How to spot great quality faux flowers

I've spent hours scrutinising faux florals, so I can spot quality florals really easily. In my first year of Unfauxgettable, I returned at least 60% of the sample stems I ordered because they looked ok online but didn't pass the close-up test.

I am proud to be a faux flower snob, being really particular about the flowers and greenery that I choose to use in my arrangements. This is because I regularly see arrangements where medium-quality faux flowers have been arranged with low-quality faux greenery which unfortunately brings the whole arrangement's quality down.

‍

So how can we spot a great quality faux flower or greenery stem? 

‍

✨Has details like ombre leaves, seed pods, pollen and thorns

This one is an easy one to look out for. Higher-quality stems have much more detail. Looking at the flower colour, textures, shapes and finishes. Are the leaves the same shape as the fresh flowers, do they have a colour gradient, do they have a textured finish? If the flower usually has seed pods or pollen is that detail included in the stem too?

‍

✨Has neat attachments for the leaves and flower heads

One of the most obvious differences is how well the flowers are made. Check to see if the stems and leaf attachments are seamless and secure. Poor-quality florals often have visible glue blobs or clearly loose flower heads. Sometimes the colours are not matched so the leaf is a completely different colour to the stem - that's a dead giveaway for a low-quality flower.

‍

✨ Has realistic stems and leaves

Often overlooked are the stems and the leaves, I have seen lovely flower heads let down by bright green stems, which it absolutely wouldn't have in real life.

Luxury faux florals have stems with the same level of detail as the flower heads, often with an ombre effect on the stems, some even have a bark effect and texture.

Quality faux roses will have thorn details too.

Look at the back of faux leaves, some of the backs are very obviously fake with bright-coloured veining. The more subtle the attachment the more realistic they are.

‍

‍

✨Flower stages

One of the key ways to have a realistic artificial arrangement is to include a variety of stem stages. So for a rose arrangement, there would be rose buds, closed large buds and open flowers too so that the overall effect is truer to life.

Luxury faux branches often have all stages of florals. If the stems only have one flower on them then there should be other items available in the range that complement it, such as a bud rose that can be paired with the open bloom too.

‍

✨Moves naturally

Great faux florals will sway in the breeze, and the stems and petals will be just delicate enough to move when carried or caught by the wind. My blossom branches are a brilliant example of this, they are sturdy enough that they will hold their shape but have enough bounce in the stems that the wind can catch them and the leaves and petals will flutter in the breeze.

‍

One of my favourite ways to check how realistic the stems are is to use Google Lens. Search for a photo and see if Google identifies the flower and suggests seeds and garden centres as similar searches.

‍