With the art of drying and pressing flowers, flowers no longer have to be considered representative of nature’s fleeting beauty. By drying and pressing your flowers, you can enjoy their beauty for years to come. In order to successfully preserve flowers with these processes, it’s important to know which flowers should be pressed and which should be dried. To help you get started, our flower experts at Mission Viejo Florist in Orange County put together a list of the top three flowers to press and dry.

Hanging Dried Flowers

Top 3 Flowers to Press

Since flower pressing involves flattening flowers and pressing out their moisture, it works best with flowers that have slimmer profiles. For example, we don’t recommend pressing globe thistles or English roses. Instead, choose those that have naturally flat faces. Some of our favorites include:

Pansies

Purple and Yellow Pansies

Naturally flat-faced, pansies are an all-time favorite for pressing. During the pressing process, they lose hardly anything from their original features, maintaining both shape and color. They’re beautiful in botanical frames or pasted in a scrapbook.

African Daisies

Daisy Chrysanthemum

These beauties are also lovely when pressed. They bloom in a rainbow of hues and feature a delicate single layer of petals that creates a beautiful, starry shape when pressed.

Shrub Roses

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Although we don’t recommend pressing the thicker varieties of roses, that doesn’t mean roses are entirely off-limits. The single-petal varieties of roses such as shrub roses and wild roses actually do quite well when pressed. Plus, they’ll add lovely color and variety to your pressed flower displays.

Top 3 Flowers to Dry

You can dry just about any flower, but some turn out much more beautiful and life-like than others. Our favorites include:

Strawflower

Pink Strawflower

Strawflowers are stunning while alive and when dried. They bloom in a rainbow of bright colors and feature sunburst petals that seem to deepen with color as they get further from their centers. These are beautiful on their own in an arrangement or to add pops of color to other dried flowers.

Celosia (Cockscomb)

Celosia M

These blooms get their name from the Greek word for burning thanks to their feathery, flame-like appearance. With vibrant colors and interesting texture that’s preserved in the drying process, these are a welcome addition to any dry bouquet or floral wreath.

Larkspur

Larkspur

These lovely cones of flowers bloom in delicate shades of pink, blue, purple, and white. They’ll add height to a bouquet and fun texture to a wreath, while also maintaining their pretty hues.

How to Protect Your Preserved Flowers

Dried and pressed flowers, alike, are incredibly delicate. Dried out, flowers become brittle and susceptible to the elements. Keep yours out of direct sunlight to prevent them from fading and away from excess moisture to prevent them rotting. We also recommend applying a few coats of an unscented hairspray to your dried and pressed flowers. This will strengthen them, while also safeguarding them from the sun and moisture.

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For more recommendations on the best flowers and most beautiful, mixed bouquets for drying and pressing, we welcome you to stop by Mission Viejo Florist.