The Best Artificial Flowers (2022)

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Flowers have the magical power to brighten up any dull space — looking out your window during spring is clear proof on its own. They can say ‘I love you,’ ‘Get well soon’ and ‘I care about you’ without words. They bring inspiration and energy to office spaces, tie together a wedding venue, and are the perfect centerpiece for a dining room table. The only problem is that they don’t last long. Water turns murky, petals wilt and they need to be replaced regularly, meaning they can quickly become very costly.

Low-quality artificial flowers can look tacky, but when you know how to select and arrange matching styles you can save yourself a lot of time and money by investing in a long-lasting, non-wilting, always-vibrant centerpiece for any occasion. If you haven’t yet mastered the art of artificial, this guide is just for you. We hand-picked the best artificial flowers of 2022 based on quality, style, and diverse applications. As a bonus, we’ll give you some expert tips to make every arrangement a masterful showpiece.

Top Picks

Best overall: Ling’s Moment Artificial Flowers

Our top choice is this elegant box set of silk flowers ready to be arranged into centerpieces, bouquets, table décor, and home or office arrangements. We love how realistic-looking these handmade flowers are and that the box set includes a variety of blooms that pair well together. Ling’s Moment offers a range of ensembles in differing shades and flower types, including sunflowers, dahlias, fully blooming and semi-open peonies, roses, buttercups, berry branches, and leaves. With long stems, there is plenty of flexibility to use them in a vase arrangement or to trim them for use on cakes or as boutonnieres.

Key Features:

• Quantity: 30 pieces

• Style: Available in 24 color and flower combinations

• Use: Suitable for indoor arrangements

• Material: Silk and willow

• Length: About eight inches

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Best for outdoor use: CEWOR Artificial Flowers

Perfect for use in an outdoor setting, this option comes with several types of faux flowers, all of which have flexible branches or stems so you can fluff them out to your precise standards. Although they are best kept in shady areas, they are UV and water-resistant so shouldn’t fade or be damaged by the elements. This allows you to arrange them in outdoor flower pots, on a balcony, patio table, windowsill, or in between other shrubs in the garden. Their long stems also make them suitable for vase arrangements and hanging planters. If you want to add a small pop of color to your space, these little blooms are sure to brighten it up.

Key Features:

• Quantity: Nine pieces in total, three of each style

• Style: Yellow daffodils, purple boxwood shrubs, and green shrubs

• Use: Suitable for both indoor and outdoor use

• Material: UV resistant plastic

• Length: 11.8 to 15.7 inches

Best tulips: Mandy’s Artificial Flowers

This graceful bunch of tulips can be used for anything from desk arrangements and cake décor to table centerpieces and wedding bouquets. Each flower has an individual stem so you can break up the bunch or keep them all together, depending on the size of your arrangement. The stems are also flexible and easy to cut if needed. With a large variety of colors to choose from, you can liven up your space with bright pops of color or choose softer shades for an elegant and classy touch.

Key Features:

• Quantity: 20 pieces

• Style: Tulips in 30 color options

• Use: Suitable for indoor use

• Material: Soft polyurethane and plastic

• Length: 13.5 inches

Best table decor: Floroom Artificial Flowers

Floroom offers a large set of beautiful roses ideal for decorating tables and gifts. The roses come in a variety of colors, some of which are very realistic while others are more fantastical. This allows for a little whimsy in your designs and gives you the opportunity to make themed displays for almost any color scheme. We don’t recommend the inauthentic colors for office displays, but black roses for an evening party or blue for an ocean theme can bring a lot of character to your setup. The flexible wire stems can be easily trimmed, bent or removed. This allows you to use the flowers as napkin rings, cake décor, gift toppers, in vases, or laid flat on a table as decorative accents.

Key Features:

• Quantity: Includes 25 flowers and eight leaves

• Style: Roses in 54 colors

• Use: Suitable for indoor use

• Material: High-quality polyethylene foam

• Length: Eight inches

Best hydrangea: Flojery Artificial Flowers

Hydrangeas are really like little bunches of flowers within themselves, making them ideal for table arrangements, vases, and even wreaths. Flojery offers this set of hydrangeas in a variety of bright and elegant colors. The stems are detachable which means loads of flexibility when it comes to changing up your arrangement or table décor. Although they may arrive slightly squashed due to shipping, simply fluff them with a hairdryer or adjust the small branches by hand to achieve their natural open look. Keep in mind that if placed outdoors the colors will fade fairly quickly in the sun.

Key Features:

• Quantity: Includes 10 flowers and 10 detachable stems

• Style: Hydrangeas in 20 colors

• Use: Suitable for indoor use

• Material: Faux silk and wired plastic

• Length: Nine inches

Buyer’s guide for finding high-quality artificial flowers

Although nothing can perfectly match the intricate, imperfect details and cheerful elegance of real flowers, high-quality faux flowers certainly come close. The latest designs look incredibly authentic and don’t wilt or need watering. You also don’t need to worry about pests or bugs. When choosing the best artificial flowers, consider the following details to make sure they are well-suited for your requirements.

1. Material

Artificial flowers are generally made from plastic, silk, or faux silk. While silk flowers look very authentic, plastic designs can also come pretty close to their real-life counterparts. Silk and plastic designs allow you some flexibility to adjust the curvature and positioning of leaves, branches, and petals. Faux silk can also achieve a similar and nearly indistinguishable look while potentially costing less.

While you can get away with using artificial flowers that look…well…artificial, those used in highly visible table decorations, gift wrapping décor, store displays, or vases should always look realistic. Having said that, artificial flowers can still look obviously artificial without looking tacky. Avoid glossy leaves, stems, and petals, and skip additions like fake rain droplets.

Choose petals and leaves that reflect natural color gradation, textures, and simulated leaf veins. Good quality silk or plastic flowers often include realistic imperfections such as leaves with partially dried edges. When buying flower arrangements for offices, weddings, or gardens, make sure you are familiar with the intricacies of the real plant. This will allow you to compare the details in the petals, stems, and leaves to pick the most realistic-looking option.

2. Outdoor flowers

If you’re planning on keeping the artificial flowers in a pot or planter on a patio, balcony, near the pool, or in the garden, they need to be specifically made for outdoor use and UV resistant. Flowers that are not intended to be exposed to the elements will fade quickly and may break or tear when exposed to wind, rain, frost, or snow.

3. Size and accessories

The size of the artificial flowers should be realistic and suitably chosen for the vases or planters you will be arranging them in. Some flowers come with accessories such as pots, pebbles, or moss. If your flowers are going into planters, then adding these elements can make them look more authentic.

4. Symmetry

Artificial flowers that are perfectly symmetrical look unrealistic. If the faux flowers don’t have different leaf thickness and sizes, consider removing or repositioning leaves and stems for a more natural look.

Artificial flower décor tips

Water

A clear giveaway that a flower bouquet is fake is when it’s placed in a glass vase without water. There are two ways to solve this. The easy way, and a more flexible approach, is to place the blooms in a non-transparent vase. This way you can’t tell whether or not there is water inside and you can easily swap out vases when you feel like something different.

The second option is a more permanent solution, which may be a good choice for an office or reception area. Acrylic water is a resin that sets to look just like water, except that it turns solid and keeps the flowers in place. It’s generally available from a hardware store and brings incredible authenticity to a flower display. The great thing about acrylic water is that it never spills or leaves watermarks on varnished furniture. You will have to be careful with air bubbles and dust when putting your display together. Make sure the faux flowers are positioned exactly as you want them since you won’t be able to make changes once it’s set.

Improved realism

There are a few more things you can do to up the authenticity of artificial flower displays. To make overly glossy plastic plants look more realistic, use a matte sealer to lightly spray them. You can also mix up real and artificial arrangements or planters. This works well if you have gaps to fill between greenery on a balcony, patio, or around a garden.

Don’t forget that artificial flowers can also look stylish in hanging planters when correctly selected. This is a great option in tight spaces.

It sounds a little strange but you should also fluff your plants occasionally. Spread out the branches and leaves, especially if your flowers have adjustable stems, to help them maintain a naturally full look.

People also asked

Q: Should I clean my artificial flowers?

A: Since your flowers will be displayed for a long time, you’ll need to clean them occasionally to avoid dust accumulation. Depending on the size of the flowers and leaves, run a small feather duster over them or use a paintbrush to sweep off dust. If that doesn’t effectively remove dust or dirt, wipe the petals and leaves with a damp cloth.

Q: Are ‘real touch’ flowers made from silk?

A: Real touch flowers are not silk. They are made from a latex-type polymer with a very realistic feel and appearance.

Q: How can I prevent my outdoor artificial flowers from fading?

A: It is best to buy artificial flowers specifically manufactured for outdoor use since they’re designed to endure exposure to the elements. Using UV-resistant spray on your flowers will also help them last longer by preventing fading in the sun.

Before applying the spray make sure your flowers are completely clean and dry. Place the flowers on a newspaper to prevent the spray from getting on other surfaces and then apply the UV-resistant solution.

Q: How do I choose the best artificial rose arrangement?

A: When choosing roses, go for a mixture of open and closed buds. Having a few closed buds between flowers that are in full bloom brings a bit of variation to the display without looking mismatched. Roses are versatile and pair well with different types of containers from long transparent vases to short box-type displays. They come in a wide variety of colors which means you have plenty of room to play around with artificial shades. Keep in mind that white and other very light shades may show dust quickly if not kept in a low dust area or cleaned frequently.

Q: How can I make an artificial orchid display look real?

A: Orchids can come in a classic single-stem display or fuller arrangement. If you choose a single-stem display, the color is an important consideration. Bright pink or purple orchids can add a beautiful pop of color to a neutral space. Classic white orchids are also very popular and provide an elegant touch to any area, from a bedroom to an office or kitchen.

Real single or dual-stem orchids are usually displayed inside a tall, wide vase or in a short pot with the stem extending upward. They often have a moss-type covering around the bottom, so adding some artificial moss around the base of the faux plant can make it look more authentic. If you are keeping it in a vase, it should look like it is potted with moss or a little soil as opposed to being filled with water.