Postharvest Techniques and Management for Dry Flowers

Contents: Foreword. Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. History of dry flowers. 3. Dry flower industry. 4. Harvesting of dry flowers. 5. Natural and air drying. 6. Press drying. 7. Drying by embedding. 8. Drying in microwave oven. 9. Freeze dried flowers. 10. Bleaching flowers and foliage. 11. Natural and chemical dyes. 12. Techniques to dye dried flowers and foliage. 13. Methods to create skeleton leaves. 14. Annual plants for dry flower making. 15. Perennial plants for dry flower making. 16. Dried grasses. 17. Drying foliage. 18. Dried petals. 19. Dried fruits and pods. 20. Artificial flowers. 21. Principles of floral arrangement. 22. Value added dry flower products. 23. Packing and storage. 24. Drift wood. 25. Review of research in dry flower technology. Reference. Glossary. Annexure. Index.

There are many reasons for drying plant materials and one of them is the abundance of available materials. It is estimated that about 80% of flower specie can be dried and preserved successfully. Sophisticated training and expensive equipment are not needed to come up with variety of designs. Unlike fresh flowers that easily lose their marketable value and quality dried ornamentals offer longer periods of sale if properly preserved packaged and handled. Another unique characteristic of dried ornamental is their versatility. They can be arranged into different crafts according to ones preferred style design and use.