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    Home » Misc. » DIY & Hints » DIY

    Spray paint hydrangeas now! Use later.

    Published: Aug 19, 2014 · Modified: Sep 12, 2019 by Susan Moncrieff · This post may contain affiliate links · 22 Comments

    I love hydrangeas!  I enjoy preserving them so I can enjoy them in inside during the winter.  Also, dried hydrangeas are great to use for various crafts.   This is an older post and shows you how I  spray painted my hydrangeas a few years ago!

    spray painted red and green dried hydrangeas.

    Spray paint your hydrangeas now! Before you cut them down and get rid of them with your other yard/garden waste. They will be beautiful and you can use them at Christmas and throughout the winter in your home decor. If you don't have any growing in your yard, and you get whiplash as you drive by beautiful hydrangea shrubs, don't be shy, ask if you can have some! Many of these shrubs get cut down for the winter. And people are happy you are cutting them and taking them with you. Really!!

    This is what the hydrangea shrubs look like now (I know some of you aren't gardeners!).

    Hydrangea shrub
    A beautiful hydrangea flower.
    A beautiful hydrangea flower.

    I love dried hydrangea and have some naturally dried ones too. But, here is how I sprayed mine (really, it's super simple!). First I cut down a whole bunch. Take more than you need! Soon they will be in the yard waste pile and it will be too late.

    Hydrangeas just cut.
    Hydrangeas just cut.

    I strip the leaves off, and bring them in the house for a day to dry out. I just think they paint better if the flowers are dryer. They honestly start getting dried out in a day or two.

    I spray painted in my garage with the door open. I have an old sheet that I use to cover the floor and away I go. I didn't want the wind to be a factor but wanted lots of ventilation. A little FYI, don't wear your favorite black shoes. You may get some unplanned silver overspray on them :(. And it doesn't come off easily. Also, wear a glove or if you don't have one, stick your hand in a plastic bag before spraying. For some reason, my hands got covered in spray paint. Goo Gone can work wonders getting the paint off your hand!

    Starting to spray a hydrangea silver.
    Starting to spray a hydrangea silver.
    spray paint hydrangea
    A silver spray painted hydrangea

    They actually spray paint very well. And look all silvery and sparkly. Make sure to pick up the flower by the stem and spray the underside of the flower. It helps make sure you get paint coverage on both sides of the flower petals.

    I couldn't help myself and I tried Christmas colors. Some pretty red (more burgundy) and a lime green. A little more vivid than the natural hydrangea colors but that was what I was going for.

    Starting to spray paint my red hydrangeas.
    Starting to spray paint my red hydrangeas.
    spray painted hydrangea

    I didn't spray the red and green ones as thoroughly. I think some of the natural color looking through keeps them looking a little more real.

    My red and green spray painted hydrangeas.
    My red and green spray painted hydrangeas.

    Here is the spray paint I used for the red and the green.

    spray paint hydrangeas

    Honestly, these turned out way better than I expected. I totally LOVE them!

    Spray painted hydrangeas

    Here is the bunch of silver ones. They look better in real life.

    a planter with colorful plants
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    Silver hydrangeas.

    For now, I have them plopped into some galvanized pails and put on a shelf in my garage.

    They are the prettiest things in my garage!

    Storing my spray painted hydrangeas.
    Storing my spray painted hydrangeas.

    I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to do with them but I do have some ideas in the back of my mind. I just wanted to share this with you now so you can still grab some hydrangeas and spray paint them. Have fun! Spray painting can be addictive.

    This year, I painted some of my hydrangeas blue!  They look gorgeous as an accent in my living room.

    Take a peek at My Blue 1920's Living Room to see these pretty blue hydrangeas!  I also wrote a post showing how I painted the hydrangeas blue but kept them looking natural.

    blue lantern with a large vase of blue hydrangeas

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    1. Bonnie J.

      August 18, 2022 at 11:23 am

      years ago, I spray painted my left over bloom on my bushes and put lights on them for the Christmas holiday ! I got rave reviews and I will have to say they were beautiful! I live in West Virginia so needless to say when the snow came it was even more beautiful

      Reply
    2. Kristel

      December 05, 2020 at 9:03 am

      Hello I was wondering if they can be spray painted will still on the bush ? I have some dead and dried flowers still on the bush and decorated the bush with blue lights. I would love to paint the flowers silver but don’t want to cause any damage to the bush itself.

      Reply
    3. Lori

      November 27, 2019 at 2:23 pm

      I love this idea and I'm going to do this soon. I have a ton of them dried but they got really dark brown bc I waited too long, but I think a pretty burgundy, or gold might really work nicely.
      Ty for showing your steps and idea! Yours are lovely!

      Reply
    4. Debbie

      November 05, 2019 at 7:46 am

      What kind of spray paint do you recommend

      Reply
      • momcrieff

        November 17, 2019 at 4:05 pm

        I usually buy Rustoleum spray paint - because it's available where I shop and it's never failed me yet!

        Reply
    5. Deb Pape

      August 18, 2019 at 9:30 pm

      Can these be used in a bridal bouquet or will they fall apart? What is the best way to preserve them?

      Reply
    6. Julie A Bohanick

      March 11, 2018 at 11:41 am

      Hi, I absolutely love your idea for spraying my hydrangeas. Only problem is I actually love the color of my green and blue ones when alive and when dried. I'd like to keep the color they are but want to spray something on them to preserve them a bit more, not shirt spray more of a matte. Also to make them less fragile . What do you suggest?
      Ps. I'm so stealing this idea for around Christmas when I'm ok with spraying them!!! Spring is cominf though and I love the natural colors . I'll look forward to hearing backing from you!

      Reply
      • momcrieff

        March 25, 2018 at 11:40 am

        Hi Julie,
        Thanks for visiting my site and asking a comment! I have actually sprayed my natural dried hydrangeas with some hairspray (unscented). It really does help the flowers not drop and doesn't change the appearance of the dried flowers if you use a thin coat of the hairspray.

        Reply
    7. Anonymous

      August 03, 2017 at 3:26 pm

      I just put some up to dry and I think I am going to try spray painting some to decorate a Christmas tree with. I think various colors as huge balls sticking out of a big Christmas tree would be beautiful.

      Reply
    8. Sarah Gasser

      January 10, 2017 at 7:44 pm

      I am looking to do this for my wedding for bridesmaid bouquets.. could you give me any advice on this?? How long will they las? When to do it? Etc? Please !! You can email me?? Not sure if I get a notification if you respond??

      Reply
    9. Melanie

      December 08, 2014 at 3:12 am

      Absolutely love this idea!

      Reply
    10. susan strohl

      November 04, 2014 at 7:07 pm

      Lovely, I am going to do bright white with silver glitter.

      Reply
    11. Doug Coates

      September 16, 2014 at 1:10 pm

      Love your post. We harvested about 500 blooms last year, but didn't paint them until after they'd dried for 4 months. It worked, but it wasn't easy, seeing as how they were all incredible delicate by that point. I was searching for information on painting them fresh or dried, and you provided that information. Thanks for your help

      Reply
      • momcrieff

        September 16, 2014 at 6:41 pm

        Glad you liked my post! They are a little fragile once they dry, but with a little careful handling, they last for years. You sure harvested a lot of blooms!!

        Reply
    12. Gina Wamsley

      September 12, 2014 at 8:12 am

      Good morning, Susan! I love this idea so much! I never even thought of doing this, but they look FANTASTIC!! I'm featuring your post today at "Our Favorite Things Pinterest Party"!! I'd love for you to come link up again. 🙂

      Blessings,
      Gina @ Gina's Craft Corner

      Reply
    13. [email protected]

      August 21, 2014 at 2:45 pm

      I did not know this would work! Thanks for sharing with the Thursday Blog Hop!

      Reply
    14. pestep81

      August 20, 2014 at 5:40 am

      Cute idea. I'm getting ready to publish an article about how easy they are to dry. I like using them for Christmas. Never spray painted them better.

      Reply
    15. Beth

      April 25, 2014 at 4:57 pm

      How long do these last? Does the spray paint keep the fresh flowers from decaying?

      Reply
      • momcrieff

        April 25, 2014 at 9:13 pm

        Hi Beth
        The Hydrangeas dry easily. You probably want to strip the leaves and the flower dries fast. I have had some of these for over a year and they still look great!

        Reply
    16. Val Frania

      November 16, 2013 at 2:11 am

      This is great! I had no idea this would work. I spray painted leaves this fall and will use them in my Thanksgiving and Christmas deco. Here's the post: http://lovemydiyhome.com/diy-metalic-leaves/

      Reply
    17. Di

      November 02, 2013 at 1:34 am

      Love this idea! Would never have thought of spraying painting them and as we have some in our garden, I will have a go, thanks!

      Reply
    18. sonjaessen

      November 01, 2013 at 2:22 pm

      Awesome idea! Love this!

      Reply

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    I'm Susan Moncrieff! I love sharing easy recipes, especially those that take less than 30 minutes and have less than 5 ingredients. I'm passionate about gardening and creating flower planters. My home is 100 years old and sometimes you will see it in my posts! It was a true fixer upper and I love it!

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