Colorful autumn leaves are very popular with craft lovers. You can also preserve leaves that have not yet changed color and then use the various leaf shapes for interesting handicrafts or a herbarium.

Leaves are best preserved when pressed

press leaves

The easiest method is to insert the leaves between tissue paper in thick books that are additionally weighed down. The downside, however, is that leaves with strong stems and high moisture levels can take up to two weeks to fully dry.

If you dry plant leaves regularly, it is worth buying a large-format flower press.

Preserve leaves with a flower press

  1. Loosen the screws and open the press.
  2. Place a layer of cardboard on the lower wooden disc and cover it with paper.
  3. Lay the sheet carefully and put a sheet of paper over it.
  4. This is followed by the second cardboard disc, another sheet of paper, the next leaf to be preserved and another sheet of paper.
  5. Place the wooden disc on the filled press and tighten the screws.
  6. Change the paper every few days.

Dry with dry salt or silica gel

If you don't need the leaves pressed flat, you can preserve the foliage with dry pearls or salt.

For this you need:

  • a tightly sealed container,
  • Drying salt for flowers or silica gel beads.

Method:

  1. Put drying salt or gel beads about a finger wide into the container.
  2. Place foliage on top and cover with the drying material.
  3. If necessary, you can add more leaves and put a little salt or gel on top of each one.
  4. In this way, autumn leaves are already preserved after half a day. With fresh plant material, the process takes a few days.
  5. Remove and carefully shake off any salt that has stuck to it.

Laminate leaves

If you have a laminator at home, you can seal the sheets and make them durable for a very long time. Thanks to the protective plastic coat, the small works of art in nature lose none of their color strength.

  1. Place leaves on the laminating film.
  2. Make sure there is enough space between the sheets. You should be able to cut them out so that no air gets in.

tips

Since fresh foliage absorbs moisture, you can also preserve it in a vase filled with a mixture of two parts water and one part glycerin. Break the stems of the leaves open with a hammer and place the leaves in the jar.

Category:

Trees