Artificial or natural plant? How to choose room by room
A real plant where it can live, a fake plant where it would die. Light, absences, pets, allergies, budget: five questions to decide, room by room.
In this guide
Choose a real plant wherever it can live, and an artificial plant where it would die. So the question is asked room by room, not for the whole home. Five criteria decide: light, your absences, your pets, allergies and the budget over time.
We sell both: artificial plants, and living plants with our terrarium kits. So we have no reason to push you towards one or the other.
1. Light: the criterion that decides everything
A living plant needs natural light. Without it, the plant does not die in a week. It stretches, turns pale, then loses its leaves within a few months.
Do this simple test. At midday, stand at the spot planned for the plant. Can you read a book without switching on the lamp?
- Yes, easily: a real plant can live there.
- Yes, with difficulty: only a few very tolerant species will last, and they will grow little.
- No: no living plant will last. This is the place for an artificial plant.
Hallways, entrances with no window, corners far from the glass and bathrooms with no window fall in the third case. Our guide to the bathroom plant with no window covers this room in detail.
2. Your absences
A potted plant needs water at a rhythm that changes with the season. Our guide to watering houseplants explains how to find this rhythm.
If you often leave for more than two weeks, you have three solutions.
- An artificial plant: it needs no water and no light.
- A closed terrarium: it is a living thing that recycles its own water. Our guide to the closed terrarium with no upkeep explains what it really needs.
- A neighbour: the solution works as long as the neighbour is reliable.
A second home, an office closed in summer, a rented flat: the artificial plant is the logical choice there.
3. Pets
Several very common houseplants are toxic to cats and dogs when they chew them. The living monstera is on the list of toxic plants of the ASPCA, the American animal welfare association. So is the tulip, especially its bulb.
An artificial plant has no sap and no bulb. It is not a toy for all that: an animal should not chew or swallow synthetic material. If your cat nibbles everything green, place the plant up high, whether it is real or fake.
A large artificial monstera gives the look of the plant without its sap.
4. Allergies
Let us be careful: this guide does not replace medical advice.
Here is what can be said without risk of error. An artificial plant makes no pollen, and it has no damp potting soil. On the other hand, it holds dust like any decorative object. If you are sensitive to dust, dust it once a month with a dry cloth.
Another point of honesty: you often read that green plants clean the air in the home. We do not make this promise, neither for a real plant nor for a fake one. For the air in a room, the effective step is still to open the window.
5. The budget over time
At purchase, a well-made artificial plant often costs as much as a real one, sometimes more.
The difference comes afterwards. A real plant needs potting soil, a bigger pot as it grows, sometimes fertiliser. It can also die, and you replace it. An artificial plant needs only a cloth.
The sums are therefore simple. In a bright room, a well-cared-for real plant lives for years and grows: it gains value. In a dark room, you buy the same plant again every year: the artificial one works out cheaper.
What the fake plant will never do
It does not grow. It does not make a new leaf in spring. It teaches you nothing.
If you like watching a plant change, choose something living. A terrarium is a good way in: it is small, it asks for few actions, and it shows a full cycle behind the glass. Our guide to the terrarium for beginners shows you where to start, and our kits to assemble hold everything you need.
Mixing the two: the method
This is the most believable result. The eye sees real plants near the window. It does not doubt the ones at the back.
- Real plants near the glass. They have the light, and you water them with no effort.
- Artificial ones in dark corners. A large specimen on the floor, in a corner where nothing grows.
- Artificial ones up high. The top of a wardrobe or a bookcase is hard to water. A trailing artificial plant belongs there.
- The same cache-pots for all. Pots from the same family tie the whole together.
Our "Urban Jungle" L set contains five artificial plants from 25 to 120 cm, from the large floor plant to the small shelf plant. It covers points 2 and 3 in one go.
For fake plants to stand comparison with real ones, read our 7 signs of a realistic artificial plant.
In summary
| Situation | Our advice |
|---|---|
| Bright room, you are present | Living plant |
| Bright room, long absences | Closed terrarium or artificial plant |
| Dark room or room with no window | Artificial plant |
| Pet that chews plants | Plant out of reach, real or fake |
| Top of a wardrobe, high shelf | Artificial plant |
All our plants are on the artificial plants page.
Sources
- Cutleaf Philodendron (Monstera deliciosa), toxic plants list, ASPCA
- Tulip, toxic plants list, ASPCA
- Best bathroom plants, Royal Horticultural Society
- Technical data sheets from the maker of the artificial plants (heights, care)
Frequently asked questions
Is a fake plant a good choice for indoors?
Yes, in a room where a real plant cannot live: a dark room, a hallway, a home that is often empty. In a bright room where you are present, a living plant is still the best choice.
Can I mix real and fake plants?
Yes, and it is the most believable mix. Put the real plants near the windows. Put the artificial ones in dark corners and up high, where watering is difficult.
Is an artificial plant safe for a cat?
It has no toxic sap, unlike a real monstera. But an animal should not chew synthetic material. Place the plant out of reach if your pet has that habit.
Does an artificial plant cost less than a real one?
At purchase, not always. Over time, it needs no potting soil, no fertiliser and no replacement. The sums work out above all where a real plant would die and be bought again.
