How to Dry Lavender and Preserve its Fragrance

Lavender is prized for its calming fragrance and beautiful appearance. Drying lavender properly is essential to preserving its aroma, color, and quality, allowing you to enjoy its benefits long after the harvest. Whether you want to use it for crafting, making essential oils, or simply to keep around your home for its soothing scent, drying lavender is an easy and rewarding process when done right.

Step 1: Harvesting Lavender at the Right Time

The first and most crucial step is harvesting it at the optimal time. Lavender should be harvested when the flowers are fresh and fragrant. Picking the flowers at the right stage ensures that their oils and fragrance are at their peak, making for a better dried product.

When to Harvest Lavender

• For Essential Oils: Harvest lavender when about one-third to one-half of the buds on the stem have opened. This stage ensures that the essential oils are concentrated in the flowers, which will yield the most fragrance.
• For Dried Lavender Bundles: If you plan to use lavender for decorative purposes or sachets, wait until most of the flowers on the stem have opened. The flowers should still be vibrant in color, but not overly mature. This will help them retain their appearance and fragrance when dried.

Best Time of Day for Harvesting

Lavender should be harvested in the morning after the dew has evaporated but before the heat of the day sets in. This is when the oils in the lavender are most concentrated, ensuring that the fragrance is at its peak.

Tools for Harvesting Lavender

To harvest lavender, you’ll need:

• Sharp Pruners or Scissors: Use clean, sharp tools to make a clean cut and avoid crushing the stems.
• Basket or Bucket: A clean, dry basket or bucket is ideal for collecting your cut lavender stems.
• Twine or Rubber Bands: If you plan to dry lavender in bundles, twine or rubber bands are needed to hold the stems together.

When harvesting, cut the stems just above the woody part of the plant, leaving a few inches of green growth behind. This encourages healthy regrowth and prevents the plant from becoming too woody.

Step 2: Preparing Lavender for Drying

Once you’ve harvested your lavender, it’s time to prepare the flowers for drying. Proper preparation is key to ensuring that the lavender retains its fragrance and color.

Removing Debris and Damaged Flowers

First, inspect the lavender stems and remove any damaged flowers, leaves, or debris. This ensures that only the highest quality lavender is dried.

Bundling Lavender for Drying

Gather 10 to 15 lavender stems and tie them together with twine or a rubber band. Make sure the bundle is tight enough to hold the stems together but not so tight that it crushes the flowers. Smaller bundles are recommended because they allow for better airflow, reducing the risk of mold and helping the lavender dry evenly.

Step 3: Drying Lavender

There are several methods avalable, but the goal is to remove moisture from the flowers while preserving their fragrance and color. The traditional method of hanging lavender to dry is the most popular and effective, but you can also use other methods depending on your available space and the desired drying speed.

Hanging Lavender to Dry

Hanging lavender upside down is the most common and effective method. This process helps lavender maintain its shape, prevents moisture from collecting at the base of the flowers, and keeps the essential oils concentrated in the buds.

• Choose a Drying Location: Lavender should be dried in a dark, dry, and well-ventilated area. A cool room, attic, or closet is ideal. Sunlight can cause the color of the lavender to fade, so avoid drying it in direct sunlight.
• Hang the Bundles: Attach the lavender bundles to a hook, rod, or hanger using twine or string. Make sure there is enough space between the bundles to allow air to circulate freely.
• Drying Time: Lavender typically takes 2 to 4 weeks to dry completely, depending on the humidity and temperature in the drying area. You’ll know the lavender is dry when the stems snap easily and the flowers feel crispy to the touch.

Drying Lavender on a Rack or Screen

If hanging lavender isn’t an option due to space constraints, you can also dry lavender by laying it flat on a drying rack or screen.

• Prepare a Drying Surface: Place a mesh screen or drying rack in a cool, dark area with good airflow.
• Arrange the Lavender Stems: Spread the lavender stems evenly across the surface. Make sure they’re not overlapping to ensure even drying.
• Check Progress: Turn the lavender every few days to ensure it dries evenly. It should be completely dry within 2 to 4 weeks.

Drying Lavender in a Dehydrator

For a faster process, you can use a food dehydrator set to a low temperature. However, this method should be used with caution as it can sometimes reduce the intensity of the lavender’s fragrance.

• Set the Temperature: Set your dehydrator to the lowest possible temperature, ideally around 95°F to 100°F.
• Arrange the Lavender: Place the lavender stems in a single layer on the dehydrator trays, ensuring they are evenly spaced.
• Monitor Drying Time: Depending on the dehydrator and humidity, the lavender should dry in 1 to 3 days.

Step 4: Storing Dried Lavender

Once your lavender is fully dry, proper storage is essential to preserving its fragrance and preventing mold or fading.

Best Storage Practices

• Airtight Containers: Store your dried lavender in airtight containers such as glass jars, metal tins, or sealed plastic bags. This helps retain the fragrance and protects the lavender from moisture and pests.
• Cool, Dark Place: Keep the containers in a cool, dark place, away from direct sunlight and humidity. Sunlight and moisture can degrade the essential oils in the lavender, diminishing its fragrance.
• Use Small Sachets: For smaller amounts of lavender, consider storing it in muslin or fabric sachets. These can be placed in closets, drawers, or under pillows to impart their fragrance.

Step 5: Uses for Dried Lavender

After drying and storing lavender, there are countless ways to use it in your home, garden, or personal care routine.

Aromatherapy

Dried lavender can be used for aromatherapy, where its calming properties help reduce stress and promote relaxation. Place dried lavender sachets in your bedroom or add dried flowers to an eye pillow for a soothing effect.

Lavender Crafts

Dried lavender is perfect for crafting. Use it to create beautiful wreaths, decorative arrangements, or potpourri. Lavender sachets can also be sewn and placed in drawers or hung in closets to naturally freshen clothing and linens.

Culinary Uses

Culinary-grade lavender can be used to add flavor to baked goods, lemonades, teas, or lavender-infused sugars. Its floral notes pair beautifully with sweet and savory dishes alike.

Lavender Oil Extraction

Dried lavender can be used to make infused oils. Simply place dried lavender in a clean jar and cover it with a carrier oil, such as jojoba or almond oil. Let the mixture sit for 2 to 4 weeks in a warm, sunny spot, shaking it occasionally. Once the oil is infused with the lavender scent, strain out the flowers and store the oil in a glass container for use in skincare or aromatherapy.

Common Drying Mistakes to Avoid

• Overcrowding Bundles: Overcrowding lavender bundles during drying can cause uneven drying and mold formation. Make sure the bundles are small and spaced apart for proper airflow.
• Drying in Direct Sunlight: This can cause the color and fragrance to fade. Always choose a dark location.
• Rushing the Drying Process: While it may be tempting to speed up the process, slow drying at room temperature helps preserve the natural oils and fragrance better than using high heat.

Best Lavender Flowers for Drying and Fragrance

When selecting lavender varieties for drying and preserving fragrance, choosing those known for their high oil content and long-lasting aroma is essential. Not all Lavenders are highly scented. Some varieties are wonderful as accent plants but have little fragrance. Others might not look as spectacular but exude a rich perfume.

The most fragrant lavender plant is the Lavandin (Lavandula x Intermedia). Several cultivars of English Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia) are also prized for their delightful scent. Here are some of the best lavender varieties: