Many plants put on a beautiful display of colors with their fall foliage in shades of red, maroon, orange, and gold. You can make this beauty last longer by preserving the leaves. Pressed and preserved leaves are excellent for decorating mantles, using them as centerpieces, and more. There are five basic leaf preservation methods to choose from鈥攁ll of them easy.

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Pressing and preserving fall leaves works best when the leaves have just fallen from the tree, but before they have dried up and begun to curl. The leaves will shed at different times depending on the tree species and the fall weather pattern, so be prepared to jump into action when the time is right

Regardless of the preservation method you choose, it's important to select the right type of leaf.