Chicago Florist Tips: Preserving Flowers

How To Preserve Fresh Cut Flowers

You can preserve the fresh beauty of flowers for years in their
natural vivid colors without a great deal of work or expense.

Simply mix a combination of four parts of borax to one part of
silica gel. You can make your mixture by hand; the borax should
be run through a sieve before mixing with the gel to remove any
lumps.

You should treat all of the flowers to be preserved immediately
after picking. Cut off the stems close to the base of the
flower. In the bottom of a plastic bag or an air-tight jar put
down a layer of the preserving powder and lay a blossom face
down on the powder. Pour some additional powder over the flower
until it is well covered. Then lay another flower face down and
cover it, repeating the procedure until the bag or jar is full.
Put on your lid, or if using a bag, press down on it lightly to
squeeze out all the air. Tie the bag tightly with string as
close to the contents as possible to prevent air from coming in.

Now put your flowers and powder mixture away in a dry place for
about four weeks without peeking at it. Never store it out of
doors.

At the end of the four weeks, open the container very gently and
remove the blossoms one at a time, blowing the powder off them.
You may make a stem by running a piece of florist's wire through
the lower side of each blossom. Now you have preserved flowers
in their garden freshness.

A good method of prolonging the life of cut flowers is to put a
small amount of ammonium chloride, potassium nitrate, sodium
carbonate or camphor in the water into which the flower stems
are inserted. One or more of these drugs will keep the flowers
fresh by working to oppose germ growth and stimulate the cells.
This method is, however, not permanent like the borax and gel
solution.

Preserving flowers can help you save your memories of a wedding
corsage or a gift bouquet forever.