Help With Storing Pressed Flowers

21 years ago

Hello everyone! I just love the Garden Web forums!

I am fairly new at pressing flowers and I could use some help. I would like to know what you use to store your flowers, ferns, etc. in when they are pressed.

I want to press as much as I am able to and be able to go back to them later and craft. In the meantime, I need your creative input for storage.

Featured Answer

grittymitts

20 years ago

I press many many flowers. I buy big books @ garage sales to take outside with me...just lay 'em in & close the book; when another is found select another page, etc. Once dried
I use business stationary boxes (they're only about 1/2" thick,) placing wax paper between each layer. A rubber band holds the top on perfectly; in fact I moved them over 500 miles in the back of a truck & all arrived in perfect condition. This is such a fun hobby!! (By the way, watch for tiny blooms on weeds, etc. I made greeting cards for males using dark paper with a crooked blade of grass placed across & small dusty miller pcs. upright for trees - rave reviews on those.) Enjoy!

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Comments (9)

judiz
21 years ago
I use an airtight plastic shoe box. Over the long term, the chemicals in the plastics might affect the flowers, but I don't dry a huge quantity and I use them within a year.
homenovice
21 years ago
My dad is a radio broadcaster and used to have tape reel boxes that are about 8x8 and only about 1/2" thick. I sorted my flowers by color and kept my boxes in a drawer. I've also used clean clear plastic take-out or left-over containers. Anything shallow with a lid can be used. Sometimes, I made little paper trays to safeguard the really little flowers within the boxes.
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cindip
21 years ago
I have heard of people using cd cases for the different kinds of flowers. Some people store them in the phone book too. I use the little envelopes that are meant for stamp collecting. I can't remember the name of them. I also keep some on paper stacked up on top of each other sandwiched between two pieces of thick cardboard.

Cindi
sparrow
21 years ago
I have used a clean sheet of 8x11 paper, folded it in thirds, then folded that in thirds. Unfold and you will have one center section, Put your flowers in this, fold back up, label and then put under a weight or in a book. You can also file them like this in shoeboxes and place in a dark dry spot. They stay flat and are easy to get to this way.
sonshine_hvc_rr_com
21 years ago
I press hundreds and hundreds of flowers so I need larger storing space. What has worked well for me is phone books which I mark with colors on the end of each. Then I sort my flowers/leaves by color and size and place them in the marked phone books so they are ready to use. I would be glad to send any of you my information that I have gathered in 20+ years of pressing flowers. Email me at sonshine@hvc.rr.com
fransflowers
20 years ago
I save window envelopes from the daily mail and store my pressed flowers in them and then put them in a strong shoe box and other heavy boxes. This way I can see through the window what's inside.
Posie
19 years ago
Whenever you are storing your pressed flowers, sprinkle some Silicia Gel or Sand into the box or envelope. It will help keep them dry. I use pieces of paper towel between pages of a heavy book to keep my flowers. The towel seems to obsorb any excess moisture.
weedlady93
7 years ago
When my hubby retired from teaching, he went thru his file cabinet & discarded (recycled!) stacks & stacks of paper, ending up with a several-inch-thick stack of manila file folders that he passed on to (packrat!) me. I use them to store many varieties of pressed flowers, writing the flower names on the folder tabs. Of course, I had to cover over math words with new sticky labels! I layer the flowers in each folder between sheets of plain paper to separate them for easier access/viewing. To ensure they remain flat, I stack them with an old book on top, and also, to protect my flowers from moths, I place a Pantry Pest Trap (a sticky trap with a pheromone lure) near the stack to trap any winged critters with an appetite for dried plant material.

Also, it is handy to stack them in alphabetical order by plant name in case I need specific colors or varieties for whatever project I have in mind. Hope this helps!