you know alot about drying flowers

I started pressing flowers with pansies, which all dried really well. I used to use plates and the microwave to be quick about it. Not so much anymore. Hydrangea petals work well too. I made a painting with some petals and leaves arranged in it. I suspected that the orchid wouldn't press well because of how fleshy they were so I'm trying to hang them, and have one pressing (though that I'm not sure is actually an orchid) to see if it works. If it doesn't work, oh well. It won't stop me from trying.

trying can't hurt

Not usually, no. And not in this case anyway, though I suppose there might be an issue if I were to eat any of the flowers if they happen to rot.

Hi everyone! ^^

By the way, drying flowers sounds interesting to do. Though I do not know much about it, expect the fact its drying the flowers xD So, what do you usually do with the flowers after you dry them?

I've only tried drying roses before, but I love dried flowers. they're so pretty! I'm taking a floral design class in the fall, so I'll have an opportunity to learn more about flowers. :3

i forget what it was but my step father had this chemical stuff that helps to dry flowers out nicely

I do stuff with them when it strikes me. I put some pressed jump-ups (miniature pansy things) in my diary and made a painting with my pressed hydrangea petals (pink colour). The one's I'm pressing and drying now are destined for a scrap book.

I was talking to my mom about it, she used to press flowers as a kid. When she was a teenager she decided to try pressing some cacti she had. She parked the car on them for a year and a half then put them in books for storage. When she went to get them later, she found they were growing roots. She put them into pots again and they gradually puffed themselves back out again and grew in more cacti. Very resiliant plants, those.

I'm attempting to press two of the orchid flowers to see if it works. I have flowers and greenery sitting in magazines under stacks of dishes or a large stack of books and more magazines. They haven't moved in a while so I imagine they can stay where they are for some time yet. Contemplating rose petals now, in case the others don't work.

lol thats so amazing! she had them under a car for a year and then in a boo and it grew back thats really amazing!

holy cow. I didn't know cacti could take all that and still live. O.O

Well, it did take some time for them to puff out again and they were a little pale from not having seen the sun in a while but they were growing roots in the books. The only thing she's seen kill a cactus was when one flew out the back of the truck when they were moving to Fort St. John in the wintertime and it was probably around -40 C. Not sure what that would be in F but I think it's the same since the two scales match at around there.

my step father killed some cacti by not watering them for a long time and i tried to bring them back but not hard enough i guess!

Might depend on the kind of cactus I suppose. Ours have been sorely neglected for a few years now, and I tossed a few to get the load down (to my mom's and some friends' dismay) and the others are trucking along so far, looking a little worse for wear but still hanging in there.

i guess cacti have to be like that if it doesn't rain for a few years they have to be able to come back!

That's usually the idea. Apparently a lot of them do get really scraggly looking at the bottom but in the deserts it's covered by sand so it's harder to see. They grow from the top so the new stuff it was people usually see. I still prefer flowers though. Fell on my mom's barrel cactus when I was younger. Not too fond of them after that.

i like flowers better as well