How to Press Flowers

Cutting and Preparing the Flowers

Choose fresh flowers that don’t have any morning dew on them. Use flowers you got from a florist or the grocery store, or pick your own from a garden. If you do pick your own, cut them in the morning after the morning dew has evaporated and avoid picking them on rainy days—you want them to be as dry as possible. Flowers with flat blooms, like violets, daisies, and shrub roses, are the easiest to press, but you can also use thicker blooms, like peonies and orchids. Avoid using really thick flowers, like impatiens and begonias. They’re so thick that they generally start to get moldy before they actually dry out.Tip: If your flowers have stamens (long, slender stalks protruding from the center of the bloom), use a pair of sharp scissors to cut them off as close to their base as possible so they don't stain the flower.

Trim the stems to the size that you want for your project. This is totally up to you and what you want to use the flowers for. Keep in mind that you can always trim away more of the stem after the flowers have been pressed, but you can’t add more length to them once they’ve been cut. If you’re mainly interested in preserving the actual bloom, trim the stem down to 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5.1 cm).

Remove low-hanging or scraggly leaves that remain on the stem. Use a pair of sharp scissors to trim away the leaves as close to the stem as possible rather than just plucking them off. If you want, leave a few leaves in place for the aesthetic. If you aren’t sure which look you prefer, try drying one flower that has a few leaves left on the stem along with one flower that has been completely trimmed.

Cut thick flowers in half so they can be dried flat. Orchids, peonies, and roses are notoriously hard to press because they are so thick. Use a pair of scissors or a sharp knife to cut the bloom and stem in half lengthwise. Lay the flower down on a flat surface and cut away half of the bloom, using a motion similar to how you would cut an apple in half. Do your best to cut the stem in half equally, too. If you make an even enough cut, you could use both sides of the flower in your pressing. It’s okay if the actual cut doesn’t look perfect or if there are little bits of petals left on the backside of the flower. Those imperfections won’t be visible after the flower has been pressed. EXPERT TIP Jeanne Walker Jeanne Walker Florist Jeanne Walker is a Florist and the Owner of Fringe Flower Company, a floral design shop that specializes in weddings, special events, and daily deliveries. Fringe Flower Company, based in Walnut Creek, California, provides customized hand-tied and vase bouquets along with potted plants, succulent gardens, tulip french buckets, and wreaths. Jeanne also conducts floral design workshops and parties throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Jeanne Walker Jeanne Walker Florist Expert Trick: When you're choosing flowers to press, look for flowers that have a single row of petals all the way around, instead of rows of stacked or unfurling petals. Daisies, violas, pansies, and primroses are all very nice to press. You can also press individual petals from flowers that are harder to press, like peonies or roses.

Store flowers you aren’t ready to use in the fridge for 2-3 days. If you prep your flowers and realize you aren’t ready to start pressing them for whatever reason, keep them fresh in the fridge. Put them into a plastic, resealable bag. This also comes in handy if you find flowers you want to press while you’re traveling. You can keep them in the fridge until you go back home. If you don’t have access to a fridge, keep them in a cooler or somewhere similar to try and preserve them until you can press them.

Using Heavy Books

Place the prepared flowers between 2 sheets of parchment paper. The parchment paper is used to absorb excess moisture from the flowers as they dry out. Arrange the flowers so that none of their petals, leaves, or stems overlap. If you don’t have parchment paper, you could also use coffee filters to the same effect.

Set the sheets between the pages of a heavy book. Use a book that is large enough to completely cover the flowers. If there are ends sticking out from the pages of the book, they won’t get pressed. Put the flowers toward the back of the book so that the bulk of the book’s weight will rest on top of the flowers. Make sure to choose a book that you won’t need to use over the next several weeks.

Stack on 2 to 3 more books to provide extra weight. Again, choose heavy books to provide the most weight. Stack them somewhere they won’t get knocked into easily. You could also use bricks instead of books for the same effect.

Leave the flowers alone for 1 to 2 weeks to allow them to dry out fully. Set a reminder on your calendar to check the flowers after a few weeks have passed to see if they’re done. They should feel like fine tissue paper. If they aren’t done yet, carefully shut them back into the book for another week to continue pressing them. It takes less time to press flowers with heavy books than if you were to use a wooden flower press because there is considerably more weight being applied from the books.Tip: Use tweezers to remove the flowers from the parchment paper. The dried flowers will be super delicate and could break easily if you accidentally pinch them with your fingers.

Making a Wooden Flower Press

Buy or cut two 9 by 12 in (23 by 30 cm) pieces of wood. Making your own flower press doesn’t take a long time and gives you a designated press so you won’t have to scrounge around trying to find heavy books or bricks. Each piece of wood should be 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5.1 cm) thick. You can use plywood or other scraps of wood. If you visit your local home improvement store, you may be able to find scraps of wood for sale that can be used for your press. If you are cutting your own pieces of wood, you can make your press any shape or size that you want. Some people prefer round presses, while some want a smaller or bigger press, depending on how many flowers they need to dry at one time. A 9 by 12 in (23 by 30 cm) press can hold anywhere from 10-20 blooms, just depending on what kinds of flowers you are pressing.

Place the prepared flowers between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Arrange your flowers on a piece of parchment paper so that they aren’t overlapping at all. Set another piece of parchment paper over the top of the flowers and press down lightly with your hands.Tip: Coffee filters also work for this process if you don’t have parchment paper. As long as the paper is absorbent, it should do the trick.

Sandwich the parchment paper between 2 pieces of cardboard. Use pieces of cardboard that are at least as big, if not bigger, than the pieces of parchment paper. Choose clean, dry cardboard to prevent introducing any unneeded dampness or bacteria to your flowers. The cardboard just helps provide another semi-absorbent layer for the flowers. Because this method takes about a month to complete, it’s important that all the moisture from the flowers has somewhere else to go so they dry completely.

Put the cardboard between the 2 pieces of wood. Arrange the wood so that the corners line up as perfectly as possible. If you need to reposition one of them, lift it up and set it back down rather than moving it while it’s in contact with the cardboard, as this could shift the flowers underneath and ruin their positioning.

Secure each corner of the press together with a c-clamp. With c-clamps, one side of the clamp stays stationary and the other side can be adjusted by turning the handle to move the screw up or down. Open each clamp wide enough to fit the pieces of wood. Start by positioning one clamp over a corner of the press. Adjust the screw mechanism to bring the sides of the clamp together as tight as possible. Repeat this with the other 3 clamps. Visit your local home improvement store or shop online for your c-clamps. You don’t need to get anything fancy, so you should be able to find these clamps for about $5 a piece. If you bought a wooden press rather than making one yourself, there should be bolts for you to utilize rather than having to use clamps.

Let the flowers dry for about 30 days. Resist undoing the press and checking on your flowers until at least 3 weeks have passed. If you do, it could disturb the flowers and make it hard to get them back into the same position so that they dry perfectly. To be safe, wait 30 days before opening the clamps and removing the flowers. If you have more flowers you want to press in the meantime, use a second press or one of the other pressing methods so you don’t disturb the ones that are in process. This is one of the more time-intensive methods because it doesn’t use much weight or heat to press the flowers. If you want to speed up the pressing time, add a few bricks or books on top of the wood.

Heating the Flowers with an Iron

Flatten the flowers with a heavy book to start the pressing process. While you’re getting the rest of your supplies ready, simply set the prepared flowers underneath a large book. This will make it easier to iron because they won’t be as thick as they were when you cut them. You could do this 1 to 2 days in advance, or just 10 minutes before ironing. The more time the flower has to flatten, the easier it’ll be to iron. Use sheets of parchment paper between the book and flowers if you’re concerned about the book being exposed to moisture.

Empty all water from your iron and turn it on to the lowest setting. The last thing you want when ironing your flowers is any kind of moisture or steam, so take a minute to empty out the water tank and don’t refill it. Plug in the iron and switch the setting to the lowest, driest heat setting available. You may be tempted to use higher heat to make the process go even faster, but high heat could burn the flowers and turn them brown, making them lose their beautiful color.

Put the flowers between 2 pieces of parchment paper on the ironing board. Get your ironing station set up and put a piece of parchment paper down on top of it. Arrange the flowers so that they aren’t overlapping at all; otherwise, they could adhere together. Set another piece of parchment paper on top of the flowers. Avoid moving the paper once it is in place so the flowers don’t shift at all.Tip: For this method, you can replace the parchment paper with wax paper. Just remember to lay a thin, clean cloth over the top sheet of wax paper before you start ironing to prevent any wax from transferring onto your iron.

Hold the iron down on top of the flowers for 10 seconds. Simply hold the iron still rather than moving it back and forth like you would if you were ironing a garment. If the parchment paper is larger than the iron, work in sections by lifting the iron up and then setting it back down on the next part that needs to be ironed. If you leave the iron on the flowers for too long, they will burn, so make sure to count the time and remove the iron after 10 to 15 seconds at the most.

Let the paper cool completely before you repeat the ironing process. Remove the iron after 10 seconds and let the parchment paper cool off for 15 to 20 seconds, or just until it is cool to the touch. This will help prevent the flowers from burning from accidentally being exposed to the heat for too long.Warning: Make sure to set the iron down on the ironing board so that it is sitting up. If you put it face down, the iron will end up burning the board and could potentially cause a fire.

Iron the flowers in 10-second increments until all the moisture is gone. It shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes total to press your flowers unless you’re using really thick blooms, like peonies or orchids. To check the flowers, gently lift the top sheet of parchment paper and touch the blooms. If they feel papery thin and dry, they’re done! If they are still retaining moisture, keep ironing them. Don’t forget to unplug the iron when you’re done and refill the water tank so it’s ready to go the next time you need to use it on your clothes.

Displaying Pressed Flowers in a Glass Frame

Assemble a collection of pressed flowers that you’d like to display. This can be any combination of flowers and greenery that you think look nice together. For a minimalistic look, you could choose just a few special blooms to use. If you’d like something that looks more plentiful, use upwards of 10 to 15 flowers (or more!) for your frame. Don’t be afraid to mix-and-match colors and types of flowers.

Wipe down the glass frame to remove any fingerprints or smudges. Before you add any flowers to the frame, clean the glass inside and outside so that you start your project with a clean slate. Use a window or glass cleaner and a soft microfiber towel so that there is no lint left behind. For this project, you can use a glass frame that hangs or that can be propped up, just depending on where you’d like to put it once it’s done. You can buy glass frames online, from your local art supplies store, or from a lot of home goods stores, too.

Arrange the flowers before attaching them to the glass. Play around with the placement of the flowers before using the tape to adhere them to the frame. You could arrange them from largest to smallest, in rows, or without any order at all. If needed, use scissors to trim stems or cut a flower down to the right size. Some people like to add a piece of patterned scrapbook paper to the frame to act as a background for the flowers. You can do this if you want, or you can leave the glass frame as it is so it’s see-through.Tip: Use tweezers to pick up the flowers if you’re having trouble handling them.

Use small pieces of double-sided tape to attach the flowers to the glass. Once you know where you’d like each bloom to be, stick a really small piece of double-sided tape to the back of each bloom and press it firmly, but gently, into place on the glass. The bigger the flower, the bigger the piece of tape you can use; try to not use so much that the tape is visible when you’re looking down at the flower, though. If you’re having trouble ripping off small enough pieces of tape, use scissors to cut a longer piece of tape into small sections.

Close the frame and hang it up to enjoy your handiwork. After all the flowers are secured into place, you’re almost finished! Simply secure the two sides of the frame together, and then either hang it up, display it on a desk or table, or give it away as a gift. This is a great way to make a keepsake for yourself or someone else.