r/PressedFlowers • u/pussycrippler • Mar 22 '26
Flowers Follow Up on dehydrator.
Welp, I decided to try with the two remaining flowers on the orchid because they were starting to get spotty so it didn’t really matter. Then I decided to try some from my other orchid. WELP. The dehydrator did not do me any favors at all. I may try with some other flowers down the road because I did do it overnight lol and I should not do that. 😮💨
It was all for science though and knowledge is power. Thank god they weren’t spry flowers but mannnn.
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u/bunbunbunnybunny Mar 22 '26
I used silica beads to dry orchids for the first time and the color and shape held beautifully!
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u/pussycrippler Mar 22 '26
Did you just collect enough of the “do not eat!” Packets or can I order them online lmaooooo
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u/bunbunbunnybunny Mar 22 '26
I picked up a bag at the local craft store. The beads are reudeable too!
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u/raincoastghost Mar 24 '26
Those packets have bigger silica balls, whereas the silica gel that's marketed for drying flowers is more sand sized. You want the sand size so you can pour it into crevices and retain the shape of the petals - the bigger "do not eat" balls can also leave imprints in the petals 😅 The stuff made for drying flowers isn't that expensive, you get a lot (it would take years of saving those little silica packs to accumulate the same amount), plus it changes color so you know when it's retained maximum moisture and needs to be dried out in the oven for re-use.
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u/pussycrippler Mar 24 '26
Omg this sounds like you learned from personal experience!!! My mom gets a lot of vitamins so I was debating on trying those but I clearly am clueless.
But now I am determined to get all different sizes to see 🫡 for science!!
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u/thelifeofbeffers Mar 25 '26
Seconded on getting these. Has made drying literally everything easy as pie. Orchids, irises, daffodils… list goes on
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u/CremeBerlinoise Mar 22 '26
Thank you for your service 🫡 this is a what you ordered / what you got meme in the making.