Flower Preservation: Silica

Silica crystals offer a wider variety of drying options than traditional air-drying.

Silica crystals are ready found in most arts and crafts shops (i.e. JoAnn Fabrics, Michael’s etc.), they can also be found in some florist shops. Delicate blossoms such as sunflowers and gladiolas can easily be preserved with silica crystals. Silica also allows for color preservation, something that is often lost during air-drying. The colors may darken a bit, but in general, blossoms dried with silica retain most of their color.

To begin, find a suitable container and pour a layer of crystals across the bottom. Place the flower heads on this layer and cover them with more silica crystals. Be sure to fill every nook and cranny of the blossoms to ensure proper drying and preservation of the shape. Cover the container with plastic wrap or a well fitting top to make it as air tight as possible. Leave the container in a place away from heavy moisture for several days to a week.
Silica crystals can be reused many times. Don’t throw them out after the first batch of flowers. Most silica crystals these days are “color coded.” Usually they start out blue and turn pink as they absorb moisture from the flowers within. Once the dried flowers are removed, the now pink crystals can be dried by spreading them on a tray and placing them in a warm oven for a few minutes. As the moisture in the crystals evaporates, they will turn blue once again, signaling that they are ready for use once more.

An alternative to silica is sand drying. In sand drying, flowers are covered with sand and the container is placed into an oven allowing the flowers to “cook.” The heat of the oven dries the flowers while the sand allows them to hold their shape. The sand method is a bit trickier, however, because it is possible to over bake the flowers leaving them brown and crispy. Also sand does not preserve the colors quite as well as silica.