I dry zinnias in Borax with good success. I put a few inches of Borax into a leak proof container. Cover Borax with cheap tissues. Leave a few inches of stem on flower but remove all leaves. Make sure flower is dry. Place flowers face down on tissue. Holding stems upright, place more tissue around the flowers. You could poke a hole in the center of the tissue and put the stem through the hole. Carefully cover tissue around flowers with enough Borax to hold the stem upright but do not cover all of the stem. Keep in a warm dry area. When the stems are thoroughly dry carefully remove the Borax. The tissue prevents the Borax from sticking to the flowers. I came up with this method myself through experimenation. I have dried flowers as delicate as rose of sharon and Queen Anne's lace using this method and the flowers remain beautiful and useable for up to a year or more. The Borax and tissues can be used over and over to dry more flowers. EP

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Here is a photo with zinnias and Queen Anne's lace dried by above method included in the basket arrangement. EP

I forgot to mention...after drying I give the flowers a light spray with cheap hair spray. If flowers become dusty, they can be dusted gently with the canned air used to clean computer and electronic equipment. EP

Wow, that is GREAT info., thank you so much! And your flowers are beautiful! I can't wait to try this with my zinnias. I am growing 'Chippendale Daisy' zinnias this year and they are just so pretty and charming I'd love to preserve some.

Hello EP,
Awesome information. It was just what I was looking for. Thank you for sharing. Until next time be well!
Always,
Denise

I just tried drying some dogwood flowers using the Borax method. They turned out beautiful. EP

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scan of dried dogwood blossom dried using the borax method. EP

That dogwood blossom is just exquisite! Thank you for sharing your method. josh

enchantedplace~

WOW! I just loved all the information you shared, and also the PHOTOS! Gee... this was great, & I still haven't learned how to "post" PHOTOS on this Site!! Help!!

Actually, last month, I was able to get a good Photograph of some of the wild "meadow" Buttercups that grow here in IDAHO at this time of year, & I really wanted to share the photo on Site here... but still am too new to the Garden Web board to figure out how to do it... but, I was able to "dry & press" some of these Buttercups, & they turned out excellent!

Just wanted to say... thanks for Posting & for giving all of us such an "inspiration!" Wonderful !!

~IndianPaintBrush~

Thank you very much! Here is a link to the online service I use for posting photos. I like Picturetrail because there is no pop up advertising and so many ways it can be used. There is an small annual charge according to how many photos one wishes to post but the first few weeks are free. You are invited to click on our photolink on our Page to view other photos. Good luck. EP

Here is a link that might be useful: picturetrail

I know this is an old thread but I read it all and still have a question. The person who posted the instructions said make sure the flower is dry, I want to preserve sunflowers, but when you let them dry on the plant the petals will fall off, what do you mean by "dry" without losing the petals?

Thanks,
Susan in NC