How to Use Water Beads

Add color to your centerpieces or self water plants with water beads. Water beads are easy, reusable and fun!

Water Bead Centerpieces

Whether you’re using fresh-cut flowers, ostrich feathers or floating candles, water beads are a colorful addition to centerpieces that will pull your theme together. Throw in a few Floralytes, and you have a gorgeous, glowing work of art to complement your event. Water beads come in 10 colors—including clear—so finding the right color won’t be a problem.

Water Beads Self Water Plants

Water beads (the type sold here) absorb water and the release it slowly making them perfect for foliage. Watering plants will no longer be on your weekly task list. You’ll only need to spray your plants with water every few weeks and rehydrate the water beads when they become depleted. Great for house plants, vertical gardens and bamboo!

How to Expand Water Beads

You can place your water beads directly into your centerpiece glass or use a large container to hold the beads during the expansion process. Soak the water beads for 8 hours to expand. The growth is pretty amazing; a 12-ounce jar can yield more than 15 gallons of water beads. That’s enough to fill 15-20 large Trumpet vases or 60 large Eiffel Tower vases! 

• For 24-28 inch Trumpet vases, add one heaping tablespoon of water beads per 10 cups of water.
• For 24-28 inch Eiffel Tower vases, add one teaspoon to two cups of water.
• If your design requires you to expand and then transfer your water beads, use two tablespoons of water beads per one gallon of water. Finish by using a colander to drain any excess water away.

*Pro Tip* If you choose to expand your water beads in vases, set them inside another container just in case the vase overflows.