Learn how to dry or preserve eucalyptus branches
I have an article all about how to care for potted eucalyptus that’s one of my most popular. I love growing eucalyptus in pots every year—and based on the number of emails I get about eucalyptus, you all do, too!
As we near the end of growing season each year, I am faced with a decision: try to winter the plant over in my house, or cut down the branches and use them for something else. I often decide to just treat my eucalyptus as an annual plant and cut the branches down, either drying them to use in arrangements, or preserving them in a vase.
Air drying in bunches
Air drying eucalyptus is one of the easiest ways to prepare it for use in crafts or home decor projects. You can use it for potpourri, arrangements, bath salts, or just as a little decoration. Let’s talk about the air-dry method, including its pros and cons.
All you need for the air-dry method is some twine and a spot in your home with low to average humidity. Cut a few branches and strip a few leaves off of the very bottom. Then tie them together at the base using the twine. Hang to dry just as you would when drying herbs. Don’t bunch too much together or else it will impede air circulation.
Note: Try to cut your eucalyptus branches after a sunny day to ensure they are as dry as possible. This will help facilitate the air-drying process.
Here are a few photos of how the air-drying branches looked after 1 week hanging in my bedroom. It had crinkled and dried quite a bit, but it did still smell lovely! It continued to crinkled and lose its lovely green color as the moisture continued to evaporate from the leaves.
Pros & cons of air drying
One major pro of the air-drying method is that you don’t really need to buy anything. You probably have everything you need at home. Air is easy to find. And you can use really any sort of string. Even a rubber band would do. A bunch of eucalyptus tied together and hung upside down to dry also looks really pretty—and smells good in small spaces!
But there are cons to this method, too. The leaves will wrinkle as they dry and will not retain their original color. You can try drying the leaves in a large book or makeshift flower press, but they will still be very brittle. Because of that, this method is probably best for something like potpourri or bath salts.
Preserving using glycerin
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Another way to keep enjoying your eucalyptus is by preserving it using a glycerin solution. But what is glycerin? You might have heard of it being used in skincare solutions. That’s because it’s a colorless, odorless liquid that attracts moisture. Meaning it helps suck out all the moisture in the eucalyptus branch’s stem and leaves.
Glycerin is also used in a lot of crafts and DIY beauty projects, so you can find it pretty easily. I got a small jar for $2.99, and it was definitely enough for this project. To make a glycerin mixture, simply mix glycerin and hot water in a 1:2 ratio. I used a clear mason jar so I could monitor evaporation.
Before you add your branches, make sure you strip the leaves from the very bottom. Then use a hammer or something similar to mash the ends of the stems. This will open them up a bit and help them absorb more of the glycerin mixture, leading to more thorough drying.
Add the eucalyptus branches to the mixture and set in a cool to average temperature spot with low to average light. Monitor how the branches do over a few days. You may need to add more glycerin solution.
Below are a few photos illustrating how the branches looked after about 1 week in the solution. The first photo was taken the day I put the branches in; the following photos show how the color had faded. The leaves remained pliable and still had a nice fragrance.
And then the below two photos showed how the branches looked after just over 3 weeks later. The leaves remained totally pliable, but almost all of the color was gone. They looked really cool, though!
Pros & cons of glycerin
A big pro of using glycerin is that it lets the leaves retain some of their color, though it will change a bit. The leaves also remain pliable and are not brittle. That means that this method is probably best if you want to use your eucalyptus branches in a craft or floral arrangement.
A con of preserving using glycerin is that, unlike air, you have to buy it. And although it’s an easy process, it seems to take a bit longer. Given that glycerin allows the leaves to retain pliability and some of their color, I think it’s the superior method of preserving eucalyptus!
Wrapping up…
I hope this article gives you a better understanding of the two main ways to dry or preserve eucalyptus! Air drying is easy and might be a good solution for projects like potpourri, bath salts, and other home crafts. On the other hand, using a glycerin solution could be a better choice for floral arrangements and other projects where retaining leaf pliability is important. Good luck!
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Brittany is a seasoned DIY home and garden expert, running a creative brand since 2014 that inspires others with approachable plant care guides, woodworking tutorials, and decor projects. She is a certified project manager and has completed extensive coursework in the art and science of growing your own plants. Her work has been recognized by major publications, and she routinely collaborates with fellow DIY industry leaders—but her favorite thing to do is inspire you! Learn more about her here.
I am going to try to preserve my Eucalyptus using the glycerin method. I have two giant Eucalyptus bushes that I hate to see go dormant over the winter so I am hoping they will retain their fragrance and pliability
They will, though the fragrance will eventually dull, and the leaves will become a pretty silverish gray. I’m about to preserve a few of my branches too!