how do u preserve flowers?

Question

mainly tulips

Answer 1

make yourself a very large dehydrator.

Equipment...

1. A square box-fan, preferably clean.
2. Several (5-10) cheap furnace filters about the same size as the box fan or a little smaller.
3. two bungee large bungee cords.

What you're going to do is lay your flowers out on the furnace filters nice and neatly, stacking the filters on each other, with nothing on the outermost filter and then using the bungee cords, strap them to the FRONT of the fan and turn it on low.

24 hours later you should have crack dry flowers that will last forever. And the soft material of the furnace filters doesn't "press" a shape on them allowing them dry naturally.

Answer 2

Tulips are very short-lived flowers, once they open up, it would be hard to preserve these. However, if you get tulips in bud stage, or at the stage when the petals are about to open, you can then use a wax like mixture of 1/2 part water with 1/2 part glue, i.e. Elmer's glue. Spray this mix thoroughly onto the tulip, cut all the leaves, let dry, then tie or bound the stems together and hang upside down in a dark place, dry place, like attic or garage. Other techniques of drying or preserving is using dessicants like silica gel, borax, or sand. Craft stores sell these and would have the instructions.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Some tulips are rather fleshy so drying may not work as well as pressing. But you can try.

Silicia Gel
Silica gel looks like white sand but is formulated for floral drying. To do it yourself you can find silica gel at garden centers or hobby shops. It takes about three pounds to dry 12 average-sized flowers. Cover the bottom of an airtight container, such as a plastic sweater box with a layer of gel. Cut stems, remove leaves and place the flowers on the gel. Cover with more of the silica and cover. Tape the lid to make it as air tight as possible. Check after a week. If flowers feel papery, they are done. If not, close them up and check every two days or so. Remove the flowers and, if needed, use a blow dryer set on cool to remove traces of the silica gel.
PROS: Quick, most flowers dry in a week to 10 days. Can be inexpensive if you do it yourself. Flower shape and color more natural than dried.
CONS: Flowers become brittle, colors darken and flowers are fragile.Results not very natural with roses. Flowers last a little longer than with the air-dried method.

A Couple of "Borax Methods"
This involves burying the flowers in a mixture of borax and white cornmeal (2:1) or borax and sand (2:1). Prepare the flower stem by reinforcing the stems and blossoms with florist's wire or with white glue. For daisy-type flowers and flowering shrubs, push a 6" piece of wire through the stem and through the f head; bend the end of the wire into a hook over the flower head and then pull it down, thus securing the head to the stem. For flowers such as roses and tulips which are dried face-up, cut off most of the stem except an inch or so and insert the wire as above. For many-petaled flowers, use glue instead of wire. Diluting the white glue with a drip of water and using a toothpick, dab a thin coat of glue at the base of each petal, working the glue into the base of each flower to attach each petal to the base. Dry completely.
To cover a flower, put about an inch of desiccating material at the bottom of the container; cut the flower stem to about a half an inch and stick this into the center of the material at the bottom to hold the flower. Next, pour the desiccating material along the perimeter of the container, away from the flower, building up a continuous mound of about an inch. Then tap lightly on the container and the material will move to the flower, not altering the form of the petals (in other words, the material will not weigh down the petals as it would if it were just poured on top of the flower). Continue adding the material, tapping on the container, etc. until the flower is completely covered. Lastly, add an inch of the material above the top of the flower.

Cup-shaped or rose-shaped flowers should be dried face-up. Make the sand deep enough to hold the flowers in an up position, position the flower carefully and slowly pour the sand around the base of the flower, then around the sides and under and over the petals. Pour the sand evenly and slowly in order to preserve the natural shape of the blossom.

Daisy-type flowers should be dried face down. Make an even base of sand in the box and make a little dip in the sand the same shape as the flower. Hold the flower steady and carefully build up the sand around the blossom until it is fully covered.

Snapdragons, lilac, elongated flowers and flowering branches should be positioned horizontally in the sand, flowering branches face up. Carefully pour the sand around and between the flowers and into individual blooms. A soft artists' brush will help you in lifting the blossoms slightly as you pour the sand so that they won't be flattened by its weight.


PROS:These methods result in flowers that are less stiff than those preserved with the "hang and dry" method, but the particles tend to cling to some flowers.
CONS: In some cases, the sand, because of its rough edges, may produce small holes in the petals.
These methods are "trial and error" because the flowers can be burned if embedded too long. About 10 days is the average if cornmeal is used, and about 16 days of drying is needed if sand is used.

Oolitic sand
Most connoisseurs of the art of preserving flowers agree that the best material available for achieving excellent results is oolitic sand, a material found along the Great Salt Lake in Utah.

PROS: Oolitic sand is heavy, which puts steady pressure on the flower while it’s drying; it is smooth therefore, it doesn’t injure the flower; it is hollow, which enhances its ability to absorb water; and it has a relative high pH, which helps to preserve the flowers color. It may be reused.
How much sand is needed? A 1-pound coffee can hold 4 pounds of sand, which is enough to dry one rose.

Microwave Drying
During drying, the flowers must be supported so that they dry in their normal form. A borax/sand mixture or kitty litter will do, but silica gel works best. Cover the flower(s) as described above under desiccants. Use a setting of 4 (that’s about 300 watts) if the microwave oven has about 10 settings. If the microwave oven has a defrost setting, use that (about 200 watts). It takes about two and a half minutes to dry flowers in a half-pound of silica gel.
Source(s):


Waxing Flowers:

You may want to experiment with waxing fresh flowers. This too is simple; just melt some paraffin wax and plunge each individual flower into the wax. Remove and shake the excess wax off each flower. Put it into the refrigerator to set and harden.

http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/hgic1...

Answer 4

hang them upside down and spray them w/ hairspray.