Preserving Memories and Flowers

By:- Karmant Khimasia 

Do you ever wonder if flowers can be preserved forever?

Do you ever feel that you want to capture a flower as it was when you saw it?

Or do you dream of flowers as authentic decorations for your workspace or residence, but you do not want the flower to be wilted within a few days without water or sunlight?

 

Well, let me tell you about the first Indian company to make your dreams come true.

Lyo Florals is a Hyderabad-based company which is led by Dr. Mahalakshmi V. Reddy, who has spent 20 years researching the concept of Lyophilization for flowers.

Lyophilization or freeze drying is a process in which moisture is removed from a product after it is frozen and placed under a vacuum, allowing the ice to change directly from solid to vapor without passing through a liquid phase.

 

Let’s talk more about Lyo Florals.

 

 

Lyo Florals

On my recent trip to Hyderabad, I met the amazing and intelligent Dr. Mahalakshmi V. Reddy.

I was flabbergasted at the beauty of her work, and I wanted to know more about her and the process of Lyophilization.

She bought a small rose display in a cubicle in 1998, and she wondered if preserving the form and the colour of the flowers for a longer period, without damaging them.

Over the next 20 years, she researched various processes to make this possible.

She discovered that Lyophilization is the most efficient process, where we can preserve the flower intact with the emotions connected to it. She started slowly executing the process in 2008 using a tabletop pharmaceutical freeze dryer.

But the results in the freeze-dried flower were not satisfactory as the color and form of the original flower were not retained. 

So she started to explore deeper into the process to gain a perfect outcome. She also wrote to the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India to fund her research project, which she got in 2013. Before this, she also travelled to the US to explore and learn more about Lyophilization. There she learned that Lyophilization is the most efficient technological process which came to use in 1988 in the US. 

She then started her own company Lyo Florals in 2016.

In this process, the moisture present in the flower is evaporated through sublimation. The first stage in the process is the initial hydration of the flowers received from the client, to revive the flower to its fresh stage. After that, the second stage of the process consists of the treatment of the flower so that the flower retains its colour and form without any deformation in it.

Then the flower is placed in the lyophilizer the freeze dryer at -30°C and the temperature is increased gradually. The sublimation starts to occur at -20° C where the moisture in the flower, which has turned to ice at this point, starts to turn directly into vapour. This vapour is then collected into a condenser chamber separately. 

The process of lyophilization takes almost 7-14 days. The process also depends on the volume of the flower, the petal arrangements, and the moisture content of the flower. Gradually the temperature in the machine is increased to room temperature and the flower is taken out of the machine. 

The flower does turn brittle due to the loss of up to 98%-99% of its moisture.

To prevent this, she conducts post-preservation of the flower, which is a required process.

After this, the flower is stored in an airtight storage container, and then ready to be assembled in a decorative frame, cubicle, or an artistic display. Many different flowers can be preserved in such a way, like Roses, Hypericum, Red Ginger, and many more.

Wedding garlands, proposal roses, bouquets, flowers from temple offerings, and any and all types of flowers can be preserved in these types of decorative pieces. This is only possible when the flowers are in a fresh condition. 

You can order customized pieces, with a flower collection of your own, with custom messages, or photos to be set into the frame, cylinder, or cubicle. You can also directly order a pre-made gift package for friends and family.

You can follow Lyo Florals on their Social Media.

Instagram:- @lyoflorals_hyd

Link:- https://instagram.com/lyoflorals_hyd

 Facebook:- Lyo Florals

Link:- https://www.facebook.com/LyoFlorals/

 Contact Number: - +91 73373 90906

 

As a youngster, I feel that these types of gifts are one of the coolest and most memorable gifts I can give to my friends and family.