Artificial olive tree or palm
Updated: 18 October 2026
You have set aside the fig, the eucalyptus, and the 70 cm pairs, and the choice left is an artificial olive tree or palm. An olive is a narrower indoor column, often with fake fruit. A palm is a wide arch, and in this set it usually arrives in a smaller pot than the photos suggest. The Products Compared editorial team compared the olives and the two areca-style palms in the [artificial tree comparison](/hub/trees-and-palms/artificial-tree). Leaf's guides supplied the shape and the clearance as retailer rules of thumb. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Updated 16 October 2026.
You have set aside the fig, the eucalyptus, and the 70 cm pairs, and the choice left is an artificial olive tree or palm. An olive is a narrower indoor column, often with fake fruit.
You have set aside the fig, the eucalyptus, and the 70 cm pairs, and the choice left is an artificial olive tree or palm. An olive is a narrower indoor column, often with fake fruit. A palm is a wide arch, and in this set it usually arrives in a smaller pot than the photos suggest. The Products Compared editorial team compared the olives and the two areca-style palms in the artificial tree comparison. Leaf's guides supplied the shape and the clearance as retailer rules of thumb. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Updated 16 October 2026.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Look | Height | Pot | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Alupssuc Alupssuc 6 ft olive tree | Olive column, fake fruit | 180 cm | White pot; UK reviews say too small | 7.3 | about £43.22 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Keeplush Keeplush 180 cm areca palm | Areca; UV bullet disputed | 180 cm | About 6 inches; tips until weighted | 7.5 | about £65.99 | View offer |
| Alternative |  CROSOFMI CROSOFMI 170 cm areca palm | Indoor areca, arching fronds | 170 cm | About 15 cm; cement claimed | 7.5 | about £55.99 | View offer |
On this page
The two looks
An artificial olive reads as a Mediterranean tree: a trunk, small grey-green leaves, and often plastic olives. Leaf's olive guide puts 150–180 cm under a standard ceiling, with spreads on their 180 cm trees of about 80 cm. None of their olives are UV-stabilised. Some carry fruit that can look edible, so keep it out of reach of small children whenever a listing here claims olives on the branches.
An areca-style palm is several slim stems and feathery arches, which Leaf's palm guide calls the full corner plant. Kentia is a different category in this hub. Evergreen Direct notes that a live palm struggles in a cool, low-light UK room, and a faux palm is the workaround, often around 150 cm in a standard room. Both looks can sit in a dark flat. Sun is a fading problem, handled on the artificial tree indoor or outdoor page.
The floor space is the split you can measure. An olive column can stand in a hallway if you have somewhere near 80 cm of width, using Leaf's spread as a rule of thumb for a 180 cm tree. A palm wants that width and more, because the fronds arch outward. A narrow landing that suits an olive will catch a palm's longest leaves on the wall.
When the olive fits
Choose the olive when the floor plan is narrow and you want the fruit and the grey-green leaf. The indoor heights in this set are the Alupssuc 5 ft at 150 cm, the Alupssuc 6 ft, the YOLEO and the Aptliton at about 180 cm, and the FEELEAD at 210 cm for a higher ceiling. The best artificial tree page weighs the two Alupssuc rows as a top pick and a best value. This page does not re-score them. It only says they are the olive shape.
The pot you will see is a second purchase on most of these. UK reviews say the included pots are too small and the trees fall until they sit in a wider planter, even where cement is claimed. FEELEAD states a weighted nursery pot and a table of 55 × 55 × 210 cm, and the basket is not included. YOLEO's uses say indoor, with a table of 80 × 80 × 180 cm and UK reviews that mention creases and a lean. Aptliton's title says indoor and outdoor. A UK review says sun turned the leaves blue-green. Skip that olive for full sun. Large fake fruit can look obvious up close, which appears in UK reviews of the 5 ft Alupssuc. From the doorway, the column still reads as an olive.
When the palm fits
Choose the palm when you can give the fronds room and you already own a wide planter. The two rows are the CROSOFMI 170 cm, titled indoor, at about £55.99 with 4.5 from 423 ratings, and the Keeplush 180 cm at about £65.99 with 4.5 from 1,614 ratings. CROSOFMI is the clearer indoor title: connect the sections, fan the leaves, no cutting claimed. The pot is about 15 cm across, with cement claimed, and UK reviews still call it small and mention joins you can see up close.
Keeplush has the larger UK-written file and a weaker outdoor story. A bullet claims UV-resistant technology and use outside. A UK review reports rust. The supplied pot is about 6 inches, and reviews say the plant tips until it moves into a heavier one. Leaf's palm guide reserves outdoors for palms named as UV. Skip this palm for a patio on that bullet alone. Evergreen Direct's 150 cm suggestion for a standard room sits under both titles, so 170–180 cm is already tall for a normal flat. A palm that looks slim in a photo can span well over a metre once the fronds are dressed. The 15 cm figure in the table is the pot, not that arch.
The condition for a dark corner
In a dark flat, either look works if you have planned the pot. Neither tree needs daylight to stay the colour it arrived in. Take the olive if the plan is narrow and you want fruit. Take the palm if you can spare the width and you already own a wide planter. Buying both makes sense when you have a hallway and a broad corner. In one room they compete.
Skip the palm for full sun on the Keeplush bullet alone, and skip the Aptliton olive for full sun as well. The artificial tree buying guide is where you check that the centimetre height and the table describe the same object.
Common questions
Which one fills a narrow hallway?
The olive. A 150–180 cm column, with a spread in the region of 80 cm on Leaf's own 180 cm trees, can stand in a hall if the planter is stable. A palm's fronds arch outward and will meet the wall on a narrow landing. FEELEAD's 210 cm olive belongs there only when the ceiling leaves headroom.
Which one looks fuller in a wide corner?
The palm, once the fronds are fanned. Leaf calls an areca the full corner plant: several slim stems and feathery arches. An olive stays a column even after you separate the branches. UK reviews still describe small included pots that need a basket before either tree looks finished.
Do I need more floor space for a palm?
Yes. The published widths here, about 15–16.5 cm, are the pots, not the fronds. After you dress an areca, the arch needs wall clearance an olive column does not. Evergreen Direct's 150 cm suggestion is a height guide for a standard room, not a promise that the fronds stay inside a 15 cm footprint.
Which is better in a dark flat?
Either, if the pot is planned. A faux palm is the usual workaround when a live palm would struggle in a cool, low-light UK room, and a faux olive has the same advantage. Sun through glass is a fading risk when the listing is not UV-stabilised. Darkness is not the problem these trees were built to solve.
Are the olives in this set indoor?
YOLEO and FEELEAD say indoor. The Alupssuc 6 ft copy mentions a patio and states no UV standard. The 5 ft Alupssuc and the Aptliton say indoor and outdoor, and each has a UK review of blue or blue-green leaves in sun. For a dark corner, treat all five as indoor trees.
Is the Keeplush palm the outdoor one?
It is the palm with an outdoor and UV bullet, not a proven outdoor tree. A UK review says the stems rust. CROSOFMI's 170 cm palm is the one with a plain indoor title. This Keeplush listing does not show a standard or a fade guarantee.
Will plastic olives look silly?
Up close, large fake fruit can look obvious, and that complaint shows up in UK reviews of the 5 ft Alupssuc. From across a room, the grey-green column is what reads as an olive. Leaf also notes that fake olives can look edible, so keep them away from small children.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources from the research digest, last checked on 16 October 2026. Shelf prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file for these twelve listings. Leaf counts, cement bases and UV lines are seller claims, not a test run for this page.
- Kent Fire and Rescue Service: artificial or dried foliage (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: fire safety risk assessment for small and medium places of assembly (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: product safety advice for businesses (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 11 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- Leaf: outdoor artificial plants guide (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- Artificial Eden: how to shape artificial trees (retrieved 16 October 2026)