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Artificial kentia palm

Updated: 18 October 2026

You are choosing an artificial kentia palm because the room is dim, you rent, or nobody will remember to water, and you still want the arching shape. The alternative in this set is one living Howea forsteriana. A fake does not grow, does not need a drink, and still needs a true height and a way to dust it. The [kentia palm comparison](/hub/trees-and-palms/kentia-palm) lines the three listings up. This page is the living-versus-décor decision. The Products Compared editorial team updated it on 16 October 2026 from the amazon.co.uk extracts and from Leaf's own silk-care note on a different tree. We did not run a fade test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are choosing an artificial kentia palm because the room is dim, you rent, or nobody will remember to water, and you still want the arching shape. The alternative in this set is one living Howea forsteriana.

Our top picks

Leaf Leaf artificial kentia, 120 cm

Best overall

Leaf Leaf artificial kentia, 120 cm
4.8/10about £50.07
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exotenherz Howea forsteriana, about 80 cm

Rank 2

exotenherz Howea forsteriana, about 80 cm
5.8/10about £29.99
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CREATIV green Artificial kentia, 70 cm

Rank 3

CREATIV green Artificial kentia, 70 cm
3.4/10about £29.89
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On this page
  1. 1.When a living kentia is the wrong object
  2. 2.The 70 cm plastic listing
  3. 3.The 120 cm silk listing
  4. 4.Outdoor, UV, and passports

When a living kentia is the wrong object

Take the living plant when you want the species and you can keep it indoors. B07V8FQXNF is Howea forsteriana, a 19 cm pot, about 80 cm, £29.99, marked indoor, partial sun, and moderate watering. The RHS says it tolerates fairly low light and still scorches in direct sun through glass, and hardiness is H1A, warmer than 15°C all year. If the office has no daylight, or you travel for a fortnight without anyone to check the compost, that plant is the wrong object. Brown fronds from a wet saucer are a care problem, on the how to care for a kentia palm page. A fake is outside the UK plant-passport rule and has no ASPCA entry. The only review in this set says visitors were surprised the silk tree was artificial. That is one person on 9 August 2024. Choose artificial when nobody will water. Choose the living Howea when the name matters and the room stays warm. The best kentia palm page assigns each row without crowning one winner. The living plant is £29.99 and the short plastic tree is £29.89. Ten pence is not a quality gap. The silk tree is £50.07 because the size is stated.

The 70 cm plastic listing

B07XJF5C6S, CREATIV green, is an artificial kentia in a black plastic pot, 70 cm, at £29.89. Material is plastic. Built-in light is no. The manufacturer field says DeMa Handel. There is no review line, no weight, and no pot diameter, so you cannot tell whether it will fit a cover pot you own. Seventy centimetres is a low corner, not a floor palm. Take it only if a short fake and a thin spec are enough. Skip it if you need a spread, a review, or a plant you will water. It is not Howea forsteriana. The file does not say it is UV protected. Do not read all seasons as a hardiness rating. For a plant you will grow, use the kentia palm buying guide.
Leaf Leaf artificial kentia, 120 cm

Testsieger

Leaf Leaf artificial kentia, 120 cm
4.8/10about £50.07
View offer

The 120 cm silk listing

B0CCJV12HJ is the one with measurements. The title says Leaf Large Artificial Palm Tree. The colour field says 120cm Kentia Palm. The bullet calls it an artificial kentia with silk leaves, arranged at 120 cm high by 90 cm by 90 cm. Branches are wired, so a tighter shape is a smaller footprint than 90 cm. The plastic pot is about 18 cm across and 14 cm high, and the listing says it is weighted. The product weighs 1 kg. That is not a claim that a child or a pet cannot knock it over. The review line is 5.0 from one rating, 9 August 2024. The buyer was happy with the price and the quality and said visitors were surprised it was artificial. No fault is stated. One review does not prove a lifespan. At £50.07 you are paying for stated size, silk, and wires, with almost no buyer history. Leaf's site, on a 150 cm kentia which is a different product, says silk should be dusted dry because a wet cloth can make the colour run. Use that as maker advice, not as a sentence on this ASIN. Do not hose it. Arti Leaf's not UV protected line is theirs, so we do not stick it on B0CCJV12HJ. This Amazon file does not state UV protection. Leaf's guide treats a kentia silhouette as more open than an artificial areca, often 70–110 cm across. The captured 90 cm figure sits in that band once the wires are opened.

Outdoor, UV, and passports

Neither artificial file states UV protection, and neither has an indoor or outdoor field. A balcony in a British summer is sun, wind, and rain. Silk that is not described as outdoor on the Amazon page should stay indoors. The maker's shelter line, on the other Leaf tree, is a caution, not permission to park this ASIN outside. There is no plant passport on a fake. GOV.UK's distance-sale rule is for regulated plants. Dust, a stable corner, and a height you measured against the ceiling are the care plan. A living kentia still needs the winter temperature and the finger test. For décor, pick the 70 cm plastic tree when the missing measurements do not bother you, and pick the 120 cm silk tree when you need the stated size and you will dust it dry.

Common questions

Will guests know it is fake?
The only review, on the 120 cm silk tree, says visitors were surprised it was artificial. That is one rating on 9 August 2024. The 70 cm listing has no review line. Wires, a plastic pot, and a perfectly even colour are the usual tells once you stand close.
Can I put the silk tree in a dark corner?
Yes, in the sense that it does not need daylight to stay green. It will not scorch, and it will not etiolate, because it is not growing. You still need enough light to see it, and a sunny window is a separate fade question the Amazon file does not answer. A dark corner is exactly where a living kentia struggles.
Can I put it on a balcony?
The Amazon files do not state outdoor use or UV protection. Leaf's note on a different 150 cm silk kentia says outdoor use needs shelter. Treat these two captured fakes as indoor décor unless the listing you hold says otherwise.
How do I clean silk without marking it?
Dust it dry. Leaf says a wet cloth can make silk colour run, on its 150 cm page rather than in the Amazon file for B0CCJV12HJ. Do not hose this tree.
The 70 cm and the 120 cm cost about the same as a small living plant. Which problem does each solve?
The 70 cm plastic tree at £29.89 is a short fake with almost no measurements, beside an £29.99 living plant of about 80 cm. The 120 cm silk tree at £50.07 states height, spread, wires, and pot size, with one review. Buy plastic for a small gap, silk for a stated floor-plant shape, and the living Howea only if you will water it indoors.
Does the weighted pot stop a child or a pet knocking it over?
The silk listing says the plastic pot is weighted, about 18 cm by 14 cm, and the whole product is 1 kg. It does not say the base is child-proof or pet-proof. A 120 cm tree at 1 kg can still shift if it is pulled. The 70 cm listing does not state a weight at all.
Is there a plant passport on a fake?
No. A plant passport is for regulated living plants sold at a distance in Great Britain. An artificial kentia is outside that rule. You still check height, material, and whether UV protection is actually printed if you hoped to use it outdoors.

Related pages

Kentia palm or areca palm

Kentia palm

Best kentia palm if you want one living or artificial

Kentia palm buying guide for species, height and pot

How to care for a kentia palm indoors through winter

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, last checked on 16 October 2026. Shelf prices and the single review line are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file, captured on 15 October 2026. Hardiness and care lines are quoted from the RHS and BBC Gardeners' World, which disagree on the winter minimum.

  1. RHS: Howea forsteriana (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. RHS: Indoor palms (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. RHS: Hardiness ratings (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. BBC Gardeners' World: kentia palm (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. ASPCA: Kentia palm (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. RHS: Cycas revoluta (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. Animal PoisonLine: plants and poisons (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. GOV.UK: plant passports in Great Britain (retrieved 16 October 2026)