When it comes to flower pressing, roses are notoriously tricky to press and prone to turning a rainbow of beige and unsightly. To preserve a rose that’s beautiful enough to become art, follow our guide to the best pressed roses for art. It’s essential to choose the best rose species for pressing, be equipped with a suitable grade of blotting paper and to apply the right amount of pressure! Be inspired by my examples and the art I’ve created using them!
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These little roses from my garden are beautiful, look at how their centres vary from yellow and white to brown and white. Been able to capture this level of detail is very exciting!
The Best Rose Species To Press
Roses are one of my favourite flowers; the sheer variety, from wild rambling roses to giant show-stopping blousy heads, makes them fascinating to study. But let’s get realistic; piles of thick overlapping petals will be challenging to preserve in their full beauty. Instead, I opt for rose species with just a few layers of petals like the rambling roses before and after in the photos above. See how the bright pink roses do take on a slightly more purple hue when dried but still retain a beautiful colour. Watch a short video featuring these roses below:
Paler roses are more challenging to preserve with an attractive colour, like these pale pink tea roses below which turned brown. Also note the layers of petals despite being small!
Species of dog roses, rambling roses and wild roses all generally press well! This large rose variety below produced incredible results, see the before and after photographs!
When To Press Roses
Summertime brings me the most success in pressing roses. The best time to press a rose is approximately 4 hours after freshly picking it. First, shake off hidden bugs, then stand it in a vase of water indoors to allow any moisture to evaporate from the flower head and stem. The thicker the layers of petals on the rose, the longer I would have it in a vase before pressing. Eliminating as much moisture from the petals as possible is crucial in maintaining good colour.
Ways To Press A Rose
Select Appropriate Materials
Blotting Paper
The most crucial part of pressing a rose is choosing a blotting paper fit for the job! The thicker the rose, the thicker the blotting paper needed. Blotting paper is highly absorbent, which will help prevent colour loss and rotting as the flower quickly dries. The faster a rose dries, the better its chances of retaining its colour. Blotting paper can be reused again and again.
130 gms For Art & Crafts suitable for small wild and rambling roses
300 gms For Pen’s Inks & Oils suitable for roses with thicker than three layers of petals
Flower Press
Whether using a flower press or a book, applying enough pressure by screwing the wing nuts as tight as possible or applying enough weight on top of a book is essential. You may also want to use an extra layer of thick cards to prevent indentations from transferring to other papers or pages.
I like large, simple flower presses that can hold A4 sheets of blotting paper like these by Little Garden Vintage. If money were no object I’d splurge on one of these luxury flower presses by Blue Brontide. They are to die for!
For the first week, tighten the bolts on your flower press every few days. In addition, tie a belt around the middle and pull tighter if you want to get professional!
Method Of Pressing A Rose
Cut off the majority of the stalk. Place your rose face down onto the blotting paper and trim off any bulk behind the flower head. The bulk behind the centre of the flower head is part of the rose with the most moisture, which can stick to the paper and make it difficult to remove the pressed flower in one piece. It is a delicate balancing act, though, as cutting off too much can mean the petals fly off everywhere and lose their rose identity. It is more difficult with large rose heads, so start with small roses. Watch the demonstration in the video above.
The stalks on roses are very fibrous and do not press well. It’s possible to press little rose species on stalks or with buds, but it limits how finely flat the results will be.
How Long Does It Take To Press A Rose?
When petals are dry at the height of summer and temperatures outside are high little rambling roses can take as little as a week to press. Three weeks is a rule of thumb. I work with most larger flowers; however, roses may exceed this. Check in after three weeks and assess whether your roses are dry and thin enough.
Removing Roses From Blotting Paper
When opening up the pages of your flower press, do so slowly and carefully. The petals, particularly the flower head’s centre, can stick to the blotting paper in places, and a small craft knife is needed. Work around each side of the rose that comes loose, leaving the problematic area until last. Once you have loosened most of the rose, use a sharp craft knife to loosen the rose from the page. I usually find it is a tiny area sticking, and once cut free, the cut isn’t noticeable on the specimen.
Rose Art
When pressing roses with art in mind, consider the size of your blooms and the page and frame size you want to achieve.
If you don’t get the desired results or your home is too bright and airy for pressed flower art, why not check out our stunning Pressed Flower Prints? Printed on museum-grade papers, they are flowers that are not going to hit the beige spectrum! Alternatively our guide of easiest flowers to press might help, The Best Flowers To Press.
Ideas For Pressed Roses
Many craft projects incorporate pressed flowers once you have some beautiful specimens:
Cyanotype printing
Floral pottery
Card making
Lantern making
Cake making
Displaying Pressed Roses
Check out the Ultimate Framing Guide, Making A Pressed Flower Frame for inspiration, frame ideas, background paper colours, composition and display know-how! The post Authentic Vintage Laura Ashley Fabric & Unique Art Collaborations explains how I use rare fabrics to make mounts. Or have a go at hand painting a wooden bobbin frame with our guide How To Make Professional Bobbin Frames.
Conclusion
The best-pressed roses for art are rose species derived from wild and dog roses, which can press flat while preserving attractive colour. Follow the best practices for pressing flowers, including choosing suitable flower pressing materials and timings and using a steady and careful hand!
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Contempfleury
Contempfleury is an art studio run by Leah Nikolaou from her home and garden. She works extensively with pressed flowers to create her one-of-a-kind artworks, pressed flower prints and pressed flower embroidery kits. Achieving the best pressed roses was an important study she worked on for her art.
