A Beginner’s Guide to Pressing Flowers
Flower pressing looks almost too simple from the outside. You put a flower between some paper, tighten it into a press, wait a couple of weeks, and open it back up. And honestly, that basically is how it works. The part you don’t realize until you actually start doing it is how much the little things matter: how fresh the flower was when you picked it, whether it was completely dry, how thick the center is, how you arranged the petals, and whether you tried to cram twelve flowers onto a sheet that probably should have held six.
I’ve done all of those things. I’ve opened presses and found flowers that looked exactly how I hoped they would, and I’ve opened them to find brown petals, damp centers, and flowers stuck to the paper. I’ve also opened presses way too early because apparently putting flowers inside one immediately makes me impatient. The good news is that flower pressing really isn’t difficult once you understand what the press is actually doing and start with flowers that aren’t actively working against you.
What You Actually Need to Press Flowers
You don’t need a huge list of supplies. For traditional flower pressing, you really only need fresh flowers or greenery, absorbent blotting paper, corrugated cardboard, a flower press, and something like tweezers for the tiny pieces. Patience helps too, although unfortunately I haven’t found anywhere that sells that.
A traditional wooden flower press is really doing two things at once. The plates and hardware keep the flowers flat while the blotting paper pulls moisture out of them. The cardboard between the layers gives the stack some structure and helps keep moisture from sitting right against the flowers.
When I first started pressing, I thought pressure was doing most of the work. It isn’t. You obviously need enough pressure to flatten the flowers, but moisture is usually the bigger thing you’re dealing with. If the inside of a flower can’t dry properly, tightening the press harder isn’t going to save it.
That’s why I use a traditional wooden press with replaceable blotting paper for almost everything I press. I like being able to control the pressure, add multiple layers, and change the paper if I’m working with something that’s especially moisture-heavy. These are the maple flower presses I make and use if you’re looking for one.
Start With Easy Flowers
If you’ve never pressed flowers before, do yourself a favor and don’t make your first experiment a giant rose or peony. Start with something that already wants to lie flat.
Pansies and violas are probably two of the easiest flowers to learn with because their petals are thin and there isn’t a huge center full of moisture. Cosmos are another good option, along with forget-me-nots, small wildflowers, Queen Anne’s lace, ferns, delicate leaves, and individual hydrangea florets.
Daisies can also be great, but I always look at the center first. Some have a surprisingly thick middle even though the petals themselves are very thin, so the petals may dry much faster than the center.
Starting with easier flowers gives you a chance to learn what a properly pressed flower should actually look and feel like. It’s also much more encouraging to open your first press and find something pretty instead of immediately wondering what the hell you did wrong.
Not Every Flower Should Be Pressed Whole
This is one of the biggest things I had to learn. If you want to preserve a rose, your first instinct is usually to preserve the rose exactly as it is. The problem is that roses have layers and layers of petals packed tightly around the center, and all of that plant material is holding moisture.
I’ve tried pressing smaller roses whole before, thinking that because I could flatten them down they would probably be fine. The outside petals dried first and actually looked pretty good, but the thicker part toward the middle was still soft. That trapped moisture is where you start getting dark areas, translucent-looking petals, or browning.
Now I usually take roses apart and press the petals individually. The same goes for peonies and other really full flowers. Hydrangeas are another good example. Instead of trying to press an entire hydrangea head, I pull off the individual florets and press those separately.
Once I stopped feeling like I had to preserve every flower exactly the way it grew, my results got a lot better. You can always rebuild the general shape later when you’re creating artwork.
Pick Flowers When They’re Fresh and Dry
Fresh flowers press better, but fresh and soaking wet is not what you want. If I’m picking flowers from outside, I generally avoid doing it first thing in the morning when everything is still covered in dew. I also don’t pick immediately after rain or watering because all of that extra moisture has to leave the flower once it goes into the press.
Ideally, I want the petals to still feel firm and healthy, but I want the outside of the flower completely dry. I also try not to wait until flowers are already beginning to wilt. Pressing does not hide bruising, brown edges, or damage. If anything, those areas usually become more noticeable once the flower dries.
The same thing applies to bouquet flowers. If there is something in a bouquet I know I want to preserve, I try to press it while it still looks good instead of leaving it in a vase until it starts declining and then deciding I should probably save it.
Prepare the Flower Before It Goes Into the Press
Before I put a flower onto the blotting paper, I take a second to look at what actually needs to stay. I’ll remove damaged petals, trim bulky stems, take off leaves I don’t want, and check the back of the flower for anything thick that might keep it from sitting flat.
I also arrange the petals before I close the press because they are going to dry wherever I leave them. If one petal is folded underneath another when the press closes, that’s probably exactly how it’s going to look when I open it again.
This is where tweezers become surprisingly useful. For larger flowers, fingers are usually fine, but tiny blooms and delicate petals have a way of making your hands feel enormous. Tweezers make it much easier to turn a little flower, unfold a petal, or move something without crushing it.
How to Layer a Flower Press
The basic setup is simple: cardboard, blotting paper, flowers, blotting paper, cardboard. Then you can repeat that same stack if your press holds multiple layers.
The blotting paper is what absorbs moisture as the flowers dry. The cardboard separates the layers and helps keep the whole stack structured. You can press quite a few flowers at once, but just remember that every fresh flower you add is also adding more moisture to the press.
I also try not to fill every inch of the paper. When I first started, I hated leaving empty space because it felt like I was wasting room. I’d keep finding one more flower that could probably fit in a corner, and then one more, and maybe two petals could overlap just a little.
They technically fit, but they didn’t always dry well.
Now I leave space between flowers and try to avoid overlapping petals unless I’m doing it intentionally. Flowers can stick together where they overlap, and thicker crowded areas hold moisture longer. A little empty paper is not a bad thing.
Tighten the Press Evenly
Once everything is stacked, I put the top plate back on and tighten the hardware gradually. I don’t completely tighten one corner and then move to another. I go around the press a little at a time and then make another pass until everything feels firm.
You want enough pressure to keep the flowers flat and in contact with the blotting paper, but there is no benefit to tightening the press like you’re trying to win an argument with it. More pressure does not make moisture leave the flower faster.
The goal is firm, even pressure. That’s it.
How Long Does It Take to Press Flowers?
Most flowers take somewhere around two to four weeks, but I treat that as an estimate rather than a deadline. A tiny viola and a thick rose petal are not going to dry at exactly the same speed, and the weather makes a difference too.
Living in the Pacific Northwest, I notice this especially when the weather gets damp. A batch pressed during a dry stretch can behave differently from something I press when it’s been raining for days.
This is why I pay more attention to how the flower feels than the number of days it has been in the press. When I check one, I feel the thickest part of the flower rather than just touching the edge of a petal. A fully dried flower should feel light and papery. It shouldn’t feel cool, soft, damp, or fleshy anywhere.
If I’m holding something and thinking, “It’s probably dry enough,” I usually give it a few more days. I’ve regretted taking flowers out too early. I haven’t regretted leaving one in a little longer.
Do You Need to Change the Blotting Paper?
Not always. If I’m pressing something very thin like pansies, violas, or little wildflowers, I usually prefer to leave everything alone.
With thicker or wetter flowers, I pay more attention during the first few days. If I open the press and the blotting paper feels noticeably damp, I’ll replace it with fresh paper so the flowers aren’t sitting against the moisture I’m trying to remove.
The tricky part is that partially dried flowers are incredibly easy to damage. They’re no longer soft like a fresh flower, but they aren’t completely dry and stable yet either. This is the stage where petals like to stick to the paper, fold underneath themselves, or tear if you move too quickly.
That’s another reason tweezers come in handy.
Try Not to Check Them Constantly
This is easier advice to give than follow. Once you put flowers into the press, three days suddenly feels like a very long time and you start wondering whether maybe you should just take a quick look.
Checking your flowers occasionally is fine, especially if you’re monitoring moisture or changing blotting paper. The problem with opening the press constantly is that every time you do, you have another chance to shift something, curl a petal, or pull a half-dried flower off the paper before it’s ready.
Once I know everything is drying normally, I try to leave it alone and let the press do its job.
Your Flowers Will Probably Change Color
This surprises people the first time they press flowers. The color that goes into the press is not always the exact color that comes back out.
White flowers often dry cream. Bright pinks can become softer. Purple may deepen, reds can become burgundy, and green often moves toward olive. Sometimes color changes are related to excess moisture or other drying problems, but sometimes that’s simply what that particular flower does.
The more you press, the more you start recognizing patterns. I actually think it’s helpful to jot down simple notes when you’re starting out. It doesn’t need to be anything elaborate. Something like “pink cosmos — kept color really well” or “white rose — petals good, whole flower bad idea” is enough.
After a while, you build your own little reference guide based on the flowers you actually use.
What Can You Make With Pressed Flowers?
This is where flower pressing gets slightly addictive because once you have a collection, you start wanting to put them on everything.
Pressed flowers can be used in framed botanical art, wedding keepsakes, bookmarks, cards, ornaments, gift tags, scrapbooks, journals, and all kinds of other projects. You also don’t have to turn every single flower into something.
Some of my favorite flowers to save are the ones that actually came from somewhere: something from the yard, a flower from a trip, one bloom from a bouquet someone gave you, or the slightly mangled flower your kid picked and handed to you.
Those flowers don’t have to be perfect. A bent stem or crooked petal can actually be more interesting once the flower is pressed. Tiny wildflowers that barely get noticed outside can suddenly look beautiful when they’re flattened and sitting by themselves on paper.
You can buy dried flowers. You can’t buy the story behind yours.
A Few Things I Wish I Knew When I Started
If I could go back and make flower pressing easier on myself from the beginning, I would start with easy flowers, avoid putting anything wet into the press, leave more space between blooms, and stop assuming that more pressure could fix a flower that was simply too thick.
I also would have stopped checking the press quite so often and given everything more time than I thought it needed.
And I wouldn’t automatically throw away every flower that came out a little faded, brown, or imperfect. I’ve had individual flowers look pretty underwhelming on their own and then work perfectly once I added them to an arrangement with other colors and textures.
Pressed flowers aren’t supposed to look manufactured. That’s part of what makes them beautiful.
Ready to Start Pressing?
If you want to try it yourself, you can shop my reusable maple flower presses here. I make them here in the Pacific Northwest with replaceable blotting and cardboard layers, so you can keep using the same press batch after batch.
Start with something easy like a pansy, viola, fern, or little flower from your yard. Arrange it how you want it to dry, close the press, and give it some time.
Your first batch probably won’t teach you everything about pressing flowers, but it will teach you a lot more than reading another ten guides will.
