A beautiful bouquet of flowers, a special flower from the garden or an interestingly shaped leaf: Unfortunately, the beauty of plants is fleeting. However, there are various ways to preserve them and make them last almost forever.

There are many ways to preserve plants

Method 1: glycerin

This sugar alcohol has the property of binding moisture. You can dry almost all plants with glycerin (glycol) in pharmacy quality:

  1. Mix one part glycerin with two parts water and heat the mixture to 37 degrees.
  2. Pour the liquid into a vase.
  3. Cut the plants fresh and place them in the solution.

The plants absorb the water-glycerin mixture and dry within a few days.

Method 2: dry salt or silica gel

Special plant drying salt is available from specialist retailers. Alternatively, you can collect and misuse the small sachets filled with silica gel that come with many packages.

  1. Fill a container with some dry salt.
  2. Place plant inside and sprinkle enough drying material on top to cover everything.
  3. Close the jar tightly.

How long the drying process takes depends on the moisture content and the thickness of the plants. Blossoms, for example, take about three to five days to fully dry.

Method 3: air drying

This variant is particularly suitable for bouquets, grass and branches:

  1. Tie a piece of twine or a rubber band around the stems.
  2. Hang the plants upside down in an airy, warm and dry place.

Drying is complete when the foliage gently rustles when touched.

Method 4: Preserve plants with wax

This variant of preservation is primarily suitable for individual parts of plants.

  1. Melt leftover wax or craft wax from a specialist shop in a small saucepan.
  2. Check the temperature, it should not be higher than 60 degrees.
  3. Soak the plants briefly and let them drain.

Method 5: Dehydration

Drying is very quick in the oven or a dehydrator.

  1. Set the devices to the lowest temperature, a maximum value of 50 degrees Celsius is ideal.
  2. Put the plants in and check the progress regularly.

tips

You can also preserve leaves and flowers by pressure. Use thick books or a special press for this. The plant parts are placed between paper and weighed down. When dried, you can stick them in a herbarium or use them as decoration for cards, stationery or pictures of nature.

Category:

Indoor plants