longer period of time, it is advisable to dry the flowers immediately after harvesting - as follows:

  1. Collect the daisy family between June and August. In this phase, the flowers are at their peak and therefore particularly pretty. The following applies: the earlier you harvest, the more good substances the cornflowers still contain. If you want to use the plants in the kitchen, you should start right away in June. If you are thinking more about creating attractive decorative elements with your flowers, you can wait a while to wait for the moment when the flowers shine most intensely. To harvest the flowers, cut them off below their petals (careful!).
  2. After that, rapid and gentle treatment is essential. Bundle the cornflowers - ideally make several small bundles. This generally improves the result.
  3. Hang each bundle on a sturdy thread to dry in a dry, shady (i.e. dark) and well-ventilated place. For example, an attic or a barn is suitable. Under such conditions, cornflowers retain their enchanting color.

tips

Do you only want to use the heads of the flowers? Then we advise you to select the most beautiful specimens and place them on clean paper (e.g. kitchen paper, baking paper or tissue paper).

Note: Drying usually only takes a few days. If the cornflowers crumble easily when touched, they are dry. Test it carefully!

Store dried cornflowers sensibly - our tip

It is best to store the whole dried cornflowers in airtight screw-top jars.

The garden journal freshness ABC

How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?

The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:

  • as a free PDF file to print out yourself

Category:

Herbs