Indoor-friendly artificial plants are gaining popularity in households and commercial settings. To put it forward, we are just from a grim period, and people have learned that, among other things, they need to improve their living space. This has led to the prosperity of the artificial plant market. Why artificial green plants? Because people appreciate their advantages over natural plants, which say more than is needed.
A business reselling artificial plants and trees starts with identifying a reliable supplier who will provide high-quality products at unbeatable prices. Do you know how to judge the cost of different artificial potted plants? As a veteran artificial plants manufacturer, we will tell you the objective factors that affect artificial plants’ wholesale prices.
Main Types of Artificial Plants and Trees
Potted artificial plants on the market can be generally divided into foliage types, plastic rod types, and others with natural plants composites.
What are leafy artificial plants?
All artificial foliage trees are trees with duplicate leaves like:
- Artificial palm tree
- Artificial snake plant
- Artificial traveler tree
- Artificial monstera tree
- Artificial pampas grass in pots
What are plastic rod artificial trees?
Plastic rod artificial trees are trees that come in plastic rods, such as:
- Artificial ficus tree
- Artificial fiddle leaf fig
- Artificial croton tree
- Artificial maple tree
- Artificial olive plant
- Etc
What are artificial plants with natural composites?
These artificial potted trees are trees kept with some parts of real plants like real stems or tree barks, for example:
- Artificial bamboo
- Artificial banana tree
Tip: Like preserved plants, this type of faux plants and trees cannot allow export until they go through fumigation.
Critical Factors Affecting Prices of Faux Plants
In general, more than one factor will impact the price of a faux potted tree. Prices vary when it comes to different kinds of artificial greenery plant products. See the table below for reference.
For most suppliers and manufacturers, production process and product specifications are the key elements in determining wholesale artificial plants prices.
When most suppliers set product prices to make a profit (at least not at a loss), they will inevitably include various costs. From raw materials to before shipment, any increase in cost may increase the price of the product. It’s well worth shopping around for the best deal, especially from a trading company or a distributor.
Artificial plants suppliers know that some industry customers, such as store wholesalers and supermarkets, are pursuing high-quality and low-cost products. Sourcing artificial plants and trees in China, if you blindly pursue low-priced products, means that you have to be prepared for inferior quality or after-sales problems.
How to Identify Prices Among Artificial Plant Suppliers?
1. Watch out the blades
Have you ever paid attention to each foliage on the artificial plants? Based on our experience over the years, the details of the blade are often a key feature that reflects the degree of simulation.
- material
Most commonly used fake plants materials include plastic, silk cloth, and PE, etc.
The surface of the plastic plant is shiny, and it is elastic by hand. (Can achieve UV and fire protection, relatively expensive)
The surface of the silk cloth is dull and has no elasticity. (Normally, UV and fire protection cannot be achieved.)
Silk cloth blades are now used less in the industry, and most of them can be replaced with plastic cloth, which has a higher degree of simulation.
The typical product of silk cloth is the olive tree. Because the leaves of olive trees are relatively small, the lines inside can only be printed on the silk cloth.
Silk cloth is currently used more in the field of artificial flowers, including wall hangings and bundles. This kind of silk cloth has become less and less.
- single blade or integral blade
The manufacturing process of a single blade and a whole blade is entirely different. The simulation degree of a single blade is higher, and it is the first choice for more customers. However, according to the market price comparison, more factories are currently replacing single blades with integral blades.
- quantity and size
Some specific types of potted plants, such as artificial banana trees, monstera plants, etc., have the most distinctive leaves because they are much larger than other types. Therefore, you can judge the price from the size of the leaves of these varieties.
In addition, the leaves of the knife mold are suitable for making the number of leaves, which will be more cost-effective. If the quantity of blades is small, we recommend a blade with a higher degree of simulation.
- dyeing process
How to compare the dyeing process of the leaves? Take the example in the picture, our Traveler banana leaves have a uniform color on one side, two pieces of silk-printed cloth are laminated, and two colors on both sides, which look more realistic. While for other qualities, uneven color and uneven printing on one side. If the two pieces are not compliant, they will be degummed. Besides, the blades are not three-dimensional, and the bottom color of the products from small factories will be the same.
- skeleton
The excellent quality blade skeleton and the part where the blade fits are almost vertical, and there is almost no gap with the background color. In addition, a good skeleton will be relatively thicker. But this actually has little effect on the price.
- bottom junction
The sealant at the bottom of the blade is critical, which is related to the key point of whether it can be perfectly connected to the pole.
The one on the left is square except for the position below it, while the others are round. The round junction of blades will not conform when inserted. Secondly, you can see that the difference between us is thicker to match this rod.
- Check the stems
The sealant at the bottom of the blade is critical, which is related to the key point of whether it can be perfectly connected to the pole.
The one on the left is square except for the position below it, while the others are round. The round junction of blades will not conform when inserted. Secondly, you can see that the difference between us is thicker to match this rod.
2. Check the stems
Another point that suppliers connect with the price is the stem of artificial potted plants and trees.
- material
Generally used on the market are plastic rods, real wood, fiberglass.
Plastic rods artificial trees in pots are expensive but take a major place in the import and export business, mainly depending on the abrasive tools produced by various factories. Products made of this material can only be up to 2 meters. If it is too high, the product will be softer and easy to deform and break down. So it is not recommended to use plastic rods over 2 meters. The abrasive tool of the plastic rod itself is also limited. Usually, it is around 1.2-1.3 meters, and the maximum is 1.5 meters.
The real wood rods are conventionally made of yellow cow wood (Cratoxylum cochinchinense), which is relatively hard and is corrosion resistant. The factory tends to calculate purchases of this type of rod according to different diameters. The drawback of this product is that there is no way to make it exactly the same when we carry on mass production. At the same time, it must be fumigated for exportation. Real wood trunks only come into application when there is no plastic rod available or when the cost needs to reduction.
The fiberglass material is conventionally used on large artificial trees, but some customers will specifically request using this material. The cost is relatively higher than two other materials, making it not easy to select this option.
- thickness
From the perspective of the thickness of the stem, the thicker the stem, the more material it contains. This becomes a sign of increased costs for the factory and a signal of the price level for wholesalers.
- tree shape
The price of such a trunk is related to the potted plant’s shape (tree shape). This type of artificial plants and trees is connected to our target price. Specifications and the number of cuttings are all related to the shape.
- number of branches
The number of branches mainly affects the beauty of the entire shape, and it does not affect the final price of the product.
- craftsmanship
When you look closely at some ordinary stems, you will find the following problems:
1. There are a lot of holes
Why? Because this is not made of one-piece injection molding, it is spliced. It reveals whether the manufacturing technology is good or bad. Stems with lots of holes will crack after some time.
2. The size of the hole
Why? This is also a process technology issue.
3. The biggest problem is that it affects beauty.
The above picture shows the appearance of plastic rods on the market, which mainly reflects the treatment of two different rods. On the left is the effect of twice coatings, using water-based paint, while the right side is only coated once, using oily paint. One impact has one price, and everyone can still distinguish it after it comes out.
3. Determine the height
From potted trees as low as 30cm to artificial towering trees as high as tens of meters, its price is naturally affected by height.
You can find that the product height is often marked on the quotation sheet by the faux potted plant supplier. If you want to purchase different heights of the same type of tree, you will find that each height of the quotation will be different. You can see how much its price will increase for every 10 cm increase in height. You don’t have to doubt; this is already one of the established pricing factors in the industry.
4. Find out the manufacturing technique
The above points can almost price artificial plants and trees. The technology is only known to the artificial plant factory itself, so this is difficult to grasp. Most Chinese manufacturers are reluctant to reveal the production recipe or display process. But you still have a try to ask an artificial greenery factory, provided that you find a genuine factory, not a mediator, a trading company, or a brand owner.
Another thing, if you need special processing, such as fire prevention or UV protection, its price will often be twice as high.