Large artificial plant: which height to choose, and how to set it up

For a standard 2.50 m ceiling, choose a large artificial plant of 120 to 180 cm. It must rise at least 30 cm above the nearby furniture, and leave at least 50 cm of free space below the ceiling. Between these two limits, the plant looks right where it is.

Here is how to measure, how to set it up so that it stands upright, and how to combine several.

1. Measure two things before you choose

The ceiling

A plant that almost touches the ceiling crushes the room. Keep some air above it.

These are our guidelines, not a standard. They start from a simple idea: the plant takes up between half and three quarters of the height of the room.

The nearby furniture

A large plant is rarely placed alone in the middle of a wall. It lives next to a sofa, a sideboard, an armchair.

• Next to a sofa (back at 80 or 90 cm): 120 cm at least.
• Next to a sideboard or a chest of drawers (90 to 100 cm): 130 cm at least.
• Next to a tall bookcase: the plant does not need to rise above it. Aim for two thirds of its height.

Include the cache-pot in your sums. A tall cache-pot, or one set on a stand, adds 10 to 30 cm.

2. Bushy plant or tree: two silhouettes

The words "large plant" cover two shapes.

• The bushy plant, leafy from bottom to top: monstera, palm, strelitzia. It fills a corner.
• The indoor tree, with a bare trunk and a leafy head: ficus, olive tree. It lets you see the wall and the furniture behind it. It suits small rooms.

The monstera is one of the bushy plants. Living, it climbs, and it is tied to a support pole as it grows. An artificial monstera mounted on a pole takes up this look.

Our artificial monstera is 120 cm tall. It is mounted on a pole. It is the right size next to a sofa, under a 2.50 m ceiling.

3. Weigh down and hide the pot

A large artificial plant is light. Its material weighs little, and its pot is not filled with wet soil. A child, a dog or a vacuum cleaner can make it tip.

The solution comes down to four steps.

1. Measure the pot. The product page usually gives its diameter. If it does not, measure it on delivery.
2. Choose a cache-pot 3 to 5 cm wider, and heavy. Ceramic and terracotta are fine. A soft basket is not enough on its own.
3. Wedge it. Place the pot in the centre of the cache-pot. Fill the space around it with gravel or sand, up to the rim of the pot.
4. Cover the surface. A layer of bark, clay pebbles or dried moss hides the pot and the wedging.

The result: the plant stands upright, and it looks like a plant in soil.

A potted plant means checking the diameter of the cache-pot. A plant supplied as a stem is simpler: it goes in any vase.

4. Open the leaves

Our product pages state it: the leaves arrive folded, and you open them by hand after unpacking.

Do not skip this step. Start at the bottom and work up. Spread each stem away from the pole. Turn the leaves in several directions, some of them towards the window. Step back three metres, look, and correct.

The other details that matter are in our 7 signs of a realistic artificial plant.

5. Composing an urban jungle corner

The "urban jungle" is a style: many green plants, grouped, at several heights. A single large plant makes an accent. A group makes an atmosphere.

The rule of three levels

• The high level, on the floor: a plant of 90 to 150 cm, in the corner.
• The middle level, on a low piece of furniture: a plant of 30 to 50 cm, on a stool, a side table or a bench.
• The low or trailing level: a small plant on a shelf, or a trailing plant set up high, which falls towards the others.

Three plants are enough for a corner. Five fill a stretch of wall.

Three composition tips

• Group them. Five plants spread over five corners make five small patches. Five plants in the same corner make a jungle.
• Vary the leaves. One large cut leaf, one fine palm frond, one small round leaf. The contrast gives the effect of nature.
• Unify the pots. The same tones for all the cache-pots. The variety comes from the plants, not the containers.

Our "Urban Jungle" L set follows this rule. It contains five artificial plants:

• a 120 cm monstera on a pole, in a pot of 13 cm in diameter;
• a 90 cm Phoenix palm, in a pot of 11 cm;
• an 80 cm trailing ficus pumila, as a stem;
• a 40 cm monstera, in a pot of 9 cm;
• a 25 cm pilea, in a pot of 11 cm.

The potted plants are delivered in a black pot. The trailing ficus, as a stem, is placed up high or slipped into a vase.

Where not to put a large artificial plant

• In a walkway. Leaves that are brushed against lose their shape, and the plant ends up falling.
• Against a radiator. The maker does not say how the material reacts to strong heat.
• Outdoors. Our product pages state indoor use. Nothing is promised for sun or for rain.

And real plants?

In a bright corner, near a window, a real large plant can live and grow. The artificial one takes over in the dark corner, where the real one would lose its leaves. Our guide to artificial or natural plant helps you decide for each room.

All our plants are on the artificial plants page.

Sources

• Technical data sheets from the maker of the artificial plants (heights, pot diameters, presentation, care)