Plantable Paper

Plantable paper is a biodegradable eco-paper that is made with post-consumer materials (no trees harmed for this paper!) and embedded with seeds. When the paper is planted in a pot of soil, the seeds grow and the paper composts away. All that is left behind is flowers, herbs or vegetables and no waste. It's easy to plant and grow, and below we'll show you examples of photos taken by our customers.

Botanical PaperWorks is both the manufacturer of plantable paper and the designer and printer of plantable paper products such as wedding invitations, favors, memorial products, birth announcements, greeting cards, journals and so much more. All of the products are on this site so that you can browse and shop.

Here is some information about plantable paper to get you started:

How To Plant Plantable Paper

Supply List

• a pot for planting
• some good potting soil
• plantable paper
• water
• a sunny corner

Step 1 - Prepare your pot

Fill your pot 2/3 full with good potting soil. Tamp down the soil and add more if necessary. You want the pot to be firmly full, but not packed. The paper can be planted indoors or outside, so you get to choose according to the temperature and conditions at the time of planting (we don't recommend planting outside if it's blizzarding or desert-hot!).

Step 2 - Plant the paper

Take your plantable paper and tear it into small pieces, about 1 inch. Cover the soil in the prepared pot with the paper. It's okay if the paper overlaps. Spread a 1/2 inch layer of soil over the plantable paper pieces and tamp down gently.

Step 3 - Water during germination

After planting the paper in your pot, give it a good soak. You want the paper and the soil to be nicely damp but not swimming in water. During the first 10 days, keep the paper moist at all times. The water is necessary for germination.

Step 4 - Care after germination

On sprouts appear, continue to keep the paper moist but be careful not to overwater. Once sturdy plants appear, water as needed. Here's what the pot looks like after planting a greeting card:

And here's what the pot looked like a week later:

Step 5 - Enjoy the flowers

Once the flowers (or herbs or vegetables) start to blossom, enjoy them in the pot or cut them and place in a decorative vase like we did here: