Artificial flowers in a vase look fake for one of three reasons: the wrong vase, too many stems, or stems left exactly as they came out of the box. The flowers themselves are rarely the problem. A good faux peony is hard to tell from a real one at arm’s length; a good faux peony shoved into a narrow vase with six others, all the same height, is obvious from the door.
This guide covers what artificial flowers are made of and which materials look real, how to choose a vase for them, which flowers to buy, a six-step method for arranging them, three artificial floral arrangements in vases to copy, how to scale up to a large display, and how to keep them looking real for years.
What artificial flowers are made of, and which look real
Artificial flowers, faux flowers, fake flowers and silk flowers are the same thing with different names, but the materials underneath are not all equal:
- Silk and polyester. Most petals are polyester, which took over from real silk decades ago but kept the name. Good polyester has a matte finish and printed colour that varies across the petal; cheap polyester is shiny and one flat colour.
- Plastic. Stems, leaves and berries are usually plastic, often over a wire so they bend. A vase with plastic flowers looks wrong when the plastic is glossy and the leaves are all identical; it looks fine when the plastic is matte and the leaves vary.
- Foam. Tulips, ranunculus and some peonies are often moulded foam. It gives a solid, slightly waxy petal that looks right for those flowers in particular.
- Real-touch. A soft coating over foam or latex that feels like a petal. Our peony sprays are real-touch, which is why they pass the test when someone reaches out to check.
The short version: synthetic flowers in a vase look real when the colour has variation, the finish is matte and the stem bends. Those are the three things to look for, whatever the material, and they are the test for realistic fake flowers in a shop too: hold one up to the light and look for the colour changing across the petal.
Choosing the vase
A flower vase with artificial flowers in it works to the same rules as one with fresh flowers, with one difference: artificial stems will not droop into a shape on their own, so the vase has to do more of the work.
Height and proportion
The flowers should stand one and a half to two times the height of the vase. A 26cm vase wants stems showing 40 to 50cm above the rim. Taller than that and the display looks like it is about to topple; shorter and it looks like the flowers have been cut down for a sickroom. Our ceramic vases guide goes through sizes in more detail.
Opening width
This is the one most people get wrong. A narrow opening holds stems upright and close together, which is the stiff look you are trying to avoid. A wider opening lets stems lean outwards at different angles. The Tall Fluted White Ceramic Vaseis 26cm tall with an 8cm opening, which takes three to five full stems with room to lean; the Matt White Curved Ceramic Vase is 18cm tall and 24cm wide, a low, wide shape made for a dome of hydrangeas.
Material and colour
Matt ceramic and stoneware in white, cream or stone are the safest choice, because they do not compete with the flowers and they hide the fact that there is no water. Clear glass shows the stems, which are the least convincing part of any artificial flower, so if you want glass, fill the bottom third with pebbles or sand. For a smaller display, the Set of 2 Scalloped Ceramic Vases at £22.95 gives you a pair to stand side by side, and the Ceramic Vase – Maggie at £19.95 is the one for a single stem on a shelf.
Which artificial flowers look most real in a vase
Some flowers are easy to fake and some are not. Buy the easy ones.
Peonies and ranunculus
Peonies are the most forgiving artificial flower there is, because a real peony is already a soft, slightly untidy ball of petals. The Faux Flowers – Peony Spray – Pink and Faux Flowers – Peony Spray – Cream are real-touch with a full head and leaves on the stem, £10.95 each. The Faux Flowers – Ranunculus Spray – Cream, £8.95, is the smaller, tighter flower to put beside them. Our artificial peonies guide is the full peony post.
Hydrangeas
One hydrangea head fills a vase on its own, which is why it is the best artificial flower for a beginner. We make them in Blue, White, Purple and Burgundy at £10.95 a stem, and the Green Hydrangea Stem at £9.95 is the one that passes for real most often, because a green hydrangea is what a real one looks like for half the year.
Branches and blossom
Anything with a woody stem and small flowers along it reads as real, because the eye checks the branch shape, not each flower. The White Magnolia Stem, £15.95, has a wired stem you bend into a curve; the Cherry Blossom Spray, £17.95, is the tall stem for a floor vase; the Dogwood Spray – White and the Queen Anne Lace Spray, £12.95 each, are the fillers that stop a vase looking like a shop display. The Faux Flowers – White Tulip, £5.95, is one of the cheapest stems we make and one of the most convincing; our faux tulips guide covers them.
Eucalyptus and foliage
No real arrangement is all flowers, and no artificial one should be. The Silver Dollar Eucalyptus Spray, £7.95, the Eucalyptus Spray – Green, £8.95, and the Olive Branch, £13.95, go in first and do more for realism than any flower.
A note on roses: fake roses in a vase are the hardest display to pull off, because everyone knows exactly what a rose looks like and the tight spiral of petals is where artificial ones fall down. If you want red in a vase, burgundy hydrangea or a berry spray gets there without the risk.
How to arrange artificial flowers in a vase: six steps
This is the method behind every arrangement on this page, and it is the same for silk flowers in a vase, an artificial flower bouquet without one, or flower arrangements with fake flowers mixed into real foliage. It takes ten minutes.
- Foliage first. Two or three stems of eucalyptus or olive, leaning out of the vase at different angles, so the shape is set before a flower goes in.
- Focal flowers low. The biggest heads, peonies or hydrangeas, sit just above the rim, one slightly higher than the others. Odd numbers: one, three or five.
- Line stems high. Blossom, magnolia, dogwood or tulips go in last and tallest, towards the back and off to one side, to give the arrangement a top.
- Bend every stem. This is the step that makes it real. Every wired stem gets a curve, and no two stems curve the same way. Bend them at the base so they lean, and bend them near the head so the flower faces slightly down, the way a real flower does.
- Turn the heads. Flowers in a real vase face every direction, not the front. Turn one away, one to the side.
- Step back. Look from across the room. If the outline is a triangle rather than a ball or a fan, it is right. If a gap shows, it is one more stem, not three.
Fill to about two thirds of what the vase could hold. A vase that is crammed is the second most common mistake after stems left straight.
Three artificial floral arrangements in vases to copy
Hallway statement. Three White Magnolia Stems in the Tall Fluted White Ceramic Vase, each bent so the curves fan outwards, nothing else. £87.80 all in, and it is the first thing anyone sees.
Everyday kitchen. Two Green Hydrangea Stems and one White Hydrangea in the Matt White Curved Ceramic Vase, with two Silver Dollar Eucalyptus Sprays leaning out either side. Low enough to see over, wide enough to fill a worktop corner. £76.70.
Dining table. Five White Tulips and two Ranunculus Sprays split across the Set of 2 Scalloped Ceramic Vases, tulips bent to lean over the rim the way real ones flop on day three. £70.60 for the set, and it clears a plate height.
If you would rather buy the finished thing, the Faux Flower Arrangement Bundle – Green Berry is the ready-made version, and our ready-made faux flower arrangements post explains when that is the better buy.
Large artificial flower arrangements in vases
A floor vase or a console table takes the same method at a bigger scale: five to nine stems rather than three to five, and stems that are long enough to stand one and a half times the vase height. The Tall Straight Rattan Vase – Natural is 35cm tall and takes a bundle of Cherry Blossom Sprays or the Buddleia Spray – White, £12.95, a tall spray made for larger vases. Put a jar or a block of foam inside a rattan vase to hold the stems; the vase itself is not watertight and does not need to be.
Two rules that only apply at this size: keep large artificial flower arrangements to two kinds of stem, one flower and one foliage, because every extra variety reads as a shop window; and put the vase where nobody brushes past it, because a floor vase of long stems is the one display that gets knocked.
Fake flowers in a vase, room by room
- Hallway: one tall vase, one kind of stem, where it is seen from the door. Magnolia or blossom.
- Living room: a low, wide vase on the coffee table that can be seen over, or a tall one on a side table. Hydrangeas and eucalyptus.
- Dining table: two small vases rather than one big one, so they come off when the food arrives. Tulips and ranunculus.
- Kitchen: a single stem in a bud vase by the kettle, swapped with the season. Our bud vase styling ideas post covers the small ones.
- Bedroom and bathroom: the two rooms where artificial flowers beat real ones outright, because nobody waters flowers in a bedroom and steam kills them in a bathroom. A hydrangea head in a ceramic vase on the windowsill is enough.
Keeping artificial flowers looking real
- No water. Never put water in a vase of artificial flowers. It does nothing for them and it rusts the wire in the stems.
- Dust monthly. A soft brush or a hairdryer on cool. Our how to clean artificial flowers post covers the rest.
- Re-bend after moving. Every time a vase is moved, the stems straighten a little. Bend them back.
- Change something each season. The same vase with hydrangeas in May, burgundy hydrangeas and eucalyptus in October and white berries in December reads as a house that changes its flowers, which is what real flowers do.
- Keep them out of direct sun. Colour fades on the side that faces the window. Turn the vase every few weeks, and see our outdoor artificial flowers post before any go on a porch.
Final thoughts
Buy fewer stems than you think, in a matte ceramic vase with a wide opening, put the foliage in first and the big flowers low, and bend every stem so no two match. Fill the vase two thirds, turn the heads, and step back. That is the whole difference between artificial flowers that look like a doctor’s waiting room and artificial flowers that get asked about.
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FAQs
How many artificial flowers should you put in a vase?
An odd number, usually three or five full stems plus two or three stems of foliage for a standard vase, and five to nine for a floor vase. Fill the vase to about two thirds of what it could hold; a crammed vase is the quickest way to make artificial flowers look fake.
Do artificial flowers need water in a vase?
No. Keep the vase dry. Water does nothing for artificial flowers and rusts the wire inside the stems. If you want the look of water in a glass vase, use clear acrylic resin or pebbles instead.
How do you make artificial flowers look real in a vase?
Bend every stem so no two are the same, turn the flower heads to face different directions, put foliage in with the flowers, use a matte ceramic vase with a wide opening, and leave space between the stems. Stems left straight are what give artificial flowers away.
What is the best vase for artificial flowers?
A matte ceramic or stoneware vase in white, cream or stone, with an opening wide enough to let stems lean, and a height about half to two thirds of the finished display. Clear glass works if the bottom third is filled with pebbles so the stems are hidden.
Can you cut artificial flower stems?
Yes. Most stems have a wire core inside plastic, so use wire cutters or strong scissors, not kitchen scissors. Cut at an angle and bend the cut end so it does not show. Bending a stem to a shorter height is often better than cutting, because it keeps the length for a taller vase later.
Which artificial flowers look the most real?
Peonies, hydrangeas, tulips, magnolia and blossom branches, and any foliage such as eucalyptus or olive. These flowers are naturally soft or irregular, so a faux version has less to get wrong. Roses and lilies are the hardest to fake.
Can you put fake roses in a vase?
You can, but roses are the hardest artificial flower to make convincing because of the tight spiral of petals. If you want red or pink in a vase, a burgundy or purple hydrangea, a pink peony or a berry spray looks real far more reliably.
How tall should artificial flowers be in a vase?
The flowers should stand one and a half to two times the height of the vase, so a 26cm vase wants stems showing 40 to 50cm above the rim. Bend the stems to adjust the height before you cut them.
Are silk flowers better than plastic flowers?
Petals are usually polyester, called silk, and stems and leaves are usually plastic, so most artificial flowers are both. What matters is the finish: matte petals with colour variation and matte, bendable stems look real; shiny petals and glossy plastic leaves do not.
