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How About these Gomphrena?
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Posted by gardninlady 8 SC Coastal (My Page) on Mon, Oct 7, 02 at 17:23
I have a nice full shrub of white gomphrena. I am getting ready to do the fall cleaning in the garden and wondered if anyone could give me any tips on drying these and uses. They are such nice shapes and it seems a waste to toss them.
Thanks
Carolyn the Gardninlady |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: How About these Gomphrena?
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| You can air-dry them by hanging them upside down. It can take two-three weeks to get the stems really dry. It also depends on how long you cut the stems -- if you cut low, so that there are nodes -- "joints" -- as you go up, where individual stems branch off, that takes tho longest -- things will look almost done, but will still bend at those joints. We hang them until you can a) tilt the bunch and have everything stay straight or b) (the harder test) lift the bunch straight up when you put your fingertip under a flower head. If you strip the foliage, they'll dry a little quicker, but the foliage gets a fairly nice light gray-green color when it dries. You can use them in dry bouquets, obviously -- making a bouquet from the dried white gomphrena alone, adding other colors of gomphrena, or adding some spikey things as an accent. If you don't want to use the flowers with their stems, you can just add the flower heads to potpourri or glue-gun them to a wreath -- pretty effective with red or purple flowers -- but with white ones, for use in a wreath it might be best to dry them with at least some stems and stick them into a regular evergreen wreath at Christmas. |
RE: How About these Gomphrena?
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WOW !! Thanks for the quick reply! This is exactly what I was looking for.
Much Appreciated
Carolyn |
RE: How About these Gomphrena?
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- Posted by Judy7 5 A Central IL (My Page) on
Wed, Aug 25, 04 at 9:20
| I love gomphrena, especially Strawberry Fields, the beautiful rust variety. Merely cut the smaller stems from that one long one and rubber band several together. Unbend a paper clip and insert and hang in a cool, dark, room. I never remove the stems but do remove some of the leaves - they turn a lovely pale sage green/gray. Good luck! |
RE: How About these Gomphrena?
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| I also grow the Strawberry fields. Absolutely beautiful. Also I grow the QIS mix, also great. I have a big surplus,which I had planned on, so as I can make up some potpourri for holiday sales. Good luck on yours. Heidi |
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