Sometimes the best way to display cut roses is a permanent arrangement -- drying, that is. The key is to start drying the roses when they're about half open (figure A), says show host Kim Haworth. Then it's a simple matter of grouping the stems together, hanging them upside down in a warm, dry area, and waiting a week or so until they are dry to the touch. The final step is to coat the dry bouquet with hair spray, which will preserve the flowers and keep them from losing their petals. A second way to preserve roses is to use silica gel, for a result that's about the same but doesn't look as dry (figure B). Follow these steps: - Read the directions on the silica gel to determine how long the variety of flower you wish to dry will need to sit in the gel.
- Cut a bloom with petals that are a little bit open, leaving one and a half inches of stem.
- Set the bloom in a layer of gel.
- Pour gel on top, making sure to get as much as you can between the petals (figure C). Cover the bloom completely with gel, and then cover the container or leave it open, as you wish, and wait the allotted time to preserve the bloom.
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