Roses are loved by many, and for good reason. After all, these are very beautiful flowers, striking with a variety of colors, shapes, scents. They are spectacular and elegant, long standing and beautiful even in their withering. But roses are not only beauty and celebration. They are saturated with useful substances, due to which they are used in cosmetology and cooking, and with essential oils, whose value is appreciated in aromatherapy and perfumery.
Why dry roses
Fresh rose is beautiful, it pleases the eye and gives pleasant emotions. But this flower is suitable not only to put it in a vase, but when it withers, throw it away. It can, for example, sugar and decorate a cake with it, or you can boil jam from its petals.
Petals are also suitable for the preparation of various cosmetics and romantic decor.
Did you know? The most ancient rose, found as a result of palaeontological excavations, has an age of about 50 million years according to absolute dating.
But you can bring to life interesting ideas not only with the help of fresh roses. You can also make something interesting out of dried ones, show imagination and bring some variety to life.
- for example, a donated rose can be dried for memory, as it reminds of a dear person or event, and it is a pleasure to return to this memory;
- Pink petals in sachets are very popular - small aromatic bags, the contents of which make up a composition of fragrant herbs, flowers, and spices, complemented by a few drops of essential oil. Usually, several smells are combined in a sachet, sometimes only one is used — for example, rose or lavender flowers, supplemented with an appropriate essential oil;
- such sachets are used depending on the flavors it carries. Lavender, for example, it is advisable to put it where the bedding is kept or where the bed is located.
It would be appropriate to put a sachet with a pink scent on the shelf where clothes are stored, to carry with them in her purse, because her scent tones up, normalizes psychological state, and is also recognized as an aphrodisiac;
- You can dry rosebuds and subsequently use them as a flavoring for placement, placing them in a suitable container and dripping a few drops of the essential oil of this flower.
Such a composition will complement the interior and enrich the atmosphere of the house with an exquisite aroma. From time to time the smell becomes less pronounced, then the container with the contents is shaken so that it wakes up.;
Did you know? The oldest known image of a rose is about 4 thousand years old, it is found on the legendary island of Crete, on which, according to legend, Zeus himself was born.
- Dried flowers can create delightful compositions - panels or bouquets. The decor can be either neutral or, for example, congratulatory, or intended for a romantic evening - as the fantasy will tell and bring to life the hands of those who have managed to dry the roses and create a composition out of them;
- romantic mood is difficult to imagine without roses, and especially their petals. They are used as confetti, they are added to the ice for drinks, and to the water for the bath - in a word, everywhere where only fantasy prompts. An interesting and elegant look is a dried rose threaded into a ring along with a linen napkin;
- a bath with pink petals and a few drops of rose oil will not only tune in to the romantic mood - it will allow you to collect your thoughts, put them in order, relieve irritation and other negative, calm the nervous system, help direct your thoughts in the right direction;
- Now homemade soap has become a very popular hand-made industry.
Masters study the properties of various plants, substances and aromas, and of course, the rose has occupied a deserved niche in this business, because thanks to its healing properties it is used in cosmetology, and its aroma has a positive effect on the psyche.
Since fresh flowers suitable for soap making are not available all year round, they are successfully replaced by dried flowers, which are collected in environmentally clean places and harvested in accordance with the technology.
Did you know? In Japan, brought a variety of roses called "Chameleon". This flower is red in the daytime, and by nightfall its petals turn white.
Roses should be dried only in order to then prepare a means such as rose tea all year round, which:
- helps to cope with irritability;
- will assist in inflammatory processes in the mouth and in the gastrointestinal tract;
- improve the condition of nails, hair and skin;
- prolong youth;
- increase hemoglobin levels;
- beneficial effect on blood vessels and the thyroid gland;
- soothe and adjust to the desired mode.
Dried rose looks very exquisitely in the design of a gift; It is especially interesting if it attaches a postcard or an improvised message to it.
Learn the benefits of roses for human health.A small rose looks touchingly, dried between the pages of a book that is used as a bookmark.
Which roses are best dried?
First of all, the flowers that you are going to dry should grow in clean places, especially if it is possible that they will be eaten, or they will be in one way or another in contact with food, dishes, and skin.
Important! Only fresh cut flower is suitable for drying. The more time passes after cutting, the greater the likelihood that the rose will not wither, but will wither.
To cut the flowers in order to dry them you need in the morning, but not too early for the dew to already descend and the flower to dry. Excess moisture can provoke the process of decay and negate all the work.
It is necessary to give preference to the buds that have not yet opened, because the blooming flower will quickly crumble.
After cutting, immediately bring the flowers into the room, not leaving them in the sun. The proximity of a battery or other heating device is also not beneficial, since an elevated temperature accelerates fading.
If you have been presented with roses, and you want to preserve them, having dried, then you should not put flowers in a vase, but start drying, having admired enough when they are already withered.
Learn practical tips for storing roses in a vase.
You already do not know how much time has passed since they were cut - it may well be that quite a lot. Every hour of delay reduces the chances of a happy outcome.Did you know? The French breed the best roses in the world, the Dutch sell them, and extract oil from them - Bulgarians.
How to dry the whole rose
Since there are several ways to dry the roses, so that they preserve the beauty and not lose their color and shape, you should select the appropriate one in advance and prepare everything you need. 
There are two main ways:
- on air;
- in sand.
There is another way to dry a flower - between book pages, but for a rose it is not very suitable due to its structure. However, a small flower is quite possible to save in this way.
The flowers prepared by this technology are used in flower compositions or simply as a bookmark.
Did you know? Yellow, orange and coral shades rose as a result of crossing with the Persian wild rose, red - with the Chinese.
In the open air
For air drying, you should choose a room that meets the following parameters:
- it should be dark, because in the light of drying flowers become fragile, deformed and showered;
- the space must be well ventilated;
- the room must be dry.
Cut flowers sorted out, stems equal to the desired length. It is also advisable to rid them of the lower leaves, but it is not necessary to completely tear them off, depending on the further use. 
A rope is tied to each stalk and flowers are hung behind them with their heads down to a previously stretched rope in the manner of a clothes line.
Instead of a rope, you can use ordinary clothespins, gently attaching the flowers to the stretched rope, trying not to flatten or damage the place of attachment.
Flowers should be suspended at some distance from each other, so that everyone can blow air from all sides.
Important! You can not dry the roses collected in a bouquet: in the middle there will be a lack of air and an excess of moisture, which will lead to rotting flowers.
This process is not fast, it will take about two weeks. If the petals have changed their color, you can give them the desired - for example, using nail polish or spray paint. Often use glitter hairspray. 
In the river sand
Since when drying in the air roses can be somewhat deformed, it is only necessary to change the conditions in order for them to remain as if they were alive, they should be dried in the sand.
This method requires additional materials: you need a box or box of suitable size and enough sand. Preparation of flowers is carried out similarly to that described above.
Sand should be thoroughly washed, dried and calcined in the oven. This is necessary so that there are no microorganisms left in it that can harm the flower.
After calcining, sand is sifted through a sieve to remove coarse components that can rumple or tear the delicate petals.
Important! You can use sand to dry roses.intended for rodentsthat is sold at a pet store.
The capacity in which the rose will be dried must be of such dimensions that will allow the flower to completely fit inside in an upright position, and for the sand layer to remain in reserve.Flower drying technology in the sand:
- Put a little sand on the bottom of the box or box, about a 5-centimeter layer. Put a rose in the sand in such a position that it would be in a vase and begin to fill it with sand.
- To pour sand in small portions and gently, so that parts of the flower do not hesitate. In what position the petals will be fixed with sand, in this they will dry out.
- Fully covered with sand, the container is covered and left in a dry dark room. There he will be about a month.
- When the deadline has expired, the sand should be removed through the holes made in the bottom of the tank. It is impossible to dig, starting from the upper layers - this is the right way to destroy all the works, harming the petals.
- To strengthen the dry flower, refreshing its color and protecting it from moisture, dried roses are treated with hair spray.
If you dry the flower with the observance of technology and treat it with varnish, it will appear little different from the living.
Did you know? Nowadays there are roses of various colors, with the exception of black and blue. Black is called the flower of dark red color, on the breeding of blue work genetic engineers.
How to dry rose petals
Separated from the inflorescence petals are dried for further use in food - for example, making a delicious and very healthy tea, or for cosmetic purposes.
Before you dry the petals in stock at home, you should choose a suitable rose in the garden - the bush and its flowers must be healthy and strong. You can use this method for flowers that have already blossomed and are not suitable for drying whole buds.
Gather the petals before noon to keep the maximum amount of essential oils in them, but by the time the dew is collected there should be no more.
You will probably be interested to learn how to make aromatic wine from rose petals.The collected petals are laid out on a clean cloth or paper (not a newspaper!) And covered with clean gauze. The place where the petals spend the next two or three weeks to complete drying, should be dry, dark and well ventilated.
Important! At the exit of the raw material, 12-13% of the initial mass is obtained.
Store petals containing essential oil in clean and tightly closed glass jars in a dark place, that is, in a cupboard or cabinet.
Useful tips
- Purchased flowers are suitable for decorative compositions or memory preservation, so long as they are fresh enough to dry properly and not fade. For food, cosmetic and medicinal purposes they use roses grown on their own or purchased in a safe place. In short, there must be confidence that the harvested raw materials will benefit and will not cause harm.
- The method of drying roses depends on the purpose for which it is intended to be used. If you want to preserve the beauty of the flower, it is better to choose a way to dry in the sand. When you need medicinal and aromatic properties, you should prefer air drying.
- You need to be very careful about the conditions in which the petals are dried - the amount of useful substances largely depends on them, which will persist after complete drying.
- The petals are kept in a closed jar, but from time to time they are required to be aired and checked to see if uninvited living creatures are not in them. In this case, the raw materials should be thrown away without regret, and the jar should be thoroughly rinsed and dried before next use.
- To surely provide yourself with the right amount of petals, they should be harvested with a margin. Keep petals worth several containers in case of damage.
- If color gamut is important to you, please note that the color of dried petals is likely to become darker compared to fresh ones.
Read also about the charming varieties of roses: "Sins Thomas", "Double Delight", "Sophia Loren", "Pierre de Ronsard", "William Shakespeare", "Blue Perfume", "Falstaff", "Chopin", "Abraham Derby" .Having learned to properly dry roses and their petals, you can stock up on flowers for decorative handicrafts, raw materials for making home cosmetics, materials for decorating holidays and special dates.
Due to their properties and appearance, these flowers and their fragments uplift the mood and create the desired atmosphere. 
