Standardization for Drying, Bleaching and Dyeing Processes in Dried Flowers

An experiment was conducted at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, during 2009-2010 to standardize processing techniques for dried flower production. Foliage of silver oak (Grevillea robusta), thuja (Thuja orientalis) and camellia (Camellia reticulata) was best preserved by glycerinization; leaves were soft and pliable, with lowest moisture and highest overall acceptability. In the case of fully-opened flowers in button-type chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum grandiflorum), gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii) and plumeria (Plumeria alba), a combination of sand and silica gel, and microwave-oven embedded method was found to be suitable for drying, with high overall acceptability. Dried pods of jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia) and castanospermum (Castanospermum australe) were fully bleached by soaking overnight in 10% sodium hydroxide and subsequent treatment with 2% sodium hydroxide + 2.5% sodium silicate + 35% hydrogen peroxide. Bleached pods were given dye treatments where acrylic dyes showed good dyeing consistency, light fastness, wash fastness and rubbing fastness.