As much as I would love to keep a real tree alive in my living room, I have unfortunately tried and failed at doing so too many times. I’m now a faux plant convert. While not all fake plants are created equal, some excellent ones are on the market these days. So if you do a bit of digging, you’ll be able to score a pretty convincing design. And trust me: You’re going to love their no-maintenance lifestyle, especially if you’re busy and like to travel.

Over the years, I’ve purchased many of my fake plants from stores like Target, HomeGoods, and Marshalls. Recently, I found this gem on the Marshalls website: the Verdecor Simlax Tree. At five feet tall, the faux tree, which is meant to look like something in the Smilax or greenbrier family, adds a welcome pop of green to the corner beside my sofa, where it also somewhat helps to hide my window A/C unit. The leaves and stem both appear super-realistic in comparison to those plastic-looking trees that give fakes a bad rap.

I opted to place this tree inside a massive ceramic pot that I was lucky enough to find on Facebook Marketplace several years back while living in Washington, DC. It’s truly the perfect vessel — it’s such a statement maker and adds a touch of rough-hewn texture to my space. (One quick note with pots and planters for real and fake indoor trees alike: Going the secondhand route is ideal when shopping for something of this size, as these pieces can cost a pretty penny. If you’re not having luck on Facebook Marketplace, go to a local vintage store or flea market to scope out their planter selection.) 

While I could’ve simply placed this tree in my vessel and called it a day, I wanted to take a key step to make sure that my plant would look a little more realistic. I purchased some bags of moss from Amazon (I ordered four, due to the large size of my pot) and artfully scattered it over the base of the fake tree so that the plant pot it comes with isn’t visible. 

Adding moss to a planter makes a major difference in a fake tree’s appearance. For one, it helps cover any fake dirt or gravel that may be present, acting as a dead giveaway of the plant’s phoniness. Secondly, this material adds a lifelike touch to any setup, even though this particular moss is considered “faux.” Note that the process of moss arranging can be a little messy, as the moss does break a bit while you’re trying to place it around the base of the tree. It’s doable, though, with a little bit of patience, and you might be able to get away with only ordering a bag or two if you really take your time working to spread it carefully. 

I could certainly fill the entire plant pot with moss rather than just going halfway, but once again, because I’m working with such an oversized vessel, doing so would have required several additional bags of moss. So I opted for a more cost-effective route. If you’re working with a smaller plant pot, though, by all means, go big! And if you don’t want to order from Amazon, preserved moss can be found at most craft stores.