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You are going to love these things to do with rose petals so they don’t go to waste!

Rose blooms are so beautiful, but they only last a day or two on your plant. If you cut them off and bring them inside, they might last another week in water. But then the petals wilt and die.

I always hate to see them wither away, but there are actually some really neat things you can do with those petals before they die!

Things To Do With Rose Petals So They Don’t Go To Waste

You can use these tips with any type of roses you have in your yard. I have climbing roses, knockout roses, and hybrid tea roses. Remember if you want to keep the scent, you will need to use hybrid tea roses or a variety with a good aroma. Many of these are okay if you use a rose without a scent through. This is just a little tip 🙂

Rose Bath Salt

This recipe is so easy to make, and is the perfect thing for dried roses. Here is the recipe:

1 cup epsom salt
5 or 6 dried rose petals (or as many as you’d like)
rose essential oil

Directions: Add the epsom salt to a jar, crush up the petals into tiny pieces, add those in, then add 15 drops or so of rose essential oil. Combine well. Use a tablespoon or so per bath.

Make Potpourri

We shared this post several months ago. It is an easy and pretty recipe to utilize roses.

Create a Rose Water Spray

One of my favorite recipes to make is our DIY rose water spray. Not only does this smell wonderful, but it is also really great for your skin. Using leftover fresh rose petals makes this even more special.

Make A Sugar Scrub

This was one of the first skincare recipes we share on Chemistry Cachet. It is REALLY easy to make, but works great for your skin. We also love making this rose petal sugar scrub to give as gifts.

Homemade Infused Rose Oil

I need to do a blog post on this recipe because it is a really easy, fun thing to make at home. Here is a quick method you can try with leftover roses.

Here is what you need:

Dried rose petals
Almond oil
Glass canning jar

Directions: Fill the jar with one cup of rose petals, top with 2 cups of the oil. Allow to infuse for about four weeks. Shake it every couple of days. After that time, strain out the roses and use the oil for your skin! It lasts about 8-9 months.

Homemade Rose Petal Tea

One of the best things to do is make a wonderful rose petal tea. Roses are actually really great for your health, and you will find rose petals in many types of store-bought herbal teas. But making your own is simple too. Here is a great recipe.

Add Them To Compost

Rose petals are also really good to add to your compost pile! Not all parts of the rose bush are good for compost, but the petals are great.

Try Cooking With Them!

Rose petals are edible and can be used in many different types of cooking. Here is post with some ideas on using them for food, garnishes, and more.

Use Leftover Dried Petals in a Craft

There are so many crafts you can do with dried flowers, even rose petals. Some of my favorites I have seen are adding them to a wreath, and also letting kids use them for making greeting cards and pictures. They can just glue them on and make flowers or butterflies. So many possibilities.

What To Do With Rose Petals After They Die?

If your rose petals have already died, smell them to see if they have any scent left. If they do, you can still use them for most of these recipes! If they are completely dead with no scent, then you can try doing a craft with them or something else where the scent doesn’t matter.

The best thing to do to use leftover rose petals is make sure you pull them off the stem while they are wilting, not completely dead.

How To Dry Rose Petals?

We shared this in our potpourri post.It is really simple to dry your roses.

Simply lay your rose petals out in one layer on a surface like a newspaper to dry for a few days. Depending on the climate, it can take anywhere from 2-4 days to be completely dried.

For most of these recipes, you want to make sure you are using dried roses so they stay preserved in the recipe.

What If I Don’t Have Roses?

If you don’t have your own rose bushes, you can still enjoy all these recipes by purchasing dried rose petals! I’ve done this many times for projects, and they are great to use too!

I just love roses, and it is amazing how beneficial they are for everything! Enjoy using these ideas!