Rosebuds are so temporary! Have you ever wanted to keep them for crafts, for tea, or even cooking? Here's how I dry my rosebuds.
I clip the rosebuds off from the rosebushes with scissors. I pass by the youngest ones that are a few days away from opening. They won't have the scent or flavor of more mature rosebuds. I'm looking for buds that are on the verge on being open, or buds that have just opened up. If the rose has opened much more than that, the petals won't stay attached when they are dry. Those petals will still be useful, but not in bud form.
I lay the rosebuds on a dehydrator tray. The ones on this tray are a mix of buds from the old-time yellow rose bush I posted about earlier in A Yellow Rose, a white climbing rose called White Dawn, and a little pink miniature rose.
I set my dehydrator to a low temperature, around 100 degrees Fahrenheit (~38 Celcius). It takes a couple days for the buds to get completely dry. I don't want any to mold from the inside because I was too impatient!
Once the rosebuds are dry, I put them in jars. I store the jars in a dark pantry. I dry rose petals, too, like in the left jar. I'll make another post about that pretty soon.
What do I use these rosebuds for? I'm not a potpourri-type person, but I'll admit they would be nice for putting in a bowl with dried flowers and spices. If these dried rosebuds are heated, they do give off a nice floral scent. Without heat, though, they don't have much fragrance, so you'd be better off adding a few drops of an essential oil in that potpourri.
I use rosebuds for tea, for cooking, and for crafts. I'll have more to say about that in future posts, so stay tuned! In the meantime, here's a better look at that first yellow rosebud.
Camera: Sony DSC-RX-10, Lens: 9-73mm f/2.8 @ 22m, Shutter Speed: 1/640 sec, Aperture: f/2.8, ISO: 125
What Do You Think?
- Do you grow any roses?
- Have you ever dried rosebuds?
- What would you do with these dried rosebuds?
- Do you dry any other flowers?
Here are some other posts about roses that you might enjoy: Do Red Roses Taste Better? // Can I Eat Any Rose? // A Fantastically Delicious Rose. And here are some other Haphazard Homestead flower photos you might enjoy: Eat Flowers! // Pink Flowering Trees // Meditation Rose // The Edible Lawn Daisy // Bearded Iris: The Hall of Valhalla // Tropical Conservatory Tour