I was first introduced to Dogwood on a massive scale after
marriage when my husband and I moved to Texas. We were at his mother’s home where I was taken with this amazing
flower.
At the time, I was a florist so naturally I was drawn to such a simple form of natural beauty. Robert smiled at my excitement and said, I bet you could dry it. Drying flowers was big in the 90’s and so I gravitated to this idea in seconds.
We took a couple branches back with us to our apartment where we clipped the blooms and pinned each one to a piece of Styrofoam to see if they would dry.
It worked like a charm and later I used them in small wreaths and these decorative wood stump birdhouses. It was a fun time and recently I thought about drying dogwood blooms again.
Dogwood Season
Dogwood season lasts about two to three weeks in east Texas,
this mostly depends on weather conditions and temperatures. This year the season felt short and I’m
pretty sure this was because of overnight cooler temperatures.
So, I made sure to get several cuttings early in the season because my goal was to propagate them for later. But with all these amazing blooms I was reminded to also dry a few blooms.
How to Dry Dogwood Blooms
I dried these blooms a little different this time by first making sure I was using blooms from the beginning of the
season. Later blooms will not be as
hardy and become brittle after they dry.
I've got two simple ways to dry these blooms with little effort. The first is to find an interior window ledge or an undisturbed space in the home with warmth. Then gently remove the flower from the branch and make sure to cut away the green stem on the backside.
Place the flower flat on a sheet of paper or tray and leave it alone. Within 48 hours you will notice the shrinking process and the flower will begin to turn a creamy color as the moisture lifts. In about a week, they should be completely dry, this will depend on the humidity where you live.
The second step is to simply do nothing but leaving the
blooms on the stem to dry. Then remove the
dogwood after it is completely dry, it will look folded in a closed
position. I watched this transpire
through my cuttings and it was sweet.
You can also try drying dogwood using a freeze dryer or
silica gel. The problem with both
methods is the flowers are very brittle after the moisture has been lifted.
Dried Dogwood Blooms
Now that you have all these blooms, what in the world would you
do with them? That is a great question
because if you enjoy working with dried flowers, I could give you a long list
of ideas.
My goal is to store what I have dried in a box for now and later use them to make Christmas ornaments. Of course, there is also part of me that wouldn’t mind making one of those stump birdhouses again.
Give this project a whirl and see if drying dogwood blooms is something you may also enjoy.
See the Good,
Carole