Love hydrangeas every summer? Yep, us too! But did you know if you learn how to dry hydrangeas, you can keep those little beauties bringing summer joy to your home, all year round? You can grow the hydrangeas in your garden, convince a friend or neighbor to make sure a few bouquets wind end up on your side of the fence, (wink, wink…) or simply purchase them when they are in season and cheaper. Then all that is left is using your dried hydrangeas in lovely arrangements, whether casual and funky, or traditional and classic. No biggie, we can help with ideas for that, too! But first, let’s learn how to dry hydrangeas properly, so they they don’t fade, crumble, or look dead, right? Cause isn’t that the point? :)

How to Dry Hydrangeas

Drying hydrangeas is easy, it just takes some attention to detail. The most important thing? Timing, my friends. Timing. Let’s look at step by step directions, shall we

1. Allow your hydrangea blooms to partially dry on the plant. What you are looking for are blooms that have gotten a bit papery feeling. You do NOT want to wait too long that they are turning brown, but don’t cut so early that there is a lot of moisture in the petals. Remember, we are looking for slightly faded, papery blooms.

2. Once you have identified the right time to cut your blooms, cut them down on the branch several inches, so that you can place the branch into a vase with just one or 2 inches of water in it. Don’t forget to strip any foliage off the bottom of the branch, so it won’t contaminate the water.

3. The vase with the water simply helps slow down the natural drying process that has already begun, so that your blooms won’t turn brown and dead.

4. Place the blooms in the vase in a cool, dry place. It should take 1-2 weeks for the plants to slowly absorb the little bit of water, and once it’s gone, the blooms are dried and ready!

Use your blooms in any arrangement you like!

Tips for Drying Hydrangeas

• Make sure you choose blooms that are healthy and attractive. No amount of drying will fix an ugly, diseased bloom.
• While you don’t want your blossoms to be brown at any stage of the drying process, it’s normal to have a couple brown petals here and there. That’s just the imperfection of nature. Snip them off, and don’t give them another thought.
• When you go to use your hydrangeas in arrangements, remember they are fragile once dried. Be careful, or use the flowers when they are almost fully dried, and let them finish drying already attached to your craft.

Dried Hydrangea Crafts

Want ideas for what to do once you learn how to dry hydrangeas?

Remember, hydrangeas come in different colors, so drying them will create everything from a fresh holdover to summer, to a warm fall flush of bloom! ‘Daisy Mae Belle shows us how to make this bright green hydrangea wreath! So simple!

We are loving on this little tin can upcycle with dried hydrangeas from ‘The Honeycomb Home‘! Go find out how to make this!

We love Stephanie over at ‘Garden Therapy‘… she and we are very alike in how we think about the gardening world, and how we treasure those gifts. Plus, she’s awesome talented! She has a tutorial for this stunning DIY Hydrangea Wreath, with lots of tips!

‘Momcrieff‘ used her dried hydrangea blooms in a lantern lighted with LED candles. So fresh and pretty!

This dried hydrangea basket is perfect for taking summer along with you into fall… And such an easy DIY project! From ‘Hearth & Vine‘.

This cute little hydrangea display is from Katrien Sterckx.

So if you want to learn how to dry hydrangeas naturally, then follow these easy instructions! You might also love our posts on Fall Planter Ideas or DIY Paper Flowers over at TBD!