Mary Lou, Just stand the stalks upright in bucket or vase...no water. No sealer needed...mine last for years with no special care. josh

Thanks Josh. I wondered if you could just do that. I do
the same thing with hydrangeas. They don't lose their
color and they don't turn brown. I've always heard that
you should seal the cat tails so the white fluffy stuff
doesn't come out.

Mary Lou, Just be sure and pick them well before time to seed...also standing them in cool room in dark might help, but I've only had a couple to toss when they started breaking out with seed.

It's fun to experiment, though. I pick roadside grasses and dry same way...some lose their lovely plumes but most dry well. I've used cheap hairspray a couple of times to prevent shedding.

And, yes, hydrangeas are lovely. If you enjoy drying flowers/foliage, there's a forum here on Gardenweb you might enjoy...called "Dried Flowers" I believe.
Like Bog Gardens, fun to visit now and then. josh

Thanks again Josh I just fixed my arrangement of cat tails,
pussywillows, sedum and those prickly things you find
along the roadside. The name escapes me right now. Guess
I'll have to look them up. It looks pretty good. I'll play
it by ear or should I say eye with the cat tails. If I end
up throwing them away before next year I'll try the hair
spray next time. Will have to check out the dried flowers
forum too.