The Easiest Flower You Are Not Pressing: Hydrangeas

If there is one flower made for pressing, it is the hydrangea. Those big mophead blooms in your garden right now are really hundreds of small, flat, papery florets, and each one presses almost perfectly: thin, sturdy, and in blues and purples that hold their colour for years. Yet most people never press them, because a whole hydrangea head looks far too big to go in a press. The trick is that you do not press the head. You press the florets.

Why hydrangeas press so well

A hydrangea floret is everything a flower press wants. It is naturally flat, so nothing needs flattening or halving. It is low in moisture compared with a rose or a dahlia, so it dries fast and rarely browns. And hydrangea blues, violets and dusky pinks are among the most reliable colours in pressing, the ones that come out of the press looking much like they went in. If you have ever been disappointed by a thick bloom going soggy, hydrangeas are the opposite experience, and late summer is exactly when they are everywhere.

Each head hides dozens of flat, papery florets that press beautifully.

Take the head apart first

Snip individual florets from the head with small scissors, cutting as close behind each floret as you can so no lump of stalk is left. Choose florets that are fully open, feel papery rather than fleshy, and are free of brown edges. One head will give you far more than you need, so keep only the best. If you would like a few with stems for a more botanical look, cut small sprigs of two or three florets. Pick on a dry day once the morning dampness has gone, and press the same day. Slightly past-their-best heads, the ones just turning antique and papery on the shrub, actually press even more easily than the fresh ones.

Lay them flat with a little space around each one.

Press a whole page of them at once

Lay the florets face down on the blotting paper with a little space around each one, and take a moment to open each floret flat, because how it lies is exactly how it will dry. This is where a big press earns its place: a whole page of florets in one layer, and several layers in one pressing. Tightened evenly at the corners, every floret gets the same firm pressure. Being thin, they need only around ten days to two weeks, quicker than most flowers.

The colour trick: hydrangea blues and purples keep best if the florets dry fast and stay out of the light afterwards. Change the blotting paper after the first two days, and once the florets are out of the press, keep them in a closed book or frame them away from direct sun. Treated like this, the blue stays blue for years.

A full head's worth of florets across several layers gets through a lot of blotting paper on that first change. Worth having spares before you start rather than halfway through.

What to do with a hundred pressed florets

This is the happy problem hydrangeas give you. A single pressed floret on a gift tag or place card looks deliberate and lovely. A scatter of them around a framed centrepiece bloom fills a composition the way no other flower does. They tuck into journal pages, cards and bookmarks, and because they all match, anything you make looks like a set. If you pressed nothing else this month, a page of hydrangea florets would still keep you in craft materials until winter.

A few florets turn one pressed flower into a whole composition.

Frequently asked questions

Can you press a whole hydrangea head?
No, and you do not need to. Snip the florets off individually and press those. One head gives you far more usable material than pressing it whole ever would.

How long do hydrangea florets take to press?
Around ten days to two weeks, quicker than most flowers, because the florets are thin and low in moisture.

Will the blue fade?
Not much, if you dry them fast and keep them out of direct sunlight afterwards. Hydrangea blues and purples are among the most reliable colours in pressing. More on this in why pressed flowers turn brown.

Can I press hydrangeas that have already dried on the shrub?
Yes, and they are often easier. The papery, antique-looking heads late in the season press very well.

Do I need a press, or will a book work?
A book works, but you will fit far fewer florets and press them unevenly. See pressing flowers in a book if that is what you have.

So this week, find a hydrangea, snip a dozen florets, and give them ten days flat. It is the easiest win in flower pressing, at exactly the time of year when the shrubs are giving them away.

Room for a whole head's worth in one pressing.

Questions? We're always happy to help at info@berstukstore.com