Content
- Sunflower drying - how it works!
- Flower heads of sunflower dry
- The drying process takes several weeks
- Only preserve the petals
- After drying, unpack carefully
- Tips & Tricks
The seeds can also be shaken out of the flowers and dried in the sun
Sunflower drying - how it works!
Many a gardener would like to dry a few of his sunflowers to enjoy the flowers in winter. There are different methods to dry flower heads, leaves and petals. Tips for preserving the sunflower.
Earlier article Harvest sunflower for consumption or for sowingFlower heads of sunflower dry
Most often, the whole flower heads of the sunflower are dried. This serves either the purpose of harvesting grains for birds or pets, or to put together dry bouquets for the winter.
Just cut open flower heads that are not too big. Make sure the stems are long enough for you to tie the heads together.
Wrap a twine around every three flowers. Then hang the flower heads upside down to dry.
The place to dry must be airy and as dry as possible. Direct sun is not good, also the place should not be too warm. Suitable places are:
The drying process takes several weeks
The bigger the flower head, the longer it takes to dry completely.
Check the heads regularly for fouling and mold growth. Afflicted flowers should be thrown away.
Only preserve the petals
To conserve only the petals, pick the golden yellow leaves from a fully flowered head. Take only undamaged tongue florets.
Lay the petals individually on blotting paper or kitchen paper and spread over it another layer of paper. You may overlay up to three layers. The top layer is kitchen crepe.
Then complain the flowers with books or other smooth, heavy objects. Incidentally, the drying of the sunflower leaves works the same way.
After drying, unpack carefully
It takes a few days for the moisture to be completely squeezed out of the flowers. Then remove the blotter paper layers and carefully place the dried flowers in a bowl.
The dried petals are very suitable for decorating banquets or for crafting.
Tips & Tricks
If you want to dry sunflowers to harvest cores for the birds in the garden in winter, just let the flowers stand. So that the seeds are not previously plastered, wrap the flowers in permeable fabrics. Cloth diapers, for example, are ideally suited.