Lavender is dried for flower arrangements, crafts like scent sachets or potpourri, soaps and beauty products and even for cooking and baking. There are so many answers to the question of what to do with dried lavender. It has a stronger smell than fresh lavender, lasts for a long time, and has so many uses.

• Our lavender craft section has a range of ideas.
• For cooking, baking or making drinks with lavender, check out or culinary section.
• To use lavender in beauty products and treatments, look at our beauty section.

For a lot of the uses above, dried lavender is required.  The process of drying lavender flowers is quite easy and there are a few different ways to do it, including:

• Hanging lavender flowers to dry in bunches
• Laying lavender flat to dry
• Drying lavender in the oven
• Using a dehydrator to dry lavender buds

The method you choose is up to you.  This article covers each lavender drying method in detail, but before we do, there are few things to note:

• If you want to preserve as much colour and fragrance as possible, you should harvest the lavender when the buds are a vibrant purple colour, before the blooms actually open.  This isn’t critical, you can harvest the flowers at any time if the colour isn’t important.
• It is vital that you make sure that the flowers are dried until they are completely moisture free.  If you pack them away before they are completely dry, they will mould and won’t smell nice, and you will need to throw them away.

Hanging lavender flowers to dry

This is a lovely way of drying lavender flowers.  The little bunches look beautiful while hung up to dry, and the process of cutting, tying and hanging is fun, relaxing and feels almost therapeutic.

This way of drying lavender does take longer than the other methods, so you do need patience.  The time it takes to dry lavender using the hanging method varies, depending on the humidity level in the air and temperature.  Generally, expect to wait 7-14 days for the bunches to fully dry.

To hang lavender flowers to dry, you need:

• Sharp pruning shears to cut the flower stems
• Twine, string or a rubber band, ribbon, or whatever you have, to tie the stems together
• Somewhere dry and warm to hang the finished bunches.

Method:

1. Cut lavender flower stems as long as possible, stopping before the green leaves start.  The longer the better.  Remember, you are essentially pruning the lavender at the same time.  The best time to cut the flowers is early morning, before the loose some of the oils and nice smell in the sun.  Look for stems with flowers that have buds but where the buds are not all open.
2. Gather the stems into bunches, with a small handful of stems in each bunch.  Do not make the bunches too thick with too many flower stems, as it will be more difficult to dry.
3. Tie each lavender bunch with twine or a rubber band.  Make sure it is not too tight or you will damage the stem, but at the same time it should not be loose enough so that it falls apart when you lift it to hang.
4. Hang to dry in a warm area, protected from the sun (this will help preserve the colour).  A darkened room or a garage is perfect.

Laying lavender flat to dry

This method saves hanging, but takes up space. The advantage is that this way of drying lavender requires almost no work.  As with the hanging method, it will take a while and you will need to be patient.

To dry lavender laying flat, you need:

• Sharp pruning shears to cut the flower stems
• Large trays, or drying trays (see below)
• Somewhere to store your trays while the lavender flowers dry.

Method:

1. Cut your lavender (see above)
2. Lay the flower stems in single layers.
3. Find somewhere to keep them while they dry (garage etc).

You can use large oven trays or almost any flat surface, but for best (and faster) results, you can use flower drying trays. They are usually stackable, which means you can save some space.  If this is something you are likely to use more often and for more than just lavender (other flowers, drying herbs etc), you can invest in some for very little money. 

Drying tray options, to buy

Drying lavender in the oven

Drying lavender in the oven is arguably the easiest method, as you don’t need much equipment and it is fast.  Almost everyone has an oven. As a bonus, within minutes your house will be fillwed with the lovely scent of lavender and will be calm, relaxing environment.

To dry lavender in the oven, you will need:

• Sharp pruning shears to cut the flower stems
• Oven trays
• An oven

Method:

• Either cut the lavender flowers as described above (hanging method), or strip the buds straight off the plant.  This is a satisfying method, but you’ll need to go back and prune the lavender shrub properly when you are finished.
• Preheat your oven to 100 degrees Celsius, or 210 degrees Fahrenheit, fanbake or fanforced if you have the option.
• Spread the flowers thinly on as many oven trays as you need.
• Put the trays in the oven and set a timer for 10 minutes.
• At the end of the 10 minutes, check the flowers.  Buds should crumble between your fingers and stalks should snap easily.
• If needed, leave them for another 5 minutes.  When they are finished, just turn off the oven and leave them to cool.

It really helps if you can wedge the oven door open a bit to allow moisture to escape.  Obviously, stay nearby and keep checking.

Drying lavender with a Dehydrator

If you are wondering how to dry lavender and you already have a dehydrator in the house, your job is extra easy. Drying lavender flowers in a food dehydrator is simple.  They are built for this purpose!  As with the oven method, your house will smell amazing while the lavender is drying.

To use a dehydrator for drying lavender flowers, you will need:

• Sharp pruning shears to cut the flower stems
• A food dehydrator

Method:

• Cut your lavender flowers as described above.
• Spread the cut lavender flowers on the dehydrator trays, making sure they are in a thin / single layer.
• Set the dehydrator to 85-100 degrees.
• Turn it on for 2 hours before checking to see if the lavender flowers are dry.

As an additional note, a food dehydrator is an amazing appliance to have in your kitchen.  Excess fruit, vegetables and herbs can be preserved easily this way – reducing food waste and making healthy snacks or ensuring a steady supply of dried herbs from your garden.  And food dehydrators can be used for drying flowers of course! They are inexpensive and are available for purchase in almost any store that sells kitchen appliances, or online. Click the image link below to see some budget-friendly options on Amazon.com.