Have you tried doing a search in the forum to see if the item of interest is discussed? I am not much into drying but Hydrangeas by Glynn Church has a chapter at the end about Container Culture and Cut Flower Uses. You can also search in youtube for "how to dry hydrangeas" and select the one(s) that interests you.

yes and yes....but not much on specific hydrangeas. I'll experiment with a few of the methods I read about. Thanks!

The theory is the same regardless of the type of hydrangea - they will all dry similarly.

That's where my thinking and I are headed....out to garden to find some partially dried ones....

My question should have been ''Will Twist and Shout" dry purple /blue if the flower is that color when picked" I'm fine with experimenting. but I always appreciate others' experiences and tips and tricks.

IME, the flower color does change over time. Bright blue mopheads I have dried fade to a more periwinkle green color, often with some purple highlights. Whites take on a greenish or pinkish hue. But that is over a period of some months, typically. I don't do pink at all so not sure how the colors on those age.

Gardengal....just the information I am looking for. What other wisdom have you? Our daughter is having ...... one might say......a non lavish and beautiful wedding and she loves my garden. Hence the harvesting of hydrangeas for a late April wedding.

A couple of hours a go I cut Twist and shout (blue to mauve) Annabelle (chartreuse) noid bigggg white cone; pinky winky, noid burgandy, limelight, quick fire. Experimenting with drying in small amounts of water....plain, some in deep color food dye, & more diluted dye. Will advance to dying when dry by dipping. If I'm really desperate for entertainment I'll try spraying them.

I know some will be pretty, some ok and some gross. That's the fun....

Silica gel (which is granulated, not actually gel) can work well, though I've only tried it on roses and individual hydrangea blossoms, not whole heads. The flowers won't be perfectly the same color, but, assuming you are careful in pouring the silica over them, they will hold their shape and color much better than air drying. I dried a few of my wedding flowers this way and while they are obviously dried, they still look good and have color over a decade later.

Mixed results with blue/purple T & S; a few look beautiful.

I knew about silica gel. Just hadnt gotten to crafts store to buy it.

Marie, tie in bunches and hang stems up in a covered area. You don't need silica and it would take tons to do one head of mopheads! lol Gather some in color, some almost dried and some with brilliant color. As Gardengal, said, the blues will probably dry to green with mauve highlights - but you can never be sure. I have not had much success with lace caps but mop heads do beautifully. Ayeshia is a little tricky to dry and I am experimenting with that one right now. I have about 5 huge bunches drying now for our garden club to decorate for our Christmas project. I have sprayed them gold and silver with great results. Less paint is better than more. Some real color showing through the paint seems to be the most pleasing. This year I will try some sparkly red spray paint as requested by a member. I think a mixed bouquet of black and white would be very striking. Good Luck with your project.

yeah, this morning I abandoned the idea of buying silica gel, in part because I don´t want to have anything else to store later on. I gathered armfuls and they are drying naturally in vases and pots on the dining room table. The lacecaps are not drying well. Not very many mopheads in my climate, but some Annabelles a serrata ¨mophead¨ of sorts, look ok.

If none of these works for the April festivities out they go, with few regrets.

Thanks