Artificial Maple Trees

Artificial maple trees hold autumn colour permanently: the reds, ambers and coppers a living maple shows for perhaps three weeks a year. Faux maples are bought by restaurants, event stylists and designers who want a seasonal palette on a permanent basis, and by anyone furnishing a room that needs warmth rather than more green.

Do artificial maple leaves fade?

Indoors, no. There is nothing to fade against, and a red maple in a hallway changes very little from year to year. Outdoors is a different question, and it is the one to ask before buying: reds and oranges are among the least light-stable pigments, so unstabilised foliage in direct sun drifts toward pink and then toward a washed-out tan long before a green tree would show any change at all. If the tree is going anywhere sunlit, start from UV Resistant & Outdoor Safe.

Red or green: which artificial maple should you choose?

Red and burgundy Japanese maples are the dramatic choice and dominate the category, but they are also a serious colour commitment: a 7 ft red maple becomes the loudest object in most rooms. Green-leafed and variegated maples are far easier to live with and read as a generic broadleaf tree, which suits a neutral scheme better. A good compromise is a smaller red specimen, 3 to 4 ft on a console, which delivers the colour without the dominance. Related: Japanese-Inspired and Flowering Trees.

How to choose the right size

Maples spread wide relative to their height, so measure the floor and not only the ceiling. A 6 ft maple typically wants about 1.2 m of clear diameter: more than a palm or a cypress of the same height, and enough to rule it out of a corridor. In a standard 8 ft room, 5 to 6 ft is the practical maximum. Above 8 ft a maple becomes a genuinely large object, best placed where it can be seen from a distance: a stairwell, a mezzanine or an open restaurant floor. Sculpted miniature versions sit in Artificial Bonsai Trees.

Frequently asked questions

How do we clean an artificial maple?

Dust with a soft brush or a vacuum on low suction, working through the canopy rather than only across the top, since maple foliage is dense and layered. A cool hairdryer clears dust from clusters a brush can't reach without disturbing the leaf colour. Because red and burgundy foliage shows dust more visibly against the dark tone than green foliage does, a maple in this colourway may need a slightly more frequent pass. Full method: how to clean artificial trees and plants.

Can an artificial maple handle a Canadian winter outdoors?

Cold is not generally the limiting factor for a piece listed for outdoor placement: snow load and wind on a broad canopy matter more, and a maple's wide spread catches both. Only specific products in this range list outdoor placement; check the individual product page rather than assuming. Where a maple is outdoors, clear heavy snow from the canopy after a storm and weight the base against wind, the same as for any broad-canopy outdoor tree. See artificial plants outdoors in a Canadian winter.

Does a maple tree arrive assembled?

No, not fully. Maples ship with the trunk in one or more sections and the branch clusters separate, then need slotting together and fanning out by hand, since a fully assembled wide-canopy tree isn't practical to box or carry. Expect some creasing in the leaves from shipping compression, which a cool hairdryer or gentle hand-fanning generally resolves. See our unboxing and shaping guide for the general process.

Does a maple tree come with a planter?

Check the individual product page. This collection includes both tree-only and planter-included options, and it isn't consistent across every size. Because maple's wide canopy needs a stable, weighted base more than a slender species like cypress or bamboo does, if you're sourcing a planter separately, choose one built to carry real weight rather than a purely decorative pot, particularly at 6 ft and above.

How does shipping work for a wide-canopy tree like maple?

Maple ships boxed by height, generally in one or more long parcels for the trunk and branch sections. Because the canopy is wide relative to its height, measure your delivery path for width as well as length before the tree arrives: doorways and turns that a narrow species like cypress clears easily can be tighter for a maple. General shipping and returns terms follow the rest of the store; check the site's shipping and returns page for specifics.