Best Artificial Outdoor Plants to Complement Your Outdoor Space

Ok, we need to just put this out there, we’re not going to show you any cheap plastic plants that at best bear little resemblance to an actual plant – and will look even worse when they all turn that unnatural shade of sickly blue that they fade to after a few short weeks in the sun.

Here, we’ve carefully compiled a selection of the most realistic artificial outdoor plants, to complement (rather than cheapen) your outdoor space.

Beauty is in the Details

The ones we’ve chosen, all have that extra attention to detail. The topiary box hedge trees and cypress trees we have chosen, for example, have about a month’s worth of growth-spurt – so they’re never going to look like solid round balls of green plastic leaves. They are also highly UV resistant so they’ll never turn blue on you.

What’s more, like for like, high-quality outdoor faux plants are usually cheaper than the real thing. That makes them worth every penny – especially when you consider that they won’t die, don’t require any looking after, and they won’t go leggy, outgrow their situation or ever look any less than 100% healthy.

The table below contains our selection of the best ones out there, but we also have better pictures of our picks if you want to scroll down to the full reviews here, and detailed information including why we chose each one, along with tips, and suggestions, if you want to read on.

Faux Plant	Where to place
Wreaths	Succulent Hoop Wreath by IdahoWreathMaiden from Etsy – Ideal for hanging on your front door, (or anywhere on your front porch) a shed door, or to add a touch of Pinterest chicness to any wall or fence.
Other Hanging Displays	Hanging metal bucket with faux succulents by AndSucculentsDesigns from Etsy – The bucket is galvanized steel and has a flat back, so it’s perfect for hanging on a door, wall, or fence.
Troughs and Planted Containers	Extra Large faux succulent arrangement centerpiece in a black metal container by AndSucculentsDesigns from Etsy – This is a stunning display of colorful succulents, the planter is black metal so we wouldn’t recommend it for all weather – but it’s ideal for a covered porch area. – Other sizes and designs are also available at the AndSucculentDesigns store on Etsy
Artificial Pants for Hanging Baskets	All-Weather Leather Fern Bush 28″ Wide 7 Sprays of Lifelike Leaves Indoor Outdoor Use by FloralHomeOnline from Etsy – A fabulous statement piece, this full 28″ wide faux fern is perfect for hanging baskets, or to fill a spot in a border, or for a planter.
Artificial Plants for Privacy and Screening	Artificial Boxwood Panels by FloralHomeOnline from Etsy These are exceptionally high-quality 20 by 20 inches square panels and they come in sets of 2, 4 6, or 12. They are UV and weather-resistant. The panels are also super easy to install and can be cut or bent to shape if required. Lush and dense, they provide 98% shade.
Artificial Topiary Trees	Nearly Natural 46” Boxwood Artificial Topiary UV Resistant from Amazon – A super realistic looking topiary tree for a porch or patio. There’s nothing uniformly round ball of bright green plastic leaves here. – Single tree.
	Northwood Calliger 4.6’ Artificial Topiary Triple Ball Boxwood Trees from Amazon Again, we love the detail of the extra growth spurt on these 3-tier topiary box hedge trees. – Pair of trees. – Porch and patio.
	Two 56 Inch Outdoor Artificial Boxwood Double Ball Topiary Trees Potted Plants from Amazon Just a slightly different look from the one above. – Pair of trees. – Porch and patio.
	Two 4 Foot 3 Inch Artificial Cypress Spiral Topiary Trees by Silk tree Warehouse from Amazon For a softer look, these artificial cypress trees are ideal for a porch, or patio. They could even be placed in a border for instant impact and unlike the real thing, they won’t get huge and ugly in a few years with a root system that sucks your garden dry. – Pair of trees. – Porch and patio.

In this section, we’ll cover, how to use artificial plants to enhance a garden or outdoor space for maximum effect.

Artificial Plants That Look Real

To really use artificial plants effectively, you may need to go a step further than just placing one in your yard and you’re done.

Carefully selecting only the highest-quality faux plants will, of course, make a huge difference. But that’s only half the story. What will make all the difference is how you style them.

Often faux plants come in weighted black basic plastic pots – they are designed to be replanted.

In some cases, you don’t have to plant them in a planter or pot. As long as they are UV protected, you can just plant them directly into a border to fill up a gap, add height, color or interest if you want to. But do bear in mind that they have no root system that would otherwise add stability (especially if you don’t have heavy soil).

If you intend to plant them in a pot, a good tip is to avoid planting them in a plastic pot. I know you can get very realistic plastic pots that look exactly like they’re made from cement or metal – these are ok.

But natural or organic-looking man-made materials such as terracotta, cement, resin mixes, tin, galvanized steel, or wooden planters should be your first choice. Glazed ceramic is another good option, but it’s really worth trying to be selective if you choose a ceramic pot as they are so commonplace that they can easily look a little dated.

Once you have chosen your pot the next step is easy, you’ll just need to add a filler. Natural pebbles are an excellent choice for this.

We’ll now look at what to look for when choosing an artificial out door plant.

UV Protected Artificial Outdoor Plants

It’s just worth a quick reminder here, that as we all know, faded blue plastic plants are never an asset in anyone’s garden. So definitely always go for one that has high UV protection.

What Artificial Plants Work Well and What to AVOID

Here are the 3 main giveaways that we think make a plant look unnatural:

• The Wrong Shade | You don’t have to have green fingers to spot an artificial plant if it has been dyed to an unrealistic shade. Nature is our home. We all know that white roses, for example, are not neon bright white but more of a soft delicately creamy off-white and some have a tinge of another color blended in. So needless to say neon bright white roses are definitely on the “to avoid list”. The same goes for unnaturally bright green box hedge leaves and for any other types of foliage.
• Stems and Branches | These are often a giveaway even if, say in a brunch of silk flowers, the flowers look real. That’s one reason succulents work so well.
• Shape | Perfection is rarely attained by even the most experienced and talented gardeners. Nature is perfectly imperfect, and “Despite the gardener’s best intentions, Nature will improvise.” Michael P. Garofalo. So variations in leaf size or natural-looking growth spurts are so much more preferable to cookie cutter flowers and leaves with a completely uniform shape.

Where to Place Artificial Out Door Plants

One way to add curb appeal to your whole property is to add an inviting splash of warmth and color to your front door with a wreath or other door hanging.

Not just for the holidays, wreaths can look stunning any time of the year, the one below is fabulous – and there’s certainly nothing that looks plastic and unnatural about it.

Artificial Outdoor Plants for a Front Door

Wreaths: Succulent Hoop Wreath by IdahoWreathMaiden

Molly also makes other styles which you can check out here.

Other Hanging Displays: Hanging metal bucket with faux succulents by AndSucculentsDesigns

Troughs and Planted Containers : Extra Large faux succulent arrangement centerpiece in black metal container by AndSucculentsDesigns

Artificial Plants for Hanging Baskets

Hanging baskets filled with cascading plants are a fabulous idea – in theory. In practice, they will dry up like the desert as soon as you take your eyes off them for a minute, and they have such a disappointingly short window before they start to look past their best.

Substitute real plants for the right artificial plants, and your hanging basket will be maintenance-free and look beautiful all year-round.

Below is our pick:

Artificial Plants for Hanging Baskets: All-Weather Leather Fern Bush 28″ Wide 7 Sprays of Lifelike Leaves Indoor Outdoor Use by FloralHomeOnline

This delicate and detailed fern is a stunning example of the high standard of plants Kathy sells in her shop. The fern looks like a standard size artificial house plant from the photos, but it’s large – a full 28 inches wide! It would be perfect for a planter or would make a fantastic display as a hanging basket.

Artificial Plants for Privacy and Screening

Artificial plant panels are both popular and useful for screening off unsightly areas of a yard or for providing privacy and shade. That being said, the market is saturated with cheaply made green plastic squares that bear zero resemblance to a natural plant and wouldn’t convince anyone!

We’ve picked one set, however, that knocks all the others out of the park!

Artificial Plants for Privacy and Screening: Artificial Boxwood Panels by FloralHomeOnline from Etsy

As you can see in the close-up below, the panels have lush, dense, foliage and replicate different lengths of growth. What’s more, they provide 98% shade!

Artificial Topiary Trees

There’s a world of difference between the artificial topiary trees we are going to show you in this section, and the ones you usually find out there.

A green mound of plastic on a stick is not going to do your outdoor space any favors nor will it convince anyone that it’s real – these artificial ornamental topiary trees are different.

Artificial Topiary Trees

Infused with an advanced UV inhibitor, to protect them from fading in the sun, these Buxus trees come with a 7″ wide by 5.9″ high pot – ready for you to sink straight into a pot of your own choice.

You can see the final effect in the photo below.

Three-Tiered Boxwood Topiary Trees: Two 56 Inch Outdoor Artificial Boxwood Double Ball Topiary Trees Potted Plants

Below is a close-up of the weather and UV-resistant dense green foliage of the two 56 inches outdoor artificial Boxwood trees we’ve featured above.

Cypress Topiary Trees: Two 4 Foot 3 Inch Artificial Cypress Spiral Topiary Trees by Silk tree Warehouse