Plantable

Most wedding invitations get a fortnight on the fridge and a lifetime in landfill. Seeded invitations end differently: your guests plant them, and months after the confetti’s swept up, there are wildflowers growing in gardens across the country with your names on the packet. It’s the rare wedding detail that gets better after the wedding.

What makes a seeded invitation different

The invite is printed on 300gsm handmade seed paper — thick, textured, flecked with visible seeds. It reads and handles like luxury uncoated stock, because that’s what it is; the seeds pressed through the sheet are the surprise. We print with cool inkjet (heat kills seeds, so the usual hot presses are out), which is exactly why the finish has that soft, watercolour-adjacent character that suits wedding stationery so well.

Sizes and what they’re for

A6 (105 × 148mm) is the classic invitation size — substantial in the hand, fits standard C6 envelopes. A5 gives you room for the full running order or an illustrated design. A7 makes beautiful save-the-dates and RSVP cards. And folded leaflets turn into orders of service and menus that match the set. Mix sizes across the suite and keep one design language running through.

How many to order

Count households, not guests — one invite per couple or family — then add 10–15% spare for late additions, keepsakes, the photographer’s flat-lay, and the one your nan loses. For most weddings that lands between 25 and 100. Our minimum is five, which also makes a cheap way to order a proof batch first: five copies of your design in hand before you commit to the full run. On seed paper, where colours print softer than a screen shows them, that proof run is the smartest tenner you’ll spend.

Designing for seed paper

The texture is the star, so let it breathe. What works: generous serif type, botanical line illustrations, plenty of unprinted paper showing the seeds, earthy and muted palettes. What to avoid: text below 8pt (the handmade surface softens fine detail), edge-to-edge dark ink floods, and photographic backgrounds. If your design risks any of it, we’ll flag it — every file gets checked by a human before printing.

The line that makes the magic work

Somewhere on the invite, tell guests what they’re holding — otherwise even the loveliest seed paper is just nice paper. A single line does it: “This invitation is made of wildflower seed paper — plant it, water it, and watch it grow.” Put full planting steps on the back, or send guests to a page on your wedding website.

Timeline

Tradition says save-the-dates at 6–9 months and invitations at 3–4 months out. The pleasant surprise: our turnaround is next working day when you order by 11am, so seeded stationery doesn’t need the long lead times bespoke stationers quote. Order the proof batch, approve it, order the run — comfortably inside a fortnight.

Seeded wedding invitations, answered

How much do seeded wedding invitations cost?

As a guide, 25 A6 invitations printed single sided start around the low-£40s, moving with size, quantity and double-sided printing. Small-batch friendly — no 50-copy minimums here.Can guests really grow them?

Yes. Torn up, laid on compost under a light 5mm covering, watered and kept bright, they shoot in 2–4 weeks. Wildflower mix or pure poppy paper — same instructions either way.Do they work with normal envelopes?

Perfectly — A6 fits C6, A5 fits C5. The 300gsm sheet is thick, so allow for that if you’re stuffing multiple pieces per envelope.Can you print the whole suite?

Yes — invites and save-the-dates from the invites & flyers range, orders of service as folded leaflets, and place cards cut from blank sheets.

Start with a five-copy proof of your design — seeded invites & flyers, next working day delivery when you order by 11am.

You’ve had the wedding, handed out the cards, read the flyer. Now the good bit: turning the paper into flowers. Planting seed paper takes five minutes and no gardening talent whatsoever — here’s exactly how.

What you’ll need

The seed paper, a pot (or any patch of soil), peat-free compost, and water. That’s the list.

The six steps

Tear it up

Rip the paper into stamp-sized pieces. More edges means more seed-to-soil contact and better germination — and yes, tearing up a wedding invite feels wrong. Do it anyway.

Prep the pot

Fill a pot about three-quarters with peat-free compost, or rough up a patch of bare garden soil with a fork.

Lay the pieces flat

Spread them across the surface in a single layer — no stacking.

Cover lightly

About 5mm of compost over the top. A dusting. Seeds need to sense light to wake up — bury them deep and nothing happens.

Soak it

Water until the paper is properly saturated, then keep it moist every day. The paper breaks down as the seeds germinate — that’s the design.

Light and patience

Somewhere warm and bright — a windowsill is perfect. First shoots in 2–4 weeks, flowers over the following weeks.

When to plant

Spring and early summer give the fastest, showiest results. Autumn planting works too — wildflowers are hardy and some seeds will happily sit out winter and appear in spring. Indoors on a windowsill, any month works.

Troubleshooting

Nothing’s happened after two weeks — is it dead?

Almost certainly not. Germination runs anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks depending on warmth and light. Keep it moist and give it another fortnight before worrying.Can I plant the whole sheet without tearing it?

You can — it’ll still grow — but torn pieces germinate more evenly because more seeds touch the soil.Does printed ink affect the flowers?

No. Water-based inkjet inks are laid cold onto the sheet and don’t affect germination or the soil.Indoor or outdoor?

Either. Start indoors on a bright windowsill for reliability, then plant out once seedlings are a few centimetres tall — or sow straight into the garden from late spring.

Got paper to plant? Lovely. Need more? Blank seed paper and seeded printing ship next working day when you order by 11am.

Seed paper — plantable paper, seeded paper, call it what you like — is handmade paper with living flower seeds pressed right through the sheet. Print on it, hand it out, and when it’s done its job the person holding it can plant it, water it, and grow wildflowers from what would otherwise have been bin-fodder. It’s the only piece of print marketing with an afterlife.

How seed paper is made

Proper seed paper starts as recycled paper pulp. The pulp is blended with water, seeds are folded through the wet mixture — not sprayed on the surface, which is the shortcut some producers take — and the sheets are formed, pressed, and dried. At our workshop the drying is done by hand, in small batches. That’s slower than machine drying, but it keeps temperatures down (seeds are alive, and heat is their enemy) and it gives every sheet the soft texture and visible seed flecks that make people keep the thing rather than bin it.

The result is a thick 300gsm sheet — heavier than most greetings cards — flecked with seeds you can see and feel.

How does printing not kill the seeds?

This is the question that matters, because a lot of “plantable” print out there will never grow a thing. Seeds die at sustained high temperatures — and most commercial printing is hot. Laser printers and digital presses fuse toner to paper with rollers running well over 150°C. The print looks lovely; the seeds are cooked.

The answer is cool-running inkjet. Ink is laid onto the sheet with no fusing heat at all, so the seeds arrive at your door as viable as the day they went into the pulp. It’s why we print exclusively with inkjet techniques refined over fifteen years — and why, if you’re printing your own blank seed paper at home, we’ll tell you to use your inkjet and avoid the office laser.

What grows out of it?

Ours comes in two papers. The wildflower mix grows a bee-friendly spread of blooms; the poppy paper grows a single striking flower. Either way, the growing part works the same: tear the paper up, lay it on compost, cover with about 5mm more compost, water well, and keep it moist somewhere bright. Expect shoots in two to four weeks — faster in spring and summer, slower but still willing in autumn.

What people use it for

Wedding invitations are the classic — an invite guests literally plant in the garden after the day. Beyond that: business cards that never see a bin, event flyers with a second life, orders of service, swing tags, packaging, and blank sheets for craft projects. Anything paper can do, seed paper does with a better ending.

Quick answers

Does seed paper really grow?

Yes — if the seeds were embedded in the pulp and the printing was done without high heat. Cool inkjet printing keeps seeds viable; hot laser or litho printing kills them.How long does seed paper last before planting?

Stored flat, cool and dry, it germinates well for around twelve months. The seeds are alive, so fresher is always better.Is seed paper recyclable?

Better than recyclable — it’s compostable and plantable. If it doesn’t get planted, it breaks down harmlessly.Can I write or print on it myself?

Yes. It takes pens beautifully and prints well on any home inkjet set to a heavyweight paper setting. Avoid laser printers — the fuser heat damages the seeds.

Want to try it? Shop seeded printing or grab a pack of blank sheets — order by 11am for next working day delivery.