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How To Dry Yarrow For Flower Arrangements

July 10, 2022 by cheyanne

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Last updated on November 30th, 2022 at 03:16 am

Yarrow is a wonderful disc shaped flower that can be used in both fresh and dried forms. Learn how to dry yarrow, and preserve these romantic blooms for use in dried flower arrangements and other everlasting projects.

a hand holding an apricot coloured yarrow flower
yarrow can be preserved to use in dried flower arrangements

Naturally dried everlasting flowers are absolutely beautiful in bouquets.

We grow many types of flowers that can be used to display in both their fresh and dried forms. Many cut flowers can also be dried and preserved, and used as everlastings.

Yarrow is no exception, and is the perfect flower to use in both fresh and dried flower bouquets.

We grow lots of yarrow at the flower farm. It is a wonderful multifunctional flower and herb.

There is something wild looking about the yarrow flower. In fact, most people will recognize this flower as a common wild flower or herb, growing in the garden, and sometimes even in the lawn.

It is known to grow with abandon in sunny open fields, as it prefers a full sun location.

pink yarrow flowers growing in a field
yarrow growing in a field

Yarrow Is Much More Than A Cut Flower

Also known as Achillea millefolium, yarrow is a common perennial plant that can be found all over the world.

It is a wonderful cut flower, both in the fresh form and the dried.

Yarrow has a beautiful flower which comes in a number of different varieties and colors.

The plant is also frequently used and valued for it’s herbal properties.

a pink yarrow flower
yarrow comes in many beautiful colors

Wild Yarrow

I love to harvest and dry wild yarrow for herbal tea.

wild yarrow on a wooden railing, foraged for tea
wild yarrow foraged for tea

The flowers and leaves can be dried in the dehydrator, and used throughout the year. The tea has a calming and sweet taste, and the dried leaves and flowers have a pleasant and familiar fragrance.

The tea tastes just like the leaves smell, after you have stripped them from the stem.

The wild version of yarrow grows all around the farm in early summer. It is typically white with a very faint pink tinge, and the bees and pollinators absolutely love it.

white flowers of wild yarrow
wild yarrow has a more delicate flower than yarrow hybrids

It is generally smaller and dainty with more delicate flowers and leaves than the hybrid cultivars grown for cut flowers. Yet it is just as beautiful, in my opinion.

Wild yarrow grows by self seeding, and as well as by the spread of the plant via underground rhizomes.

You can forage for the wild yarrow flowers, and besides using them in tea, can also use them for cut flowers in the fresh or dried form.

You can also grow wild yarrow in your garden by transplanting a few, that is, if they are not there already.

These plants are more than meets the eye, and have a special place in many gardens.

wild yarrow growing with the daylilies
wild yarrow growing with the daylilies

Yarrow Hybrids

Many of the yarrow cultivars grown for cut flowers are hybrids grown from seed.

These varieties also self seed, and as well as grow via underground rhizomes. They tend not to be as hardy as their wild cousins, and are a short lived perennial in our zone 5b location.

We use several of the cut flower varieties in our garden.

white yarrow on a wooden railing
yarrow hybrids are larger than the wild yarrow

One variety is called Colorado mix. This variety has a lot of beautiful colours in the mix, such as apricot, antique beige, and yellow pale. It has larger sturdier stems and larger disc shaped blooms than it’s wild flower counterpart.

This variety is fabulous for drying.

Another variety we have grown is Summer Berries. This variety has more jewel tones, such as raspberry and rose, and these large flowers are also great for drying.

pink yarrow flower from  Colorado mix
pink yarrow flower from Colorado mix

Is Yarrow A Good Dried Flower?

Yarrow are most definitely good flowers for drying.

Yarrow flowers dry very well, and look great as everlasting blooms.

The dried flowers also smell great and have a lovely herbal fragrance.

Yellow yarrow or golden yarrow dries to be a nice bright yellow color. White yarrow dries with a lovely clear white bloom.

The brighter pink flowers become more muted as they dry, and often dry to a more dusty rose coloration.

pink yarrow flowers with a bee
pink yarrow flowers will become more muted as they dry

Flowers are best picked at maturity, when they are in peak bloom, for the best color.

Choose a bright color if possible, as the flowers tend to fade as they mature and dry.

It is especially important to pick the flower at peak bloom for drying.

You will have best results if drying from fresh flowers at their peak, rather than drying stems from a cut flower bouquet, which may have aged for several days after being cut.

Yarrow flowers have long stems, and the disc shaped blooms remain full, and flat, even after drying.

They add an attractive element of texture and shape to dried flower arrangements.

a hand holding a bouquet of yarrow flowers
yarrow flowers have long stems and disc shaped blooms

Harvesting Yarrow For Drying

When To Pick Yarrow For Drying

The best stage at which to pick yarrow for drying is when the flower heads are mature and the blooms become stiff.

If picked when the blooms still have a lot of unopened buds, these flowers are more likely to wilt, and are not best for drying.

Don’t pick the blooms if the flowerhead is soft, as again, it is more likely to wilt.

Pick at maturity for best results, when the flowers are firm and open, and before they start to fade.

white yarrow flowers
pick yarrow blooms when they are mature and stiff
wilting yarrow flower heads
soft yarrow flower heads are more likely to wilt

How To Harvest For Drying

Pick yarrow flowers in the early morning, when the blooms are hydrated.

The best type of day to harvest is on a dry day, that is not raining or misty.

Cut deep down onto the stem, cutting at ground level.

Strip all the leaves from the bottom two thirds of the plant. Stripping the leaves helps to keep the flowers hydrated, allowing more moisture to remain in the bloom.

This will help with the conditioning of the flower, before the conditioning process is started.

Place the stems immediately into a container of clean water or holding solution, and set aside in a cool shady location to allow the flowers to condition and rehydrate.

If you pick the blooms later in the day, especially on a sunny day, you may notice that the blooms will wilt very quickly. If this happens, make sure to get the flowers into water immediately, and into a cool and dark location, so that they can recover.

yarrow leaves- note the feathery texture
yarrow leaves- note the feathery texture
stripping yarrow leaves from the bottom two thirds of the stem
strip the yarrow leaves from the bottom two thirds of the stem

Condition The Flowers

Although you will be drying the flowers, it is important to dry them at their peak for best results.

pink cut flowers on a wooden railing
freshly picked yarrow ready for conditioning

To get the flowers into shape, and into their peak condition prior to drying, condition them as you would any other cut flower.

Cut in the morning, place into cold water or a holding solution, and store in a cool shaded location for up to twenty four hours.

After four to eight hours in a bucket of holding solution or water, you will be able to notice a difference in the quality of the blooms.

When they are conditioned, flowers and stems become brighter, and stiffer, and are much more easily handled.

If you are drying flowers, conditioning prepares them to be in the best state in which to start the drying process.

The final result will be a more beautiful dried specimen.

yarrow flowers in a bucket
condition the flowers by rehydrating before drying

How To Dry Yarrow

There are several methods for drying yarrow which are fairly easy to do, and involve simple techniques.

Air Drying Yarrow

The first method of drying yarrow is by air drying, and involves drying the whole stem while preserving the disc shaped flower head.

pink yarrow flowers hanging upside down
air drying is one of the simplest ways to dry yarrow

Perhaps the simplest way to air dry yarrow is to hang the flowers upside down.

Once the flowers are properly conditioned, they are ready to be hung to dry.

Bundle about eight stems of similar coloured yarrow flowers together in small bunches, and gather them snuggly by the stems with an elastic or rubber band, placed around the bottom of the bundle.

The elastic band will hold the stems in place as they dry and shrink, and will help prevent any slippage or loss of stems from the bundle itself.

Try to use elastics rather than string or twine, as this will allow flexibility and maintain a good grip on the stems as they dry.

As stems dry they will shrink in diameter, and if you are not using elastics, there is a chance that some of your stems will fall out of the bundle and end up on the floor causing breakage.

an elastic band on yarrow stems
use an elastic band to hold the stems in place when hanging upside down

Hanging To Dry

The location where you hang the flowers should be warm and dark, with good air circulation and good ventilation.

Make sure that the flowers are out of direct sunlight, as this will cause fading of the blooms.

Allow for good air circulation within the bundle of flowers as well, to prevent molding.

yarrow flowers hanging to dry
hang yarrow in a dry and dark location with good air circulation
a hand hanging flowers on a drying line with clothespins
slip a clothespin into the elastic to allow you to hang the flowers from a drying line

Slip a hanger such as a clothespin or a hook, through the elastic band.

Suspend the stems upside down on a drying line or rack.

The flowers should be dry within several weeks. They may even require further drying, depending on the drying environment.

Make sure that they are completely dry before removing them from the drying line.

yarrow suspended from a drying line to dry
the yarrow will be dry in two to three weeks
yarrow hanging to dry
you can also hang yarrow to dry in any other space which provides the right environment, such as on knobs of a hutch for instance

Air Dry In A Vase

Another way to air dry flowers is to dry them upright in a vase, although this method is not as successful as drying upside down.

Place the yarrow in a clean vase wth a small amount of water at the bottom of the container.

Once the water has been absorbed, allow the flowers to remain in the vase dry.

They will naturally dry in this state within several weeks.

The same environmental factors will apply to this setup.

There should be good air circulation, and a dark, warm, and dry place in which to keep the flowers while they are drying.

If the yarrow blooms begin to wilt in the vase after the water is absorbed, just turn them upside down and air dry in an inverted position.

flowers drying in a vase
yarrow can also be air dried in a vase, although not as successfully as hanging upside down

Pressing Yarrow

Another way to dry yarrow is to press the flowers to remove moisture from the blooms.

The lacy flower heads of yarrow can be pressed in order to preserve the blooms.

The pressed flowers will be different that those dried by air drying, as they will be flattened and preserved by pressing.

The flower stems will generally be removed for this method of drying, and you can dry the flower clusters as well as the leaves.

To press yarrow, you can use either a standard or DIY flower press to press the blooms. You can also press the flowers between the pages of a heavy book.

pressing flowers in a flower press
pressing yarrow flowers in a flower press
pink flowers after a day of pressing
yarrow after a day of pressing- the pressed blooms will need about 4 weeks to dry in the press

Just make sure to protect the pages of the book with extra layers of paper on both sides of the flowers that are being pressed.

Otherwise the flower dye, or even mold formation, can damage the pages of the book itself during the pressing process.

Pressing yarrow will provide a pressed and lacy bloom to use in many everlasting projects.

pressed yarrow flowers in a book
pressed yarrow flowers in a book

Drying Yarrow In Silica Gel

Another method for drying yarrow is to dry the flowers with silica gel.

Silica gel is a drying agent that will dry the blooms well, however the flowers will still dry and shrink, and the color of the blooms is not maintained and they will become darker.

Due to the nature of this method, it will be difficult to dry the blooms with the stems attached, due to the length of the blooms, and amount of silica gel required. You can always wire stems after drying.

Blooms dried in silica gel can be used in projects such as decorative wreaths, or smaller arrangements with wired stems.

yarrow in a bowl for silica gel application
yarrow can be dried in silica gel
covering flowers in the silica gel
cover the flower in the silica gel for approximately two days
yarrow flowers dried in silica gel on a wooden railing
yarrow flowers dried in silica gel will darken and dry

Storing Dried Yarrow

Once the yarrow stems are fully dry, they can be stored away in a dry area and dark place until ready to use. There are a number of different methods for storage, depending on the size of the flower or flower head.

Loosely wrap the whole flowers with stems in Kraft paper or newsprint for added protection. The paper will help to wick away any moisture.

Dried flower heads can be stored in tissue paper in a cardboard box for safe keeping, until ready to use.

Keep similar colors wrapped together for easy access when arranging.

Label the color on the outside of the paper, for easy access.

yarrow bundled in similar colors before drying
yarrow bundled in similar colors before drying

Conclusion

Dried yarrow is textural, and dries exceptionally well. It is a wonderful addition to any dried arrangement.

different colors of flowers on a wooden box
yarrow is a wonderful addition to any dried flower arrangement

Newer cultivars will be larger and fuller, while wild yarrow has smaller flowers and is more delicate in appearance.

Drying the colourful larger cultivars of hybrid yarrow will give you lots of different choices in dried floral arrangements.

Drying in the dark, away from direct sunlight, will also help to maintain the color of the blooms.

Cut yarrow blooms at their peak in order to maintain the best color for your dried blooms.

Pair yarrow with other similar garden flowers for drying, such as german statice, rudbeckia, globe amaranth, baby’s breath, sea holly and globe thistle. These flowers are also great as fresh specimens as well.

Consider growing yarrow this growing season, for all it has to offer, with fresh and dried flowers, as well as herbal benefits.

a diy wooden flower press with different coloured flowers
a diy wooden flower press with yarrow flowers

Have you ever tried to dry yarrow for flower arrangements and everlastings? Be sure to share your experience by leaving a comment below!

Other Posts You May Like:

HOW TO DRY STATICE FLOWERS FOR EVERLASTING BLOOMS
HOW TO DRY FLOWERS ( 7 METHODS TO PRESERVE YOUR BLOOMS)
CUT PEONY CARE- HOW TO KEEP CUT PEONIES FRESH FOR LONGER

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Hello, I'm Chey! I'm so glad you're here! Join me and my family on our flower farming journey. We have a harbour-side farm property, which we are slowly transforming into a little flower farm. We are completely renovating our farmhouse from the ground up, and will be sharing lots of posts on farmhouse life, simple living, and all things that bloom! Read More…

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