topic Re: Plastic artificial plants in Home

Plastic artificial plants

bargainsgirl — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 14:59:07 GMT

What's up with all the fake plastic plants lately, especially today? Personally they are ugly. Secondly they are only more pieces of trash that will end up in the landfill eventually. What is so hard about planting real things that are actually good for the earth because they will biodegrade when they die. So much for Going Green!

Re: Plastic artificial plants

depglass — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 15:12:31 GMT

We bought a cottage with plastic plants all over the place. They had them hanging from chains on the ceiling, in all windows and baskets full in cut outs between the rooms. The very first thing I did was strip the house completely, I ended up with 6 black trash bags full of these plants and other tasteless gew gaws. No wonder the place took so long to sell. And I forgot the air fresheners, every room had its own distinct scent.

Re: Plastic artificial plants

ValuSkr — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 15:14:07 GMT

Fake plants inside are one thing, but outside they're beyond the pale. For years,, I had neighbors that kept an artificial ficus tree on their deck year-round, winter and summer. During their tenure, and for years afterward, I kept coming across silk ficus leaves and tree bits in my gardens; they had blown off this abomination. It's litter and shouldn't be encouraged by Q (or anyone else).

Fake plants inside aren't my thing either but I get it - some people enjoy the look of plants but can't care for them. .

Re: Plastic artificial plants

proudlyfromNJ — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 15:16:06 GMT

@bargainsgirl wrote:
What's up with all the fake plastic plants lately, especially today? Personally they are ugly. Secondly they are only more pieces of trash that will end up in the landfill eventually. What is so hard about planting real things that are actually good for the earth because they will biodegrade when they die. So much for Going Green!

@bargainsgirl Mine aren't plastic but some type of silk which I am able to use outside on the patio. Red Geraniums. The reason I don't buy real ones? Spent maybe one hundred dollars on plants, plant them in my containers and wake up the next morning to the plants being chomped down to the dirt. The deer strike again!

Re: Plastic artificial plants

Another new name Sue — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 15:22:47 GMT

Not everyone can garden, but some plants like sanseveria and pothos are easy to keep. I totally agree with you about the plastic waste. This really has to stop.

Re: Plastic artificial plants

kitcat51 — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 15:49:59 GMT

I have plastic bushes in my front yard & around my foundation because 100's of deer move through my property everyday & mow all landscape plants to the ground...they provide color & don't have to be replaced saving me money & aggravation. Worried about plastic..let's start with baby & adult diapers & toddlers pull-ups, they are a huge problem worldwide.

Re: Plastic artificial plants

fthunt — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 16:27:28 GMT

@kitcat51 Good point.............lots of worse things going to landfill besides a few plastic decorations. I had a small fake cedar tree where the sun never shines - North side shaded by house - a deer took several bite.........and left.

If I need garden help..............I'll buy outside ones made of silk.

Re: Plastic artificial plants

ValuSkr — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 16:59:09 GMT

@fthunt wrote:
@kitcat51 Good point.............lots of worse things going to landfill besides a few plastic decorations. I had a small fake cedar tree where the sun never shines - North side shaded by house - a deer took several bite.........and left.

If I need garden help..............I'll buy outside ones made of silk.

There are deer-resistant real plants. And repellents you can apply to those that aren't.

The environmental issues associated with plastic plants concern me less than the lack of consideration for your neighbors. And the fact that many of them clearly look fake.

Re: Plastic artificial plants

GrailSeeker — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 17:07:31 GMT

I've noticed the trend for artificial plants lately on YouTube channels that show "my apartment" tours. Usually they say that they bought the plastic plants from IKEA, so that makes it cool - teeny tiny aloe plants or blooming cacti. Now I am seeing little plastic plants such as these at Dollar General or Walmart for a dollar or so.

I'm usually tipped off that the plant is artificial because no way would a plant thrive hanging in a dark corner, or on a shelf over the bed, or in a bookcase. Watering and the need for sunlight preclude having a live plant in any of those locations.

These things are just brick-a-brack for decor and do not reflect any love of plants or the joy that comes from tending a living thing and watching it grow and thrive.

I've often described artificial plants as akin to stuffed animals. There is no comparison between them and an actual living thing.

Re: Plastic artificial plants

fthunt — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 17:09:15 GMT

@ValuSkr Neighbors........how did THEY get to be a focal point in this subject?

Actually......I bought and hung a flowering fake silk plant one year - and - my neighbors complimented on how beautiful it was.

When I told both of them........ it was fake......they COULD NOT BELIEVE it. Both ladies had to walk over and touch it..to believe it.

Don't worry about my neighbors.................

Re: Plastic artificial plants

ValuSkr — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 17:12:13 GMT

@fthunt Parts of the fake plants come off during wind storms and litter the neighbors' gardens and yards. Maybe your neighbors didn't care.

Re: Plastic artificial plants

Lali1 — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 17:16:07 GMT

@ValuSkr wrote:
Fake plants inside are one thing, but outside they're beyond the pale. For years,, I had neighbors that kept an artificial ficus tree on their deck year-round, winter and summer. During their tenure, and for years afterward, I kept coming across silk ficus leaves and tree bits in my gardens; they had blown off this abomination. It's litter and shouldn't be encouraged by Q (or anyone else).

Fake plants inside aren't my thing either but I get it - some people enjoy the look of plants but can't care for them. .

Outside fake plants should be outlawed 😂Just kidding but it just seems so wrong. I'm a plant lover and have no fake plants. I do kinda want a fake Fiddle Leaf because my real one won't grow.

Re: Plastic artificial plants

proudlyfromNJ — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 17:21:47 GMT

I didn't realize how upset people get with neighbors who use fake flowers. I wonder if my neighbors feel the same although they can't really see in my yard. I'll think about not using them anymore. As I posted, can't use real ones because of the deer. I guess not many people here live with a deer population.

Re: Plastic artificial plants

cookie16 — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 17:39:34 GMT

Living in NW NJ, there are very few flowering plants that I have found that the deer won't eat. They have decimated my yard this winter even eating holly, rhododendron, and pine needles off our pine trees. In the Spring/Summer, I spray many different deer-off products to no avail. I planted astilbe which is touted as deer resistant, and No, it isn't. We have fenced in our landscape plants and they broke the fence. If they want it, they will reach it. If artificial flowers help give some color to your yard, I say go for it.

Re: Plastic artificial plants

Desertdi — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 20:21:14 GMT

When it's 115° with 5% humidity......FAKE is the only thing that survives

Re: Plastic artificial plants

NickNack — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 20:55:43 GMT

My neighbor across the street has three fake plants hanging on her porch year round. This winter one of them tilted over, and it's still hanging there. I don't like to look at them.

Re: Plastic artificial plants

Mominohio — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 21:46:45 GMT

Fake has it's place.

The TSV today looks like junk to me. The old Bethlehem lights hanging baskets were really well done, and more of a fabric kind of leaf and flower, lasted for years even outdoors.

The fake shrubbery that Q was selling last year, did a great job for us. My mom is 85 and can't maintain all her beds anymore, especially trees and bushes that need trimmed etc.

We bought these and had them planted. They have held up well, and as close as two feet, look real. She lives well off the road, and much of her landscaped areas are not accessed by people coming and going, and no one has figured out they are fake. It has made life so much easier physically and financially on us. We mix some colorful flowering annuals in the beds and it looks beautiful. Even the landscapers that came to plant the "bushes" had no idea they were fake till they picked them up to move them into place for planting.

Re: Plastic artificial plants

Spurt — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 22:53:41 GMT

I've seen fake plants well done and then I've seen some that are laughable ...

Re: Plastic artificial plants

LdyBugz — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 23:53:34 GMT

I would much rather see someone attempting to beautify their yard with plastic or silk plants than doing nothing at all. Some people simply do not have the means, ability or desire to do landscaping that meets a neighbor's tastes and standards.

This post makes me think of an older, small home on the main drag in my town, just past the high school. The house sits at an intersection with a traffic light. While waiting for the light to turn green, I noticed there were two tulip plants, one red and one yellow. Each was adjacent to the other at the start of the little walkway that leads to the front porch. It was late fall when I noticed these tulips since they were clearly out of season and artificial.

Those two tulip plants were there all year long for several years. On a couple of occassions, I saw a very small, elderly woman tending to her little garden while holding on to her cane. It melted my heart to see her taking such pride and enjoying her special treasures. I could never belittle someone like this dear woman. As the saying goes, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

Re: Plastic artificial plants

PA Mom-mom — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 00:01:09 GMT

@Mominohio I have two BL hanging baskets in the front of my house, and they are still looking great! I have added a few stems over the years, but the originals have not faded, and the lights still work. I can't put any hanging baskets in those locations because of the sun and heat.