Posted on by Ruth
But why? Orris root powder is the dried powdered root of the flower iris pallida (sweet iris), and is used in potpourri making to prolong the fragrance.
Orris root powder is a fixative
Traditional potpourri is made by adding essential oils to dried flowers and herbs, and sealing them in a jar together for a few weeks to let the fragrance develop. Unfortunately, most essential oils are volatile, which means they are likely to evaporate over the space of a few hours or days, leaving the potpourri with no fragrance. A fixative is any material which prevents this rapid evaporation. A fixative absorbs the oil and keeps it in the potpourri. Orris root powder is one material that does this, but there are many others. Suitable fixative may be particular tree resins, flowers, roots, leaves or seeds as well as less volatile essential oils. Here are some you could try:
- Gum benzoin, myrrh and frankincense
- Cinnamon powder and sticks
- Cloves and nutmeg
- Cumin, coriander and angelica seeds
- Vanilla pods
- Oakmoss
- Chamomile flowers
- Geranium roots
- Leaves of cistus and lemon verbena
- Oils of sandalwood, cedarwood, patchouli and ylang ylang
The list goes on, but a few of these items might be available in your kitchen or garden or aromatherapy box, without the need for a shopping trip.
Try using a different potpourri making method
I’ve already written quite a detailed article about potpourri making, so I won’t repeat it here. But personally I find potpourri dusted in powder slightly unattractive and there are ways round it, so here are three alternatives:
- If you would like to use a traditional method, choose a fixative from the list above that is not in powder form.
- If you are open to modern methods, try making potpourri using modern home fragrance oils. Just use fragrance oil instead of essential oil in your chosen recipe and omit the fixative and waiting time. Just leave in a sealed container for a couple of hours to permeate before displaying. Modern fragrance oils are very realistic, but you may lose any aromatherapy effects of the potpourri.
- Display your dried petals and herbs in a bowl and drip on a little essential oil whenever you feel like it. This way, you keep any aromatherapy benefits of the essential oils, but with none of the waiting time or dust. However, the fragrance achieved will not be as complex as the one obtained using the traditional method.
[Avoid contact of fragrance oils and essential oils with the skin as well as polished, painted and synthetic surfaces and textiles, and keep out of reach of children and pets.]
Links to related posts on potpourri making
See how I made the bowl of potpourri in the image above.
More articles on potpourri making
Shopping links for potpourri fixatives
Well if you still insist on buying orris root powder, we do sell it seasonally in our shop, and fragrance oil too!
Hi, i didnt realise I could use other things, thanks.
I am making some embroidered lavender sachets for my friends underwear drawers. Do I need to put orris powder in with the lavender buds or is there no beed? I thought it stopped it going off?Reply
Thanks for commenting, I appreciate it.
You don’t need to add orris root powder if you’re using lavender buds. If the fragrance fades, just tell your friend to give the bags a sharp squeeze to release more of the natural essential oils from the lavender. I’ve had bags for years that I’ve kept going this way.
Best wishes, Ruth.Reply
Hi, I have just been flicking through your website and reading about fixatives. I have often thought that if I could use something ie wood chips to absorb oils, is this possible. It seems so to me and would be a lot cheaper than orris root. I recently dried some Hydranga bark and wondered if I could use this. Its nice to experiment. Teresa
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Hi, Yes it sounds like it’s worth a try. I’ve never tried bark but it’s possible – it doesn’t hurt to experiment! Just see how absorbent it looks when you drop the oil on, and how quickly it releases it again. Take care not to try it with anything poisonous! Ruth.
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I would like to purchase from your company at a wholesale price so that I can make my own potpourri to sell in my shop. I am not required to have a tax ID number or business license where I sale. I have a booth in an antique store and therefore all of the taxes etc are paid by the owner. Is there any way that I can purchase wholesale without the tax ID number.
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Hello Linda, Yes you are most welcome to purchase from our shop at daisyshop.co.uk! We don’t have a separate wholesale list, but the larger the pack size the better the price. Tax ID is not required at the checkout. Thanks, Ruth.
Last Xmas I made my own room fragrance by putting slices of lemon, some cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves and some vanilla flavouring in a pan of water, with a bit of vodka added, and letting it gently simmer away for a few hours. The smell was gorgeous and filled the whole house, but didn’t last long after the pan was switched off. The mixture lasted a while, just needing to be kept topped up with water. This year, I would like to do this again, but I want to improve on it. Is there anything that I can add to it that will help the fragrance to last? I want to be able to use the liquid in three ways – one is to put the mix into a jar, which when the lid is removed will give off a noticeable aroma. The jar will look decorative and will also be able to be used to fragrance a room.; – one is to be able to use a cupful of the liquid in an oil burner or something similar; and finally I would like to be able to use the liquid in a spray bottle, to spray the fragrance in a room. Is there anything that you can suggest?
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Hi Lyndsie, Thanks for commenting! It sounds like your house smells fab at Christmas! Have you tried a USB mug warmer? You could heat the mixture up to boiling on the stove, then put some in a mug, which will stay warm and continue to give off the fragrance all the time your computer is switched on. Yes you could use the mixture in a spray bottle, but don’t keep it more than a couple of days because you could get a bacteria build up. You could try making a gel fragrance jar, but this would require the addition of extra essential oils to boost the scent (I haven’t tried this yet, but there are various how-to’s available online). Good luck with your projects! Ruth x
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Hello Ruth. Nice post, but orris root (kibbled and powdered)is prepared from the roots of iris germanica, i pallida and i florentina, none of which are sweet flag. Sweet flag(or bitter root)is acorus calamus which is not an iris at all, though very useful. I grow and use both.
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Thanks Roger – I have now had a look into it and it’s a bit of a minefield. In the UK the word “sweet” is used for both Acorus calamus and Iris pallida. I was referring to Iris pallida, so have removed the word “flag” from the post to avoid confusion. Thanks for your help!
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I am making a clove orange can I roll this in another spice powder as I cannot find oris powder on sale in Australia where I live. Thank you Val Carter
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Hi Val, Yes you can use any powdered spice – it’s just the high surface area you need to absorb the oil. Good luck with your project! Ruth
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I bought some powdered gum benzoin which I hate to not use in my potpourri if I’m going to be putting them in like a cellophane tape bag with all kinds of goodies in it is there any way that I could wrap up the gum benzoin but make a small sachet of it and put my essential oil on it and add it to my potpourri
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Hello Sue, thanks for commenting! If you are using traditional potpourri making methods, it is the way the whole combination of fragrances from the essential oils develop with the plant material you choose which makes it interesting, so if you just add the oils to the gum benzoin and keep them separate from everything else, that won’t happen. But yes, I imagine you could just add the oil to the gum benzoin in some sort of sachet – perhaps that is something you could experiment with. Good luck! Ruth x
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I want to make a relaxing sleep pot pouri
Using total of 50 grams
Ingredients must be
Lavender buds dried
Marjoram dried and frankincense essential oil. What proportions do you suggest.?
Would be great to have an ideal I have to stick
To ingredients above,
ThanksReply
Thanks for your enquiry – hope my email was useful! All the best with it, Ruth x
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Have you ever tried pulling a vacuum on some wood shavings, sweetgum balls, Lilac buds, etc. using essential oils and carrier oils? Have a small vacuum and thinking of trying it.
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Hello Cheryl, Yes do try it if you can do it safely! It’s not something I’ve done, perhaps it might provide a better dispersion of the oil. Good luck! Ruth x
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Hi Ruth. I am make potpourri for the 1st time and it is dried french lavender rosemary and dianthus for bright colors. Do i need to add orris root powder in the mix??? Or could i substitute on the orris root powder. Yes i have got wild lavender oil to go through the mix. Thanks.
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Hello Daniel, Thanks for commenting. I would say be careful using the lavender oil as it is quite strong, just a drop or two should do it. No, I wouldn’t bother with orris root, as the dried lavender will hold the oil, and you can always add another drop or two if it fades. Good luck! Ruth
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In making Potpourri for the first time really all I have are white & pink roses I’m drying them. I can go get some fresh rosemary from a neighbor’s yard & I have ground cinnamon. Would that work well?
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Hello Tiffany, That sounds like a good start! All these things will smell nice up close, but they won’t fragrance a room as these flowers and leaves lose a lot of fragrance on drying. Have you got any essential oils you could add? A few drops of rose or rosemary would work well. Good luck! Ruth x
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I can’t find orris root in my area and am unsure about the other scents in your list. First, I’m not familiar with half of them and second, would like a neutral smelling fixative.
I want to make a potpourri gift for a friend (using her wedding flowers which I dried and kept). So I want a sweet rose scent in the final product. I have the roses and the essential oil, but want a neutral fixative. The health shop in our area had no idea what orris root is, but the lady recommended baking soda. In your opinion would that work?
TIAReply
Hello, Thanks for your comment. Personally, I think baking soda is likely to react with your fragrances and possibly degrade them, which might make the scent deteriorate. Orris root powder is easily available online. If you would prefer not to try that, then try making potpourri without it: this will do no harm, you just might need to refresh it more frequently with the essential oil. Good luck! Ruth x
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Thanks for the quick reply :) I’ll do it that way, thanks.
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What about orris root powder for pomanders? Can I use something else or is orris root better?
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Hi Teresa, You can leave out the orris root if you like. A lot of recipes use ground cinnamon which does the same job and smells fab!
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Hi Ruth:
I inherited my mother’s old potpourri started at least 3 generations ago. While she was alive, she would add petals from fragrant roses and lavender buds grown in our yard. A few times a year she would add vodka to refresh the scent.
I’m wondering if you are familiar with this earlier method of freshening up the fragrance and, do you know if I could substitute gin or vermouth? Thank you for you assistance. Connie AustinReply
Hi Connie,
Thanks for getting in touch, sorry about the delay! Your potpourri sounds like the fragrance version of sourdough bread! Yes I have heard about using vodka as it takes some of the natural fragrances out of the botanicals and makes them more free to evaporate and provide a scent. Gin would work, but it may add too much of its own scent as it’s not as neutral smelling as vodka. Also I think vermouth is not as strong as gin and vodka, so the potpourri might go mouldy in that case.
Hope it’s going well. Best wishes, RuthReply
Hi Ruth, I have been making potpourri with dried rose geranium flowers and leaves mixed with red and pink rose petals. I find the rose geranium retains its beautiful perfume after drying and I need to add very little essential oil. I have never added orris root powder as I think the geranium leaves seem to absorb the oil. Do you think orris root is advisable in this mix?
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Hi Diana, If you’re happy with your mix, I’d let it be! If you find you are adding oil more frequently than you’d like (it can get expensive, and sometimes it leaves a sticky residue), I’d add a little orris root to the mix to slow the evaporation down a bit. All the best, Ruth
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Hello, I wonder if you can help me. I was at a funeral yesterday where we threw fresh rose petals towards the hearse as it passed. There were some spare petals which I thought I would try to make into pot pourri for the family using some of our friend’s aftershave. I have dried the petals by putting them on a low heat in the oven. Can you please give me some tips on what to do next. Can I just spray with his aftershave or do I need a fixative? Many thanks for your help.
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Hi Angela, Sorry I was late replying to this! You could just spray with the aftershave and when the fragrance fades, spray it again. I tend to avoid using orris root powder as much as I can because it can make the petals dusty. All the best, Ruth.
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Hi Ruth, I have just come across your site and hope you can help. I recently heard about pot pouri made in Georgian times. It was made by putting petals, spices and things like lemon rind in a sealed jar and letting it develop. Then as it rotted down it was stirred and then new ingredients are added to add another dimension. Are you able to advise on how I could this? A recipe? I have currently placed rose petals, cinnamon stick and lemon rind in a jar to see what happens! Should I be storing it in the dark or in sun? I appreciate any advice you can give me.
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Hi Pree, This sounds like “moist” or “wet” potpourri, here is a link to a post I wrote about it a while back, hopefully it will have some useful info https://driedflowercraft.co.uk/2014/09/how-to-make-wet-potpourri/ Best wishes, Ruth
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Hi Ruth,
I’m attempting to make a Potpouri for my Niece from flowers from her wedding. I have White Rose Petals that I am drying and a variety of very small rose buds grouped on little branches in pink and white which may be from Antique Rose bushes. There were also Eucalyptus leaves in the greenery. Can you recommend a Receipe for Roses and Eucalyptus ? Would they smell good together ? Also, the Roses that I’m drying really have no scent. I’ve heard that Florists (or rather Flower Growers) have engineered Roses to not have thorns and without their thorns… they have no scent. Is this true ?
Thx🌸
JaecyReply
Hi Jaecy, It’s true that not all roses have fragrance. You’re right, this is because some growers have historically valued other features such as lack of thorns, colour or flowering time over scent. Regarding your project, white rose petals can be very variable on drying, so don’t be disappointed if they come out a parchment colour when dry. Although the scent of fresh Eucalyptus can be a bit overpowering, it should soften when dry. I’d just add a drop or two of a good rose fragrance oil (I use Just Rose by Hassett Green) to boost the scent. However, do be aware that as soon as you add the oil the petals will start deteriorating, so if you want a long term keepsake, I’d seal them in a glass jar once fully dry and not try to make potpourri. Good luck! Ruth
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Hi Ruth, I am trying to scent stationery with lavender and the recipe called for 2 tsp cut orris root. Naturally no one sells such a small amount so I “googled” for a substitute. After reading the comments and your replies, I realized I, too, have lavender sachets that are years old and only need a squeeze to release more scent. Other than that lovely bit of information, although I have not made potpourri for more than 50 years, I have been reading your blog for the last few hours. Thank you for sharing your interests and knowledge.
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Hi Mina, Thanks for your lovely message!
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