DIY Faux Tree Topiary

7 Materials
$10
1 Hour
Easy

I've always been drawn to the faux topiary trees you see in boutiques and home decor stores. From my experience, they are always pretty expensive-- far more than I can justify for a faux tree. I decided to make my own faux tree topiary, and I think the results were just as good as the ones I see in stores for $50 plus. The entire project cost me less than $10, and it took well under an hour to complete!

The Finished Product

Done in under an hour for less than $10 (since I had many of the supplies on hand).


For this project, I chose to use an old crock that I had on hand. It has a crack going down the side, so this was the perfect use for it. If you don't have something antique on hand, you can always buy a terracotta pot or other type of planter.

Supply List:

  • Some type of planter
  • 1 stem greenery
  • Brown ribbon
  • Moss
  • Duck tape
  • Styrofoam
  • Dowel rod or stick

STEP 1

Cut your stick or dowel rod to the length you want. This all depends on the height of your planter and how tall you want your tree to be. For me, 11" was the perfect length.


Please note: If you don't want to buy a dowel rod, you could easily use a stick from outside. Just find one that is fairly straight, and you are good to go!

Before moving on to the next step, make sure you are pleased with the height of your tree. This would be the best time to cut a new "tree trunk" if need be!

STEP 2

Wrap the dowel rod together with the stem of the faux greenery with duck tape. You want this to be a very tightly wrapped tree trunk.

STEP 3

Cut a piece of styrofoam to fit tightly into your planter. You want the styrofoam to just barely fit. That will keep the tree sturdy. I put a dollop of hot glue on the bottom of the styrofoam piece before pushing it into the planter for extra stability.

STEP 4

Wrap the trunk of your tree in some sort of brown ribbon or jute. As you wrap the ribbon tightly around the stem, add hot glue to secure the ribbon. You want the ribbon to be tightly wrapped, but it is ok if it looks slightly bunched up as this adds to the tree trunk effect.

Wrapped and ready to be planted!

STEP 5

Insert the tree into the styrofoam and cover the foam with moss. I like to add bits of glue to the moss to keep it in place.

A Few Notes:

When buying your greenery, look for something that you could picture being at the top of a topiary or tree. You want something short and bushy rather than greenery with a lot of long separate branches.


The possibilities are endless with this project! You could really turn this into anything! You could make a small magnolia tree, lemon tree, olive tree, and so much more.


Follow me on Instagram @RenovationQueenLife for many more DIY's and tutorials like this one.

Resources for this project:
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