Hanging artificial plant: where to hang it, and how to make it trail

A hanging artificial plant sits up high and lets its foliage trail down. Choose a small 19 cm potted plant for a shelf or a hanging planter. Take a long 75 to 80 cm plant, delivered as a stem, for the top of a wardrobe or a bookcase. It needs neither water nor light: it goes where the watering can does not reach.

What you receive

Our artificial trailing plants arrive in two forms.

• In a pot, ready to set down. These are the small 19 cm plants: ivy, tradescantia, pilea. The 85 cm ficus pumila in the large set also arrives in a pot, a black hanging pot.
• As a stem, with no pot or vase. These are the long 75 to 80 cm plants: ficus pumila, mini jasmine, eucalyptus. A stem slips into a vase.

No other hanging planter is included. The ivy's product page says so: its small format goes in a hanging planter, not included.

The small 19 cm trailing plants

They fit in one hand. Their leaves spill over the pot and trail a little.

The real tradescantia is a plant that creeps and trails. The extension service of North Carolina State University (NC State Extension) notes that it is often grown in hanging baskets, indoors. So an artificial tradescantia in a hanging planter looks at home.

Our set of 4 brings together four foliages, each in its own 9 cm diameter pot:

• a green and white tradescantia;
• a green and purple tradescantia;
• a green and white pilea;
• a green ivy.

The green ivy and the green and purple tradescantia are also sold individually. Their pot is included. Its size is not given on the product page: measure it before choosing a hanging planter. The hanging planter must be a little wider than the pot.

The long 75 to 80 cm trailing plants

They make a real cascade. Set on a 2 m wardrobe, an 80 cm plant comes down to about 1.20 m from the floor.

Three foliages are available:

• Ficus pumila, 80 cm: dense foliage, a full cascade.
• Mini jasmine, 80 cm: small, fine leaves, a light cascade. It has no flowers.
• Eucalyptus, 75 cm: round leaves in a soft green.

The real ficus pumila climbs walls with short roots, like ivy, according to NC State Extension. You can copy this habit: run one branch along the edge of a shelf, and let the others trail.

The set of 4 large trailing plants brings together these three foliages and an 85 cm ficus pumila in a pot. Mixing lengths and foliages gives a more natural look.

For the eucalyptus on its own, see our guide to the artificial eucalyptus.

The vase holds the cascade

A plant on a stem has no root ball. It goes into any vase. So the choice comes down to two points:

1. Weight. An 80 cm cascade leans to one side. A heavy vase holds it. A light vase can tip over.
2. The neck. A narrow neck holds the stem upright. In a wide vase, the stem slips and the cascade goes crooked.

Our “trailing plant and vase” set answers both points. It brings together a plant of your choice (eucalyptus, mini jasmine or ficus pumila) and a round green porcelain vase with a white pattern. The vase is 11.5 cm in diameter and 10.5 cm tall. Its narrow neck holds the stem, and its weight holds the cascade. It arrives in a single parcel.

The vase needs no water. The manufacturer intends it for dried flowers or decorative branches.

Where to hang it, where to set it

• The top of a wardrobe or a bookcase: the cascade softens the corner of the furniture.
• A high shelf: set the plant at the edge, so the foliage trails in front of the shelves below.
• A mantelpiece: only if the fireplace is not in use. The manufacturer does not say how the material reacts to heat.
• A ceiling hanger: with a small potted plant, or the potted ficus pumila from the large set.

For a ceiling hanger, the manufacturer does not give the weight of the plants. Weigh the plant and its pot when you receive it. Choose a hook suited to your ceiling, screwed into a wall plug designed for it.

Avoid two places:

• A walkway where people brush the leaves with their head or shoulder. The cascade loses its shape.
• Above a radiator. Heat rises, and the heat resistance of the material is not given.

To arrange a whole shelf, with real and artificial plants, read our guide to the plant shelf. A trailing plant also suits a bathroom with no window.

Making the cascade look natural

A trailing plant comes out of the box tightly packed. Its branches are flexible: shape them by hand.

1. Spread the stems where they leave the pot or vase, like a fan.
2. Give uneven lengths. A cascade where all the branches stop at the same height looks like a curtain.
3. Curve the tips of a few branches slightly outwards. Real foliage reaches for the light.
4. Leave a few branches lying flat on the furniture before they trail down.
5. Step back and look at the plant from below, as it will be seen in the room.

For a plant corner on three heights, the trailing plant plays the role of the top level. Our guide to the large artificial plant explains this arrangement.

Care

• Dust settles on the top of the leaves, especially up high. Wipe with a dry cloth from time to time.
• Water: none. Neither in the pot nor in the vase.

The whole range is on the artificial plants page.

In short

1. A small 19 cm potted plant goes on a shelf or in a hanging planter, bought separately.
2. A long 75 to 80 cm plant, on a stem, goes in a vase set on top of a piece of furniture.
3. Choose a heavy vase with a narrow neck: it holds the stem and the cascade.
4. Weigh the plant before hanging it from the ceiling, and avoid walkways and radiators.
5. Shape the branches by hand, at uneven lengths.

Sources

• Tradescantia zebrina, NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
• Ficus pumila, NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
• Hedera helix, NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
• Manufacturer data sheets for the artificial plants and the vase (lengths, presentation, pots, dimensions)