Fake Palm Tree Indoor: One Tall Palm or a Matching Pair?

6.5 feet of one palm, or 8 feet of palm split into two matching 4 footers. That's the real decision behind a fake palm tree indoors, and it matters more than the brand or the price. One tall palm fills a space, while a pair frames one. Get that right and almost any room looks finished; get it wrong and you end up with a lonely little palm in a giant corner.

At Corner Tree Co. we sell one of each, so we've thought about this a lot. Here's how to tell which shape your room actually needs.

Why go fake with a palm in the first place?

Real indoor palms are pretty, and they're also a project. The golden cane palm that inspired our tallest tree is a full-size landscape palm in its home climate: the University of Florida's IFAS Extension describes it reaching 20 to 30 feet with an 8 to 10 foot spread, and notes that scale insects followed by sooty mold can be a problem. Another UF/IFAS Extension guide from Charlotte County names scale and mealybugs as the most common pests on these palms.

Indoors, the bigger issue is light. The corner you want to fill is usually the darkest part of the room, and the University of Minnesota Extension describes a fairly dark corner as a spot only true low-light plants can handle. A faux palm skips the bugs and the light problem entirely. If you want the money side too, we worked out what a real tree costs over three years.

Cabana and Pals, side by side

Here are our two palms with the details that actually change the decision.

When one tall palm is the right call

A big, empty corner needs width as well as height, and that's where a palm earns its spot over an olive or a eucalyptus. The fronds arch outward, so one tree covers the corner instead of standing in it like a coat rack.

Cabana, our 6.5 ft faux golden cane palm, is $99 and the tallest tree we carry. Under a standard 8 ft ceiling it leaves about 1.5 feet of air above the fronds, which is the low end of what we'd recommend, so it looks its best with 9 ft ceilings or in a room that already feels tall. Measuring a tight spot? Our size guide has the measurements for every tree.

Cabana also suits the spot beside a sectional or next to a big window, where you want something soft and green that reaches up without blocking the view.

When a matching pair does more

Symmetry is the oldest trick in decorating, and a pair of palms is the easiest way to pull it off. Put one on each side of a front door, a bed, a TV console or a fireplace, and the thing in the middle suddenly looks intentional. That's a job one tall tree simply can't do.

Pals, our set of two 4 ft faux palms, is $119 for both. One reviewer on our site called them realistic and easy to shape, and liked getting two for the price. The one place we'd steer you away from Pals is a single huge corner: on its own, a 4 ft palm in a big room is exactly the lost little plant we warned about up top.

Can't decide? Ask what the spot needs to do

Stand where you'd normally see the room from, then ask one question: does this spot need filling, or does something here need framing?

If it's a gap, a bare corner or a long wall with nothing near the end, it needs filling, and that means Cabana. If there's already a focal point, like a door or a headboard, and it just looks a bit bare, it needs framing, and that means Pals. Bigger open-plan rooms often need both, a tall palm in the corner and a pair by the entry. Our buy more, save more pricing takes up to 30% off when you order more than one tree, so mixing the two doesn't cost full price twice.

Palms, pets and the one "palm" to avoid

Good news if you're shopping palms with a dog or cat at home: the real areca or cane palm is listed as non-toxic to both on the ASPCA's plant database. The one to watch is the sago palm, which isn't a true palm at all. The ASPCA lists the sago palm as toxic to dogs and cats, so it's worth knowing the difference before you bring any living "palm" home.

Our faux palms are made from non-toxic, odor-free PE, which takes the guesswork out of it. That said, no plastic frond is a chew toy, so the usual rule applies with puppies.

Setting it up so the fronds look real

Both palms ship with the fronds folded into a compact box and arrive in the pot you see in the product photos, ready to drop into a decorative planter if you'd like one. Shaping takes about five minutes.

1. Set the pot in its final spot first, or inside your planter, so you shape it from the angle people will actually see.
2. Open the fronds from the bottom up, fanning them out in a loose circle rather than all facing forward.
3. Bend the tip of each frond slightly down so it arcs, the way a real palm leaf droops under its own weight.
4. Step back across the room and fill any obvious gaps by rotating a frond or two.

That arc in step three is what sells it. Straight, stiff fronds are the fastest giveaway, and we cover the other tells in what makes a fake tree look real up close.

Bring the beach look home

If your room has one big empty corner, start with Cabana. If it has a door or a bed that looks a little bare, start with Pals. You can compare both palms in the shop. Shipping is free on every tree, you get 30 days to send it back if it's not right, and every order plants a real tree in a U.S. forest through One Tree Planted.

The vacation is optional. The palm isn't. Head to the Corner Tree homepage to see the rest of the collection.

Sources

• UF/IFAS Extension: Dypsis lutescens, Yellow Butterfly Palm
• UF/IFAS Extension Charlotte County: Foolproof Palm Care, Areca (Butterfly) Palm
• University of Minnesota Extension: Lighting for indoor plants
• ASPCA Animal Poison Control: Cane Palm (Areca Palm)
• ASPCA Animal Poison Control: Sago Palm

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a golden cane palm the same as an areca palm?

Yes. Golden cane palm, areca palm, yellow butterfly palm and bamboo palm are all common names for the same plant, Dypsis lutescens. Cabana is modeled on that look: clusters of thin canes topped with feathery, arching fronds.

Can a fake palm tree go in a bathroom?

It can, and it's one of the few big plants that makes sense there, since a windowless bathroom would starve a real palm. Wipe the fronds now and then if shower steam leaves water spots.

Can I put Pals outside by the front door?

Corner Tree trees are sold for indoor rooms, so we'd keep them inside. A covered entry or an inside foyer gives you the same framed-door look without exposing them to rain and direct sun all day.

How do I clean palm fronds without bending them?

Hold each frond from underneath with one hand and wipe from the stem toward the tip with a soft dry cloth in the other. Wiping toward the tip follows the shape of the frond, so you clean it without folding the leaflets back.