Preserving blossom allows you to enjoy them long after their blooms would have naturally faded . They also make unique hand-crafted gifts from your garden for folk and friends .
Preservation techniques for flush and foliage include pressing them , hanging them to dry and using a drying federal agent called a desiccant . Not all method ferment well for all flower . To dry snapdragon flowers , using a drier is the near option .
Snapdragon efflorescence dry time deviate depending on the case of desiccant you use , and it can take from two to three days to two to three hebdomad to ironic snapdragons .
Using the Desiccant Method to Dry Snapdragons
Garden snapdragon ( Antirrhinumspp . , USDA works hardiness zone 7 to 10 ) have typical blossom , which prompted taxonomists to give them the genus nameAntirrhinumthat translates from the Greek " anti " ( like ) and " rhis " ( a nose or schnozzle ) .
Why the Pressing Method Isn’t Ideal for Snapdragons
These two - lipped " dragon ’s schnoz " flowers are the reason that snapdragon are n’t proficient candidate for crusade them as a dry method . When pressed categoric , snapdragon drop off their characteristic appearance . The bloom also lose their form when hang them to air ironical .
Why Desiccants Work Best for Drying Snapdragons
By placing case-by-case snapdragon blossom or stems with multiple blooms into a container with a drier , they ’re capable to keep on their structural unity as they dry . Using this method acting , dry out snapdragon flowers are papery versions of their former living state .
colour of dried snapdragon may switch a fleck , however , from their hue when blooming on the plant . Adding 3 tablespoon of noniodized salt to each dry quart of drying agent may help oneself your flowers retain their coloring material .
Snapdragon Flower Drying Agents
There are legion desiccants that can be used to dry out flowers , including sawdust and kitty litter , but there are three commonly used drying agents that are good for drying snapdragon :
1 . * * Borax and moxie :* * opt fine - grade sand and coalesce it with borax . The borax - sand ratio is varying bet on what works well . It can be equal parts of each ( 1:1 ) or up to 6 parts sand ( 1:6 ) . One drawback of choosing the borax - Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin commixture is that sand is cloggy and can drop the " dragon ’s snout " of your snapdragon , especially if you employ a high percentage of sand vs. borax . Experiment with unlike ratios to find what ferment best for you . 2 . * * Borax and cornmeal :* * Much light than sand and less likely to flatten snapdragon flowers , cornmeal mix in at a 1:1 proportion with borax body of work as another drying agent . 3 . * * Silica gel :* * The hand - down preferred drier to ironical snapdragons is silica gel , which is n’t really in gel form but in crystalline form . Some products contain crystals that are blue when dry , and they plow pink as they take over wet from the flower . you’re able to reuse these crystals , drying the moisture - retentive pink one in the oven until they ’re blue ( and dry ) again .
How to Dry Snapdragons Using a Desiccant
Choose a container for dry out snapdragon bet on the type of drying agent you use . For desiccants contain borax , you ’ll necessitate an exposed container , such as a cardboard box , for good air circulation . If you ’re using silica gel , use a container with a tightly meet lid to form an airtight seal . Use a shallow container regardless of the type of drying agent you ’re using .
a depth of 2 inches .
flowers on top of the medium .
little at a time , being deliberate not to pour too much at a clip and crush the prime .
buried .
to tauten the drying agent around the flower and bump off any air air hole . After tapping , add more desiccant if you’re able to see any flowers .
and stack away it in a dry piazza . If using silica gel , tightly brood the container .
Silica gel desiccants wry snapdragon quicker ( typically three to eight twenty-four hour period ) than borax - base agents , which can take two to three weeks .
You may have to experiment to chance on the angelical pip for how long you allow snapdragons in your preferent desiccant . Not enough meter resultant in petals that droop and do not hold their dry shape , while too much clock time result in flowers that are so brittle that they shatter well .
