How to help pressed flowers keep their colour

To help pressed flowers keep their colour, begin with dry flowers, remove moisture efficiently during pressing and protect the finished pieces from strong light. Some colour change is part of preserving plant material, even when the pressing goes well.

A pink petal can become a softer, duskier pink and still make a beautiful page. The aim is a well-preserved specimen, with the shape and details you wanted to keep. If the original colour matters to you, take a photograph before pressing as a separate record.

Start with less moisture

The RHS flower-pressing guide recommends collecting on a dry day once surface moisture has gone and using clean, dry pressing materials. Choose flowers from your own garden or those you have permission to use. A damp bloom and damp papers give the press more work to do.

For a first comparison, choose a few flowers of the same kind rather than a whole mixed bouquet. Keep one photograph of them together. It will be easier to notice what changed than to compare several very different specimens from memory.

Keep the pressure even

The Natural History Museum's pressing advice connects quicker drying with better colour retention. It also explains why contact with the absorbent paper matters: areas left out of contact can shrivel. Bulky flowers are more difficult to press evenly than thin ones.

Our Pressed Walk flower press contains boards and pressing papers, held together with bolts and washers. Arrange the specimens with space between them and tighten the corners evenly. Flowers, glue and finished display materials are separate.

Make a note of which layer contains which flower. When you inspect the stack, open it on a clear table and keep the layers in order. If one thick stem makes the whole layer uneven, reconsider that arrangement before tightening the press again.

Check the specimen, not just the date

Drying time varies with the plant and conditions. The museum gives a range of days to weeks and advises checking until the specimen no longer feels damp. Handle it gently, because dry material can be brittle.

For a birthday card or another fixed date, begin with time to spare and make a small trial first. Pressing the only flower from an important occasion leaves little room to learn. A photograph lets you keep that occasion even if the first attempt dries unevenly.

Choose the display position carefully

Light protection matters after pressing too. In its account of botanical artists at work, Kew describes using a lidded box to protect some specimens from light damage. That is a useful cue for a home collection: an album or closed box offers a different environment from a picture displayed in a sunny window.

For a bright room, display a scan or photograph and keep irreplaceable originals in a closed album or box. If you display the flower itself, choose a position away from direct sun. Framing advice should come from a framer who knows what materials you are preserving.

Keep a small pressing record

Give each attempt a short entry: the flower, the date you pressed it, where you left the press and the date you decided it was dry. Add a photograph taken in similar light. This is more useful than remembering that the last batch 'looked brighter'.

You could keep two similar specimens together, then put one in a closed album and one on display. Record where each goes. Compare them after a few weeks and keep a note for your next batch.

For the full starting method, read how to press flowers at home. Leave some blank space around the finished piece for its date and the reason you kept it.