Q&A for How to Dry Rose Petals

You can use a couple of drops of dish soap in a spray bottle with water. It is a safe and effective way to get rid of bugs.

Preserving whole roses is popular, and a pretty simple process: In a dark, cool and dry place, such as an airing cupboard, secure the rose(s) to something upside down with an elastic band (such as a pipe, if using the airing cupboard). Let the rose(s) remain in that place for 2-3 weeks. Carefully remove the roses and place them in a vase for decoration, or whatever you want you do with them.

Drying the petals in a book or air drying them preserves the scent better. Using a microwave to dry rose petals doesn't preserve the scent very well.

No, you cannot. First of all, when you purchase roses or rose petals from a florist, you are buying flowers that have been treated with a fungicide. You never really want to put flowers or petals or greenery purchased from a florist in direct contact with other food or to ingest it.

All the methods above will work for white petals also. It shouldn't make any difference at all.

The color may fade a little; if it's red. it may turn into a faded copper-red. If it's yellow, it will almost be like a sticky-note pale yellow.

Yes. For many years I have collected different flowers, and I have a big book which I take and find a blank page and place the flowers in between the pages. Be careful how you place them, because when they dry, they will look just like that.

Yes, for crafting that would be fine. Just do not consume store-bought flowers, as they are treated with chemicals.

The petals might not dry well in a book and become sticky instead. Try putting plastic wrap between the flower and the pages of the book.

It's possible that there is still moisture on the petals when you begin to dry them. Make sure you either take the petals when they're dry, or gently pat off any moisture with a paper towel. If that doesn't work, maybe try a different method of drying.

This is completely normal. For example, a raisin doesn't look at all the same as a grape, it's much smaller. The same goes for rose petals.

You can do that safely, but make sure to do it after you dry them. You could also use essential oils.

I keep my rose petals in a little jar and I’ve had them for over 5 years now. Keep them in a cool and dry place and they should be fine in appearance. However, the scent will fade after 6 months to a year.