Outdoor Artificial Trees

Between 135cm and 180cm covers most courtyards. At 150cm a topiary spiral or fiddle leaf fig reads as a planted specimen without dominating, and at 180cm the olive tree or multi-trunk parlour palm becomes the focal point. The 2.1 metre cypress pine is usually reserved for a double-height entry or a tall boundary wall.

At close range the giveaway is uniformity, so the canopies here use RealTex tone and leaf variation rather than one repeated green. Multi-trunk forms such as the 180cm parlour palm help, because a single perfectly straight trunk is what reads as manufactured. Fake tree and artificial tree describe the same product; the construction is what separates one from another.

The specimen is rarely the problem, the planter is. For anything above about 1.5 metres in an exposed position, weight the base of the pot and set the tree against a wall or into a corner rather than free-standing on an open terrace. A 190cm potted palm in a light plastic planter on a windy rooftop is the case that needs attention.

Palms are the usual choice, and the phoenix palm at 135cm and 180cm, the cycas palm at 105cm and the areca palm at 50cm cover most poolside briefs at different scales. Splash and reflected heat are not an issue, and rinsing the fronds with fresh water occasionally keeps chlorine residue off them.

Trees give height and a single focal point, while a hedge gives a continuous horizontal screen. Portable greenery and discs covers troughed hedges from 25cm to 2 metres high for screening a boundary or a rail. A common pairing is a hedge run along the edge of a terrace with one 1.8 metre tree anchoring the corner.

It depends on the specimen and the title states it. Products listed as potted, such as the 190cm tropical phoenix palm or the 120cm topiary tree, arrive in their own planter. Others are supplied as the specimen alone so they can be dropped into a pot that matches an existing scheme.

The range runs from $39.95 for a 50cm areca palm to $499.95 for the 2.1 metre cypress pine. Most courtyard-scale specimens between 150cm and 180cm sit between $150 and $350, with topiary generally lower than the tall palms at the same height.

No watering, feeding or pruning, and no leaf drop into a pool or across paving. A hose rinse two or three times a year clears dust from the canopy. Clipped forms such as the topiary spiral and two-ball shrub hold their shape permanently, which is the part a live specimen would need trimming twice a year to keep.