What are Desiccants?
Desiccants are chemical agents that absorb moisture. They always need to be kept in an airtight container. Desiccants that are suitable for drying and preserving flowers are: – Silica gel – Borax – Mixture e.g. mix 1 part silica gel to 4 parts borax (sieve any lumps out of borax first). – Silver Sand – and believe it or not some people use cat litter! (though this doesn’t work very well for delicate flowers as they tend to get broken). Silica Gel: This desiccant is reputed to have the best and quickest results. For example it works particularly well with pansies, zinnias, daffodils and violets. Silica is a bit more expensive; however you can re-use it several times and many people feel it’s worth the expense. Though it’s called gel it’s actually more like fine crystals than a gel. You’ll find silica sold in many garden or craft shops or florists. There are several different brands. The best gel to get is one with a colour indicator – for example the silica crystals start blue but then
