Wiring Preserved Roseheads

Preserved Roseheads come without a stem or wire. Although they look great laid on their side and you can create many different displays that way, they also look great wired to branches. Here's how you wire up a Preserved Rosehead.

1. Put on latex gloves and cover your working surface with newspaper! Learn from my mistakes... I got going on this project and discovered that the base of the rose head is like a little reservoir of dye and glycerine solution. Once you poke a wire into it, it starts "bleeding" and the dye is very, very good - as in it is very difficult to get off. I scrubbed and scrubbed my fingers with an abrasive pad to no avail. What worked was a few hours of digging in the garden (without gloves). Okay, enough of that spiel... you've been warned.

2. You'll need your Preserved Roseheads (of course), some floral wire, and something to cut the wire with.

3. Cut a good length of wire at an angle so it makes a sharp point, and insert the wire through the base of the rose head. If you have trouble pushing the wire through (such as if it is a fine gauge), you can create a pilot hole with a needle.

4. Pull the wire through so both ends are of equal length.

5. Pull the ends of the wire together, and twist. I tried various things - wrapping the wire around the base, etc, but this worked the best (and was the easiest).

6. You're finished! Repeat as necessary.

With your wired Preserved Roseheads you can create something like the display below. The branches are Mountain Laurel Branches (discontinued we're afraid), and the foliage is Seeded Eucalyptus.