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Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,216
Registered: ‎01-13-2012

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!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,000
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Plastic artificial plants

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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.   

Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,761
Registered: ‎03-15-2014

Re: Plastic artificial plants

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.  .  

Honored Contributor
Posts: 15,375
Registered: ‎05-01-2010

Re: Plastic artificial plants


@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!

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,886
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

Re: Plastic artificial plants

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.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,597
Registered: ‎09-15-2016

Re: Plastic artificial plants

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.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,839
Registered: ‎12-24-2010

Re: Plastic artificial plants

@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.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,761
Registered: ‎03-15-2014

Re: Plastic artificial plants


@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.

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,309
Registered: ‎12-01-2012

Re: Plastic artificial plants

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. 

 

 

 

 

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,839
Registered: ‎12-24-2010

Re: Plastic artificial plants

@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.................