Preserve Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a hearty, fragrant plant that is often preserved for use in floral arrangements and decorations. You can cut and preserve your own eucalyptus with a few basic tools you might have at home. Follow these basic steps to learn how to preserve eucalyptus.
Steps
- Choose a location to preserve plants.
- Decide where you will store eucalyptus while preserving it. Choose a cool, dry location with no direct sunlight that has freely circulating air. It should be somewhere out of your way so the container will not need to be moved.
- Cut uniform-length branches.
- Use gardening shears to cut eucalyptus branches to the same length. Branches should ideally be 36 inches (94 cm) long to preserve properly.
- Remove dead leaves.
- Trim away dead or damaged leaves from the cut eucalyptus branches. These leaves would fall off during the preservation process. Cutting them beforehand will give your finished dried eucalyptus a more uniform appearance.
- Trim branch ends.
- Cut the ends of each eucalyptus branch on an angle. This will expose the maximum amount of the branch to the preserving solution and allow the solution to flow up through the branch.
- Prepare glycerin solution.
- Boil a large amount of water in a tea kettle. The amount you will actually need will vary depending on how big a vase you're using to preserve your plant cuttings, but you should use at least 2 cups of water.
- Add 2 parts of boiling water to 1 part vegetable glycerin. Stir the mixture until all of the glycerin has dissolved into the water.
- Pour the glycerin and water mixture into a tall, heavy vase or jar.
- Add eucalyptus branches to the mixture.
- Arrange your eucalyptus branches so that all the ends are down in the water and glycerin mixture and none of the individual leaves are bent down. Branches should have plenty of space to stand on their own during the preservation process.
- Store for 4 weeks.
- The preservation process will take 2-to-6 weeks depending on the age and size of your eucalyptus cuttings. Check branches after 4 weeks to determine if they need more time.
- Fully preserved eucalyptus will have smooth, darkened leaves. The bark on the branch should be a uniform darkened color from end to end.
- Cut branch ends again.
- Trim the ends of the eucalyptus branches after the preservation process is complete. The ends will darken during preservation. Trimming them will make the dried eucalyptus more visually appealing and will remove any excess glycerin that might not have absorbed all the way.
- Use in floral arrangements.
- Dust preserved eucalyptus with a soft cloth or feather duster. Gather dried branches with a ribbon for a wall hanging or use with fresh flowers in floral arrangements.
Things You'll Need
- Boiling water
- Vegetable glycerin
- Gardening shears
- Vase or jar
- Tea kettle
- Eucalyptus cuttings
