Roses can be preserved using several different techniques and items commonly found around your home. While maintaining live roses requires a great deal of effort, preserved roses will last indefinitely if properly preserved. When cutting roses to preserve, ensure that you select your roses in the mid- to late morning on a dry day. You should only choose the best blooms, and avoid roses that might be diseased. Prior to preserving your roses, remove the leaves from the stems.
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Hang the roses upside-down, and allow them to air dry for approximately 5 to 10 days. Prior to hanging, arrange the roses so that the stems are together, and wrap the stems together using a rubber band. Break up the roses into groups of 3 to 6 roses, and try to avoid having the blooms touch one another. Hang the roses up-side down in a warm, dark and dry area, such as a closet or kitchen.
Preserve the roses using silica gel, which can be purchased at your local crafts store. Fill a large container (about the size of a shoe-box) with the silica gel so that it will cover the roses half way. Insert the roses, then add more gel to completely cover the roses. Allow the roses to sit in the gel for approximately 3 to 5 days, then remove the preserved roses. Spraying the roses with hair spray will help to seal the roses.
Place the roses in a food dehydrator for approximately 8 to 24 hours to dry and preserve the roses. When using the dehydrator, place the roses on the dehydrator racks, but do not allow the blooms to touch. The dehydrator temperature should be set to 95 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place a few roses in your microwave, loosely covered by paper towels. Turn on the microwave for approximately one to two minutes. Be sure to place a cup of water in the microwave while drying roses with this method.