Preserved flower materials · Kunming, Yunnan
Preserved hydrangea — whole heads and loose florets
Preserved hydrangea is supplied from Kunming, Yunnan by VivaPetal as whole heads of 14–20 cm or loose florets of 4–7 cm, in 30+ stock shades with custom dye and Grade A or Grade B on both formats (as of October 2026). It carries colour across a surface that would take a dozen roses to fill, which is why it sits underneath the focal flowers in most boxes, wreaths and panels. The choice between whole heads and loose florets changes the whole specification, because one is a shape and the other is coverage.
The material
The colour you are buying is not in the petal
On a hydrangea, the showy part is a sepal — a modified leaf — not a petal. The true flowers are the tiny bead-like centres, and they contribute almost nothing to the colour you see. Everything that reads as blue, pink, white or burgundy on a hydrangea head is sepal tissue.
That single fact explains most of how preserved hydrangea behaves, and it is the thing worth understanding before you specify:
Format
Whole head or loose florets — decide from the design
This is the first decision on a hydrangea order, and it is not a price decision. A whole head and a bag of florets are the same plant; what differs is whether you are buying a shape or buying coverage.
| Whole heads | Loose florets | |
|---|---|---|
| Reference sizes | 14–20 cm heads | 4–7 cm florets |
| Sold as | 10 heads per box | 200 g bag, or 1 kg bulk bag |
| What you are buying | A dome | Coverage |
| Colour range | 30+ stock shades, custom dye available | 30+ stock shades, custom dye available; bulk bag is stock shades only |
| Suits | Boxes, wreaths, statement pieces where the round form is visible | Frames, panels, moulds, mosaic work, gaps a head cannot reach |
| Watch out for | Florets shed if the head is handled roughly in a tight box | Colour can read slightly lighter when florets are laid flat |
A practical middle route
Many buyers order both and treat the whole heads as the visible layer and the florets as the fill underneath. It is the most economical way to build a panel that has to look solid all the way to the edge, because the parts nobody sees are made from the cheaper format.
Colour
30+ stock shades, and why two-tone works here
Hydrangea runs in 30+ stock shades with custom dye available on both formats. It is also the material that takes a two-tone edge-and-centre effect most convincingly — the dye moves through sepal tissue in a way it will not move through a rose petal.
Two-tone is produced to your artwork rather than picked from a list: send the reference and we will confirm what is achievable. Because the base tone of the sepal shows through the dye, the same recipe reads differently on a white head and on a deeply coloured one, so the sample is produced on the base you are actually ordering.
For a single-tone order, the working method is the same as everywhere else in our range: you approve a physical sample, that sample is kept on file, and every re-order is matched against it rather than against a screen or a formula. Natural material shifts between harvests, so the tolerance is agreed before the order. Where a wall or a run of panels has to match, take the whole quantity from one production run — two separate runs of the same recipe read slightly different side by side.
Grading
Hydrangea is graded on the dome, not on the width
Heads are not graded on diameter alone. A wide head that has collapsed on one side is worth less than a smaller head that holds a clean round dome, because the dome is the thing the buyer is paying for.
Does it hold its round
Grade A holds an even, unbroken dome. Grade B may show a flat or slightly collapsed shoulder where the head rested against another.
Is the field closed
Grade A reads as a closed surface with no visible gaps. Grade B carries small openings, which vanish once the head is pressed into a packed box.
Loose florets and dust
Both grades are cleaned, but a Grade B head may arrive with a little loose floret material in the box. Shake it out over a tray before use.
For loose florets the grading basis changes entirely: they are assessed on floret size consistency and colour evenness across the bag, because there is no dome left to judge. Ask for the floret grade separately if the format matters to your product.
Sizing an order
Work from the surface, not from the piece count
Buyers who order hydrangea by head count usually order too much. The usable measure is the area you have to cover, and that is a conversation we would rather have before you commit to a quantity.
- One whole head covers roughly the area a dozen rose heads would — which is the reason hydrangea sits underneath them rather than beside them.
- For a frame, panel or mould, give us the finished surface area and we will work back to a floret weight with you.
- For boxes and wreaths, count the positions where the dome will actually be seen, then add the fill layer separately.
- If the piece has a lot of internal structure — wire frames, foam cores, moulded cavities — tell us, because the material that disappears into the structure does not need to be Grade A.
We do not publish a coverage figure for hydrangea the way we do for moss, because floret packing density varies with how tight the buyer lays it. Send the drawing and we will size it with you rather than hand you a number that only holds for one style of work.
Packing & handling
Loose in the bag, and why that matters
Whole heads travel sleeved and boxed so the dome is not loaded from above. Loose florets are packed loose in a bag rather than pressed — compressing them is the fastest way to turn a bag of usable florets into a bag of fragments, because the florets separate at the point where they were attached.
Hydrangea is the most moisture-sensitive line in our range, and it holds three to five years indoors under normal conditions — damp air and direct sun are what shorten that. Sepal tissue takes up ambient humidity faster than petal tissue does, and a bag that has been open in a damp workroom will show it: the florets soften and the colour dulls at the edges. Reseal the bag between sessions, keep opened material off a concrete floor, and store away from heat.
A commercial invoice and an itemised packing list are issued with every shipment. Anything further for your market is confirmed per destination — name the document and the country and we will tell you plainly whether we can issue it. Carton dimensions and chargeable weight are confirmed at quotation, since a light carton that is too large bills on volume rather than on weight. Delivery is quoted EXW (Kunming) first, then FOB where you have a forwarder at the port, with DAP as the last option; tell us the destination and we will confirm the workable term.
Where it goes
Four uses that suit hydrangea specifically
Gift boxes
Whole heads build volume under a few focal roses, so the box reads full without doubling the rose count.
Wreaths & hoops
The dome runs along a curve without flattening, which is hard to achieve with individual focal flowers.
Framed panels
Loose florets laid flat give an even colour field to the very edge of the frame.
Mould & resin work
Florets settle into cavities that a whole head cannot enter, and hold position once set.
Before you order
What buyers ask about hydrangea
Because you are touching sepal tissue rather than petal tissue. The showy part of a hydrangea is a modified leaf, which is thinner and more rigid than a petal, and it stays that way after stabilisation. A crisp feel is normal for the material and is not an indication that it has dried out.
It is normal in small quantity. Florets attach lightly to the head and detach under pressure, which is why we pack heads sleeved and do not compress them. Shake the head gently over a tray before use and keep what falls — those florets are usable as fill. Tell us if a whole box is loose rather than a few pieces, because that suggests damage in transit rather than handling.
Yes, two-tone is produced to your artwork rather than chosen from a list. Send the reference and we will produce a physical sample for approval. The dye is applied over the base tone of the sepal, so the same recipe reads differently on a pale head and on a saturated one — which is why the sample is made on the base colour you intend to order.
It is the same floret material, but the bulk bag is packed in stock shades only rather than dyed to order. It exists for panel and high-volume work where the material is being laid flat as fill, so a buyer is not paying for custom colour on parts that will mostly be covered.
Minimums are set per reference and confirmed on your quotation, because the practical figure differs between whole heads, bagged florets and bulk. Tell us the format and the quantity you want to test and we will advise the workable minimum before you scale.
Keep reading
Related materials and background
Volume is what makes a window work, and hydrangea is the material that carries it. Windows and retail displays sets out how that volume is built in a real window, and the one risk that shortens its life.
Next step
Send the drawing, and we will size the hydrangea with you
Surface area, depth, format and destination. We come back with the reference, the packing format, chargeable weight and shipping options — usually within one business day.