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One of my favorite fillers for floral arrangements is silver dollar eucalyptus. This airy, showy species of eucalyptus adds a casual elegance to any floral arrangement.
A small grocery store bunch costs around $5, so I was very pleased when my neighbor gave away the branches of the silver dollar eucalyptus tree that she had cut down.
I made off with a couple of large branches. By then, the tree had been cut down for several days. But the branches still smelled fresh and wonderful, and the large, round, blue-silver leaves were still gorgeous.
I cut the the branches into smaller sections to use in floral arrangements.
Drying the Eucalyptus – The Easy Way
I had more eucalyptus than I could use at any given time. So I wanted to try drying it.
I learned that eucalyptus can be preserved by placing the stems in a combination of water and glycerin – if the stems are fresh enough to absorb the mixture.
But these stems were starting to dry out. There was no way that they were going to absorb anything.
I read that eucalyptus could be air dried if placed in a warm, dry, and dark location. So for lack of a better place, I put them in my little greenhouse. It was bright in there, but still warm and dry. And I figured that two out of three wasn’t bad.
After several days, it seemed the eucalyptus had dried, and I needed to take back the greenhouse for other things.
I left one small bunch in the greenhouse, and it has done fairly well although withering a bit from the bright exposure.
Alone or With Flowers
The rest I stashed around the house. It looks elegant all by itself, whether in a large bunch or just one sprig.
The eucalyptus has been dried for at least a month now, and while the leaves have curled a little and the color has changed from silver-blue to more of a green, it’s still very beautiful.
And it still makes a lovely filler. Here, leaves are simply tucked in where needed to conceal a tape grid at the mouth of this vase.
And here, branches add interest to a pitcher of lilacs.
Of course it is brittle now and needs to be handled carefully. And the fresh eucalyptus scent is gone.
But it’s good to know that this beautiful floral filler really does dry nicely even without the glycerin mixture.
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