Faux Trees for the Bedroom

A bedroom asks less of a plant than a living room does. There is usually less floor, less light and less blank wall, so the pieces that work are the smaller and softer ones: a four to six foot olive or ficus beside a dresser, a bamboo or dracaena in the narrow gap next to a window, a fern or a low bonsai on a chest of drawers. This is a hand-picked selection rather than a size filter.

What size faux tree works in a bedroom?

Three to six feet suits most Canadian bedrooms. Much taller than that and the canopy starts to loom over the bed, which is the one room where a tree can genuinely feel oppressive rather than generous. Four to five feet in the corner opposite the bed, or beside a dresser, reads as furniture. Measure the spread as well as the height and keep the canopy clear of the path between the door and the bed, because a branch you brush past in the dark is a branch you will eventually break.

Which faux plants suit a bedroom?

Quiet ones. Olive, ficus benjamina, rubber tree and fig give a soft matte green that does not demand attention. Bamboo and dracaena grow upward rather than outward, so they take a narrow gap beside a window. Boston fern, staghorn fern and small bonsai belong on a surface rather than the floor. Where you want a little colour without committing to a whole flowering tree, a draped jasmine or a potted hydrangea does it at a smaller scale. The bigger statement species are better placed near the front door (see faux plants for entryways), and the larger floor trees are in faux trees for the living room.

How do you look after a faux plant?

Treat it like any other piece of furniture. Dust every few weeks with a dry microfibre cloth, working from the top of the canopy down, or blow it out with a can of compressed air held about a foot back, which is much faster on dense foliage and fern fronds. Keep indoor pieces out of continuous direct sun through a south-facing window, since sustained UV fades pigment over years unless the piece is one of the UV resistant ones. Store it standing upright with the canopy supported, never on its side. It needs no light and no water.

Frequently asked questions

Do faux plants in a bedroom trigger allergies or affect air quality?

No. Faux foliage produces no pollen, so it will not trigger a pollen allergy the way some live flowering plants can, and it needs no soil, which is where mould and fungus gnats usually come from with real houseplants. That makes it a straightforward choice for a bedroom, where those are more noticeable at close range overnight than in a living room. It is not an air purifier and does not affect air quality either way; its only job is how the room looks.

Will a faux tree work in a windowless or north-facing bedroom?

This is where faux genuinely outperforms real. A living olive, ficus or fig needs bright, fairly direct light to hold its shape and will thin out or drop leaves in a dim room within a season. A faux version of the same species keeps its exact form and colour regardless of how much light the room gets, which makes it one of the few practical ways to have a convincing tree in a north-facing or windowless bedroom at all.

Does a faux tree for the bedroom come with a planter, or do I need my own?

Some of the smaller potted pieces, like a tabletop bonsai or a fern in a nursery pot, arrive ready to place as-is. Larger floor trees more often ship in a plain nursery pot meant to sit inside a planter you choose, since a bedroom planter tends to be smaller and quieter than one for an entryway or living room. Check the individual product details for what is included before assuming a decorative pot comes with it.

How much assembly is needed when a faux bedroom tree arrives?

Most floor trees ship with the trunk built and the branches folded flat for the box, so you separate and shape them into a natural silhouette once it is unpacked, which takes a few minutes for a smaller bedroom-scale piece. Tabletop pieces like a bonsai or a fern are usually ready to place straight away. No tools are needed either way. Our unboxing and shaping guide covers the branch-shaping technique.

Is the height listed the finished height once potted and standing?

Yes, the height stated is the finished height as the piece will stand in the room, from the base of its pot to the top of the foliage, unless a listing says trunk-only. In a bedroom that figure matters for keeping the canopy clear of the path to the bed, since natural variation between units can shift it by an inch or two. If you are placing a piece in a tight gap, treat the listed height as a maximum.