Artificial plants are a great addition when styling your home. While we would all prefer to have a live lemon tree growing in our living rooms, the logistics of keeping a plant alive indoors doesn’t always match up with reality. Fake plants are the next best thing to bring greenery into a dreary space. The Silk Tree Warehouse Artificial Silk Boston Fern is a fine wild accent that brings a sense of the outdoors into your home or space.
Design: Large, but it is missing a pot
When we first opened the slim box, we were surprised to see that the plant nearly exploded with volume. This plant is not for a tight space. End-to-end, this plant can take up a good chunk of a small room—it spans about 4 feet. We were also surprised to see that this product does not come with a pot or base, so keep that in mind when shopping. You will likely need a floral foam brick to keep the fern in place within the vase or pot that you get for it. We tried to stick it down into a pot without securing it at the base, which did not work well. It would lean to one side or fall out entirely. The pot will need to be large enough to balance out the volume of the branches. For a frame of reference, plan on the container being at least 8 inches in diameter or larger. At this size, it should not look minuscule in comparison.
Material: Flexible over time
The silk Boston fern is made out of a synthetic fabric material that seems to hold up well to styling. When playing with the branches, we were pretty rough moving them into place, and they didn’t rip or fray. The leaves looked manufactured up close and didn’t vary much, which takes away from the realism. The base and stems are plastic, which is expected, but there were a few bare stems in the center of the plant that looked unflattering. Styling the branches was more difficult than we expected. The plant’s volume was primarily horizontal, and upon trying to tame it, the branches didn’t obey our maneuvering. We left the plant in the same pot for a little over a week, and the branches did fall a bit, making it less wide. We do enjoy how wild the fern looks. It’s a nice change from your typical minimalist house plant. Beware of fading if stationing it by a window, the sun’s harsh rays might damage it.
Texture: Thin leaves, sturdy stems
Like many faux plants, the leaves on this silk Boston fern are very thin, almost paper-like. When we were first styling them, we were nervous they might rip, but the material held up nicely. The leaves themselves have a fabric-like feel, which I imagine will eventually collect dust. It doesn’t have a plastic sheen, but up close, each branch’s cookie-cutter shape doesn’t look realistic. The rouge-colored plastic stems are flimsy and unrealistic. We thought about cutting them off but feared that there would be a bald spot in the middle of the plant, so we left them. The 90 or so branches look quite wild. On its own, the plant looks nice, but its lush nature would also lend well to add texture and movement in a larger faux arrangement.
Cleaning: Easy
Like most all decor items, this faux fern will collect dust. While dusting each branch is an arduous task due to the sheer numbers of branches on this particular plant, wiping it with a soft dry cloth will keep it looking fresh.
Price: Doesn’t add up
For the price of this fern, which is about $50 to $70 online, we expected it to look more realistic. We would have liked fewer plastic strings and more attention to detail. From afar, the plant looks great and adds a fresh pop to any room, but it is clearly fake as you get closer. Since this plant does not come with a pot or a floral foam block, plan on those accessories’ added expense. This might not affect you if you are purchasing the plant to add into an existing arrangement, but if you are looking for the complete package, then the mounting add-on costs do not make this seem a cost-effective purchase. We wish it was more authentic-looking for the suggested price of this faux plant and came complete with the necessities.
Silk Tree Warehouse Artificial Silk Boston Fern Bush Plant vs. Nearly Natural Boston Fern Set
For the Silk Tree Warehouse fern price, you can get two Nearly Natural Boston Ferns that, in our opinion, look more realistic. The Nearly Natural Boston Ferns are a deep, sumptuous evergreen that looks organic as a real plant. It has the same rouge-colored bare plastic stems as the Silk Tree Warehouse model, but these are adorned with tiny “sprouts” that make them look seamless within the plant. The Silk Tree Warehouse option is larger, measuring 48 inches in width to Nearly Natural’s 40 inches, but the Nearly Natural seems the clear winner in value and realistic quality. The Silk Tree Warehouse Boston Fern is a nice home accent from a distance but, for the price, there are better options out there. If you are looking for a very large, untamed faux plant to accent an existing arrangement, we would recommend including it for texture but not as the centerpiece.
