I’ve been drying rose petals all wrong! I had a friend turn me on to this method over the weekend, and I went crazy over it. If you want to know how to dry rose petals in less than 2 minutes, stick around!
Last summer, I wrote a blog post about the best ways to dry all your summer flowers. I found all kinds of great ways to dry whole flowers, but all the methods I tested didn’t do great with single flower petals. WAY too messy!
This petal drying method is not at all messy or complicated, and that’s a win-win!
The quick cheat method for drying rose petals
So the trick is the microwave. Once you learn how to dry rose petals this way you might find yourself hanging out by the microwave more often.
I tried the microwave method when I was testing the best practices for drying whole flowers. The silica gel method in the microwave was by far the best way to dry full flowers, but it wasn’t great for single petals. It turns out there is an easy trick for drying petals, and it doesn’t require silica gel, a flower press, or patience. (bonus on the patience)
It does take a bit of time to separate your rose petals, and if you need a lot of rose petals, it will take several batches to get it done, but honestly, it’s so easy to do that none of that matters. It all goes so quickly that you could have a massive pile of dried rose petals in a short amount of time.
The paper towel and microwave method is too easy. It makes perfectly dried rose petals in 2 minutes flat. They are dry, stiff, but not crumbly. You can crumble them, but they don’t just shatter when you touch them. This method makes the dried petals that are perfect for projects like potpourri.
What are the best types of roses to use for drying petals?
The type of roses doesn’t matter. You can use flowers you purchased or flowers from your summer garden. The one thing that you do need to have is fresh flowers.
If your flowers are wilted or starting to brown, they will dry, but they will not be vibrant or pretty.
Best to start with fresh flowers.
Some tutorials will tell you to use flowers that have just begun to open, but that is not necessary at all. I used flower buds, and simply twisted off the base and picked the petals away.
So use your favorite roses, any color, any kind!
Tools and materials required
- Roses
- Plate
- Paper towel
- Microwave
It doesn’t get any easier than this!
Step 1 – How to dry rose petals in the microwave
Separate your rose petals and place them on a piece of paper towel on a microwave-safe plate.
Keep only the petals that are fresh-looking, no wilted ends, or dry brown bits.
Make sure when placing your rose petals onto the paper towel that the petals do not at all overlap. If they do overlap, they may stick to one another.
Step 2
Place the plate into a microwave and set the timer for 2 minutes.
Microwaves vary significantly in wattage, so I am going to tell you to watch that first batch closely to make sure 2 minutes is not too much time. Since I have no way of knowing the power of your microwave, 2 minutes may be too little or too much, so gauge that first batch by watching it closely.
After the two minutes, check to see if the rose petals are dry. If you started with really fresh or dew-covered roses, you might need to add 30 seconds. I found for my rose petals were perfectly dry at the two-minute mark.
Be careful with the plate; it will be hot.
Step 3
Set up a small drying area for your petals. As you remove them from the microwave, you can place them on the second piece of paper towel to cool down.
After a few minutes, they are ready to use in all your craft projects. No need to wait 24 hours, or seven days, or 30 days pressed in a book. You can start using your dried rose petals immediately for any of your craft projects.
Two things to note, the scent will not hold. You may end up with a bit of a residual smell, but most of the rose scent will vanish after drying.
Your flower petals might also change color. My bright pink roses turned a beautiful lilac when dried. My deep red roses remained red but dried to a gorgeous shade of red.
Can you dry other types of flower petals?
Yup!
Peony, sunflower, cosmos, lavatera, daisies; honestly, I would try anything I thought might work.
Whole flowers do not dry thoroughly in the microwave without the assistance of some silica gel, but the petals by themselves do dry quite thoroughly, so my advice is to try them.
I don’t know if anyone has checked the price of dried flowers lately, or even potpourri, it’s insane!
Dry your own, save some cash, get creative.
A few craft ideas for your dried rose petals
So that’s how to dry rose petals quick and easy. It works SO well. I highly recommend you make a bunch, just for fun.
BUT… consider all the things you could make with your dried flower petals.
If you use organic roses or roses from your garden that you know have not been sprayed with chemicals, you can dry them for homemade teas.
Dried rose petals make excellent potpourri. It is important to note that the scent does not stay, you will need to enhance your potpourri with some essential oils, or artificial fragrance (if that’s your thing).
I like to use the petals as bulk for my potpourri and always use the same oils regardless of the flowers I used. I LOVE grapefruit and bergamot and tend to add those two scent oils to anything I make. It is a glorious scent combination.
You can also use your rose petals in beauty products like body scrubs, or bath bombs.
Or you can add them to homemade papers, to make some lovely floral-themed notebooks or handmade wrapping paper.
So many ideas!
And if you happen to have any other ideas feel free to leave a comment. I have so many dried rose petals right now and would love some fun new ideas.
Want to Learn More about Drying Flowers?
How to Dry Rose Petals In Under Two Minutes
The simple method for drying rose petals to use as natural confetti, or for use in craft projects.
Materials
- Roses
Tools
- Paper towel
- Plate
- Microwave
Instructions
- Separate your petals and place them on a piece of paper towel on a microwave-safe plate.
- Keep only the petals that are fresh-looking, no wilted ends, or brown dry bits.
- Make sure when placing your rose petals onto the paper towel that the petals do not at all overlap. If they do overlap they may stick to one another.
- Place the plate into a microwave and set the timer for 2 minutes.
Microwaves vary greatly in wattage so I am going to tell you to watch that first batch closely to make sure 2 minutes is not too much time. Since I have no way of knowing the power of your microwave, 2 minutes may be too little or too much so gauge that first batch by watching it closely.
- After the two minutes check to see if the rose petals are dry. If you started out with really fresh, or dew-covered roses you may need to add an additional 30 seconds.
- Set up a small drying area for your petals. As you remove them from the microwave you can place them on the second piece of paper towel to cool down.
- After a few minutes, they are ready to use in all your craft projects.
Notes
The scent will not hold. You may end up with a bit of a residual scent, but most of the rose scent will vanish after drying.
Your flower petals might also change color. I started with a bright pink flower petals that dried to a beautiful lilac purple color.
Tracy says
Thank you so much for your article. This wasn’t what I was looking for but turned out to be exactly what I needed!!
Initially I was searching for something else along the same lines I think, but read your article and it was the solution I needed all along.
For my microwave I only go max 1min40. I found that some of my petals will even burn, does that depend on position I lay them in?
Also, I found if I lay them petal down, they don’t seem to fade. Color stayed beautiful and deep. Now I haven’t tried on a huge variety but that’s just what I noticed.
Thanks again,
Laura Kennedy says
Hey Tracy, if they are burning the microwave might be a bit powerful, I’d try lowering the power to 8-9 and trying to see if that works. But the tip about keeping the petals face down is gold! That’s amazing and such a great tip. I never noticed that, but I think I kept my petals all face up for photographs and never noticed after that. I have to try it today and see! Cheers!
kerri says
After 2 minutes some petals seem dryer than others. Some petals feel a bit soft in the centre still. Should I put these ones back in the microwave? I’m guessing you should get them too crunchy.
Laura Kennedy says
Hi Kerri, some microwaves cook unevenly, and or have different wattage. I would remove the dry petals from the plate and toss the semi-dry ones back in for 10-second increments. Don’t go longer than that, they do dry fairly quickly and go from dry to burned even quicker. I hope that helps!
Debbie says
Using dried rose petals as confetti, I assume the colour will not harm a wedding gown?
Laura Kennedy says
Hi Debbie, if the flowers are brightly colored, and get wet or damp, there is a possibility of staining depending on the flowers. My suggestion (if you’re wearing a traditional white wedding gown) to use white roses. Best of both worlds and no concern over the flower petals staining.
Cheers!
Rita says
Hi Laura
If I want to use them as confetti how long can I store the dried rose petals for?
Laura Kennedy says
Hi Rita, you can store them for a long time. If kept completely dry, you could store them for a year (or even more). The enemy here is moisture. If you put them in a sealed bag, you could potentially ruin them all ( I did that) as a bit of moisture will remain even after microwaving. I’d say make a few batches, when they are dried, lay them out for 24 hours and add them to a big box with an open top and keep them as dry as possible.
You know those desiccant packages that come in shoe boxes? Those work great to trap and keep the moisture away.
Lisa says
Thank you! I will get on it! They are expensive to purchase! My daughter wants a natural confetti!
Your a life saviour!
Laura Kennedy says
Hey Lisa, thanks for the comment. One tip that I haven’t added to the post yet (I will today) is storing them. If you are making a bunch for a wedding it’s a good idea to use one of those desiccant packs to remove moisture.
Or make sure the petals are super dry before you store them. I made a mistake and stored a few loose leaves with some rose buds that were not entirely dry, and that tiny bit of moisture ruined the entire bag of dried rose petals.
Good luck! I also love the idea of natural confetti!