How to preserve a rose

Question

I got a very beautiful rose from a very special friend a couple of days ago. Please does anyone know how I can preserve it?

Answer 1

Below are three effective ways you can keep your roses looking fresh and beautiful for some days longer:

• Add some quantity of aspirin to the water contained in your flower vase. Grind a tablet of aspirin, add to the water contained in the vase and mix it until the whole aspirin dissolves. This will help the roses maintain their fresh looks for a longer period of time.
• Add some quantity of flat soda. Add about 1/4 cup of flat soda into the water in your flower vase. Make use of clear soda if you do not want cola colored water. This can be so much fun. You can equally add few drops of food coloring into the water.
• Add some vinegar. Form a mixture of 2 Tbsp vinegar and 2 Tbsp sugar. Add it to the water contained in the flower vase. Change the water after every few days and still add the vinegar.

Note: You can only choose ONE method and NEVER use two or more of them!

If you want the rose to stay longer, drying it might be the only option. Here are the instructions:

1. Do this by getting rid of the leaves and the heavy foliage from the stem beneath the flower. Most of the flower stem like those on the strawflowers, centurea or zinnias are known to become weak when they dry. Replace them before drying with wires.
2. You can promote a curved stem using wires. Insert florist widoll with roses into the head of the flower, then twist it round the stem a number of times. You can then bend the stem with a wire to take the shape you want the flower to take when it becomes dry; for added strength, don't remove the wire.
3. Get some stems together and keep them fastened around the stem end using a rubber band, clothe pegs or twine. Leave some bunches hanging straight down; fan out the stems gently to create a variety of both curved and straight stems. Keep the flower bunches suspended from lattice, hooks, or nails in a very dark, warm corner like your attic basement. Keep it away from direct sunlight, which is capable of fading the flowers, and choose one spot that promotes adequate circulation of air.
4. Keep larger heads of flower suspended, like peonies, as individual specimen for maximum drying.
5. Check the flowers regularly; some flowers dry within three days while others might require about three weeks. Touch the flowers to see if they are dry and stiff. If they rustle when you try to move them, then you can move them to dry, cool locations

You can also watch the video below to see the directions:

Answer 2

Following the tips below will help keep those flowers ever bright and beautiful:

1. Keep the roses hanging in an upside down position to prevent them from becoming so worn out that the petals start falling off. Allow the roses to dry very well, you can then use them for some kind of dry arrangements or store them for some emotional attachment.
2. Shade the rose petals before drying them to form potpourri. Keep the petals laid in one layer on a paper towel. You can also use a drying skin if you own one.
3. If you are interested in retaining the color and shape of your rose, preserve them with silica gel. Get the flowers submerged in the silica. You can get good silica from any craft shop. But you must know that using silica will make the roses lose their sweet scent.
4. Freeze your roses dry. Most professional floral agencies will remove moisture from your flowers using a cold vacuum chamber. This is one way of retaining both the beauty and scent of your roses, but this technique can be quite expensive.
5. Dying roses can be revived by sticking the end of the stems into some boiling water for 30 seconds. You can then cut off the ends and place the roses in cold water.
6. Use glycerine to soak your roses if you want them to stay supple and retain their alluring fragrance. You can buy glycerine from craft shops and pharmacies.

Comments

I like this answer to the question how to preserve a rose, which looks more practical

Answer 3

Pressing flowers is a convenient way to keep them preserved. It is possible you learnt this method while you were in elementary school. It is still a very simple and effective method to use

Lay the flowers flat to prevent them from overlapping between a newspaper and any other type of unglazed paper.

Layers of flowers can be added in between the sheets of paper. Keep the layers placed under a very heavy object to maintain their flatness or buy a press from a craft shop near you to achieve this. Allow the flowers dry out for any length you wish.

You can preserve your flower for a couple of years using this method. Once you remove your flowers and display them, keep them away from direct sunlight to make sure they do not fade. Using hairspray to spray the flowers or a very clear floral spray will keep them strengthened.