Hi Josh

Carrion berries in the wild dry pretty well, but there is a problem sometimes with moths laying eggs inside so they are sort of a pain but I guess well worth it. They retain their dark blue color for quite some time.

Nandina ~~I dry when red for Christmas.
I was just wondering if the East Texas Blueberry would dry good. It is a hybrid. Produced to grow in the hot heat!! It does not have the taste that you find in the ones up North. But it is better than none!!

Pinecone, I'd think your Blueberries would dry fine...try a small branch and see. The immature/unripe almost always dry easily as they are still hard & firm. I like the varying colors from green thru pink to blue of each little cluster.

Also the red foliage in Fall is among the best foliage for drying. Doesn't yours have great scarlet color? jo

Josh,
I know this may seem obvious, but can you use only berries that are not yet ripe? Also, when you dry berries, do you cut them in half first? Thanks.
Sharon

I've decided to dry porcelain berries that I found on a walk today. Any advice? The berries are so beautiful I figure they would look great in an arrangement.

Corbeau, I've seen the Porcelain Vine berries used often in fresh arrangements but haven't had access to them to try drying. (Once I saw a huge swath of them down the center of a table at the Museum...I was awfully tempted but my friend restrained me...lol) They are beautiful and certainly worth a try. I'd just experiment by standing in a vase with no water and see how they do. Let us know the results. jo

Josh, I'm glad you brought up the subject of berries-they add so much to arrangements,& are beautiful on their own.
You don't often see information about drying them.
I've seen Callicarpa mentioned before, in addition to the ones in the posts above. I dried some Hypericum berries from the florist last fall; they turned black, but stayed firm & attached to the stem.

I tried Callicarpa several years ago, but to be honest, although I admire the color in the garden it really didn't mix well with my indoor colors. Probably if it dried well I passed it along to a friend...just don't remember how it turned out.

I've read that Hypericum berries dry well. I honestly try about everything...including seedpods of the Castoroil plant (Ricinus) and Sweetgum balls still on treelimb..I love how they dangle! If I had a veggie garden I'd let my leeks and onions go to seed for the seedheads and my okra dry on the stems for arrangements. It's an addiction! josh

Can i dry beauty berries ?

Any advice on tallow berries? They are plentiful here in Louisiana and are beautiful in a grouping. I have some that have been pristine for years while others will turn black and wither up,