Adding natural dried pampas grass to your home or office space gives you a charming and unique way to elevate the look of any room. You can make dried pampas grass a permanent fixture in your space for a boho chic look, or you may bring them out for seasonal decor to spice up a room as desired.
If you’re using dried pampas grass as decor, but you plan on changing out your accessories frequently, you need to know how to properly store the pampas grass to avoid doing irreversible damage to it. Otherwise, your once-stunning decor piece could end up tattered and bare.
Throughout this guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about how to store dried pampas grass–including why this is so important and some other helpful preservation tips to keep the pampas grass in tip top shape.
Why Proper Pampas Grass Storage Matters
Let’s begin our discussion by talking about why proper storage of your pampas grass is so necessary in the first place. As you’ll come to find, there are plenty of reasons why you need to pay attention to your storage methods.
Color and Texture Preservation
For starters, proper storage of your pampas grass ensures that the decor will retain the color and texture that it initially had. Especially if your dried pampas grass is dyed a different color, you don’t want it to fade from too much sun or light exposure. Similarly, storing it properly will help it retain its unique and intricate texture that gives it so much vibrancy.
Maintaining the Structural Integrity of Pampas Grass Plumes
Additionally, given the fact that this decor was once a real, naturally-occurring plant, the preserved version is beautiful, yet can get quite delicate and brittle. Thus, you don’t want to crush the stems of your dried pampas grass and ruin its structural integrity. If the storage isn’t done properly, you may be left with crumpled pampas grass that can’t even stand on its own in a vase once you remove it from storage.
Preventing Dust, Mold, and Pest Problems
Something no one wants in their home or office is a pest infestation or other intrusions like dust and mold to get into their space. All of these issues could lead to serious problems down the road, so you’ll want to avoid giving yourself an unnecessary problem from improper storage of your dried pampas grass.
Since this decor is a natural material, if gets damp while in storage, it could promote the growth of mold and mildew–which could produce an awful odor in your home and lead to poor air quality.
Extending the Lifespan of Dried Pampas Grass
All in all, proper storage conditions will help extend the lifespan of your dried pampas grass. Especially when you find some that you love and that perfectly complements your home, you don’t want it to get destroyed while in storage and unable to use again. So, pay attention to proper storage techniques as a way to keep your dried pampas grass for as long as possible.
How to Store Dried Pampas Grass to Keep it Looking Stunning
Clearly, there are plenty of reasons why you should pay attention to the proper storage techniques for dried pampas grass decor. Here are some helpful tips to ensure you’re storing them away in the correct manner.
Cleaning and Preparing Pampas Grass for Storage
To being, make sure your dried pampas grass are adequately cleaned and ready to be stored away. To do so, gently shake out the individual plumes to get rid of any lingering dust or buildup. If you already have learned how to fluff up pampas grass, it’s a similar technique.
Be careful not to be too rough with the grass, but enough to get it cleaned up for storage. As you read above, this is important to stave off any potential dust mites, mold or mildew from building up while it’s stored away.
Choosing the Right Storage Container
Once the dried pampas grass is all cleaned up, you need to select the right storage container for it. Look for something that’s loose enough to let the plumes breath and not crush the grass. But, you also want something structured to help it keep its shape. Plus, it needs to be long enough to fit the entire length of the plumes since you cannot fold them up.
Avoid placing the dried pampas grass in a bag, which could easily get crushed by other items in your storage and compromise the structure of the grass. Instead, look for something with a hard exterior to protect it from any potential damage.
Protecting Pampas Grass Plumes During Storage
Since the dried pampas grass plumes are light and airy, you’ll want to place their storage container flat near the top of your storage area. Even if they’re placed in a hard-shell container, heavier items could crush their storage box–and thus the dried pampas grass–if you’re not careful.
Additionally, they need to stay relatively untouched while in storage. Make sure they’re not stored away in a heavily-trafficked area where their storage box is handled frequently. Too much jostling of the box and you could open it up to your dried pampas grass completely fallen apart.
Selecting an Ideal Storage Location
When you’re choosing where in your home to store your dried pampas grass, there are a few key pointers to keep in mind. Keep them out of any area that’s prone to flooding or humidity, which can cause irreversible damage to the plumes. Additionally, if your storage area receives direct sunlight through a window, make sure that the container holding the dried pampas grass is shielded in the shade.
Labeling and Organizing Stored Pampas Grass
Lastly, it can be really helpful to label and organize your dried pampas grass when you place them in storage. This will help you know exactly where to find the decor piece you’re looking for when you head to your storage closet.
This is particularly helpful if you have multiple types of dried pampas grass that you rotate throughout the year–like dried pink pampas grass or dried white pampas grass. Plus, if you have multiple different sizes for your decor like large or small dried pampas grass, make sure you label them accordingly.
Other Tips for Long-Term Preservation
Now you know how to properly store your dried pampas grass, but how long does dried pampas grass last when its cared for correctly? You may be surprised to learn that dried pampas grass can actually last for years when you know how to store it away when not in use–just like how long dried flowers last. Here are some additional tips to help you extend the lifespan of this fabulous decor.
Periodically Inspecting and Refreshing Stored Pampas Grass
One great idea when your dried pampas grass is away in storage is to frequently check up on it to see if it’s remaining in good shape. This means taking it out of storage and inspecting it every so often to check for any possible mold, mildew, or dust buildup.
Doing so will keep your dried pampas grass in great condition and ready to go without too much TLC when you’re ready to place it back in your space.
Avoiding Exposure to Moisture or Water
A surefire way to destroy your dried pampas grass is by exposing them to moisture. If you’ve already learned how to keep dried flowers from falling apart, the similar principles apply here.
The dried pampas grass have been well-preserved through advanced techniques.
However, they still need to be protected from further harm like water damage. This can wilt the stems of the grass and make it impossible to revive. So, make sure that when your dried pampas grass is in or out of storage, they’re kept in a dry location.
Using Desiccants or Silica Gel Packets for Added Protection
Another great idea to help preserve your dried pampas grass is to add desiccants or silica gel packets to their container when in storage. These items further protect your decor from any moisture exposure by absorbing liquids upon contact, and keeping them from interacting with the pampas grass. You can also apply this tip if you’re decorating with dried flowers, too.
Parting Thoughts on How to Store Dried Pampas Grass
There you have it–you now know how to store dried pampas grass! Especially when you know where to buy dried pampas grass from a trusted source like East Olivia, you want to do all that you can to preserve the appearance of your decor and help it last as long as possible.
Like all of our other preserved flowers, you need to learn how to properly care for your dried pampas grass to help it last for the years to come. After all, our dried flower bouquets are called Forever Flowers for a reason–just like our dried pampas grass!
For both the best dried flowers and pampas grass, visit East Olivia online to browse or collections and take home your favorite arrangement today!