The Best Way to Save A Faux Ficus Tree

Here is how I repurpose an out-of-date faux ficus tree into a fresh Spring Blossom Tree for my front porch! Follow these simple DIY, easy-to-follow instructions to repurpose a faux ficus tree.

Did anyone else have a love for ficus trees back in the day? Like many of my home decor trend obsessions, I quickly tired of cleaning them. So needless the say, when we discovered a dusty old ficus tree in my mom’s house, it was quickly added to the donation pile.

cherry Blossom tree made from recycled ficus tree.

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I certainly didn’t want it because my obsession had been over for years. I was currently obsessing over a cherry blossom tree for my porch.

However, this was proving to be a budget problem. My budget didn’t quite meet the cost of the one I was obsessing over.

Can you guess what happened next?

As we were about to load the dusty ficus tree onto the truck, inspiration struck!!!! Much to my husband’s dismay, I loaded that dusty thing into my car and brought it home with me!

Old Ficus tree
See I even brought some of the dust home with it.

My husband was not thrilled, to say the least. This was not the first thing I couldn’t let go of from my mom’s house. However, this might have been the dirtiest. Plus, I have a habit of shopping at thrift stores and have been known to bring home items that need repairs. One such item was an old silverware box. See the transformation here!

I was excited because I had a plan. First, I needed my supplies.

supplies to update a faux ficus tree

Gather Supplies

Since we live in the woods, I have an abundance of trees to cut free branches from. However, it was necessary to purchase the faux cherry bud stems. I chose some that closely resembled cherry blossom buds.

Assemble Cherry Blossom Stems

To begin with, I removed the buds from the faux flowers.

use hot glue to attach cherry blossom stems for ficus tree update

Then using a hot glue gun, attach the buds to the gathered tree branches.

Add faux cherry blossom stems to gathered foraged tree branches.

Remove Faux Ficus Stems from Tree Trunk

Silly me, I thought I could pull the faux ficus stems from the tree trunk and use the holes to add my real wood twigs.

Because I was obviously mistaken, it was necessary to use wire snips to cut the faux ficus stems from the tree trunk.

Cut faux Ficus Tree Stems away from the tree trunk.

Prepare the Ficus Tree Trunk

I drilled holes into the tree trunk using a medium-sized drill bit.

use drill to make hole in tree trunk

It’s important to drill the holes on an angle to allow the twigs to branch out in a natural upward direction. In addition, you want to be sure the holes are large enough for your twigs to fit into. Therefore, you may need to adjust the drill bit size to accommodate larger twigs.

Drill hole in tree trunk

Now it’s time to attach your twigs. First, I decided which twig would work best in each hole. Then I applied a drop of hot glue into one hole and quickly inserted the prearranged twig.

add hot glue to hold new cherry blossom stems.

It’s necessary to hold the twig steady until the glue dries.

Repurposed Faux Ficus Tree using cherry blossom blooms

Then repeat this process until the tree is at the desired fullness.

This tree is exactly what I had been obsessing over, and I was able to create this DIY project for a fraction of the cost.

Update a faux ficus tree with cherry blossom blooms.

Tools

Supplies

  • Old Ficus Tree (check donation store, your mother’s or grandmother’s house)
  • Wooden Twigs – Hopefully you can get these free as well.
  • Faux Stems that resemble Cherry Blossoms or other Blossom that your desire.

How to repurpose a faux ficus tree into a cherry blossom tree for spring decorating.
Now my porch is ready for Spring!

Thank you so much for stopping by! If you enjoyed this tutorial, you will also like this post. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and will leave a comment if you did. I appreciate any questions you may have.

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the Best Way To Save A Faux Ficus Tree - Made into a cherry blossom tree
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31 Comments

  1. Good Morning Rachel
    This is one of the best DIY’s I have seen. I love this. What a fun and creative way to re-purpose* I am always amazed at the ideas you come up with. Looks great on your beautiful front porch

    deezie

  2. I love this!! I know after creating my own faux lemon tree, I may never buy a faux tree again!! I love yours!! Delicate and pretty!! Perfect for Spring!

    1. Kim,
      The original ficus tree was already in a basket container. I just placed the basket inside the metal container and used some bricks to keep it steady. The basket had moss covering the top but as I was cutting away the old ficus limbs, I just left them covering over the base. It just helped the fill the container. I hope this helps with your questions. Please let me know if you still have questions. Thanks so much for stopping by.
      Rachel

  3. I love so pretty i wonder how it would work under my patio I love the idea of trying other colours I’ve never heard this tree before I’m going look around i live in Australia it looks real.
    Wonderful work.

    1. Debra.
      This would work with any blooming tree provided you can find the faux stems to duplicate the look. Good luck. I hope youโ€™ll join my Ponds Elite group for future projects. If you join this week, you receive a free decor personality analysis! Such fun.
      Rachel

  4. Hello, I saw your project on Hometalk and it brought me to your blog. This is a great idea and thank you for sharing it. I have one comment and hope you will not take it as a slight. So here goes. The container for the tree looks to be too big for it. You need to downsize it. Look at the original container. It is in proportion to the “tree”. You can go a bit larger but not as big as the one the tree is in now. I love the metal container but it is not for that. I would get a round piece of frosted glass OR by a round piece of glass that is larger than the lip and if you want to frost it get spray frosting for glass and do the underside of it. By some grey pipe insulation tubing cut it to fit the rim of the metal tub and then slice it lengthwise. Fit the tubing over the edge of the metal tub so that the glass will sit safely on top without sliding or scratching. That way yo can use the metal container as an outside breakfast table, it looks to be tall enough. Hope you do not mind my comments, in the end it is all what you like. Again thank you for the idea. ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. I love the way this turned out. Reusing the tree was a super idea. I especially love the oversize container. That was the first thing I loved about it. It makes for such a rustic look. Well done.

  6. Love the cherry blossom tree, great idea. Also, like the pillow and am planning on trying it as soon as I find some more scraps!

  7. Rachel, Great DYI. I have an old ivy topiary in,a nice square container but it is a bear to dust. Any ideas what I could do to recycle it. It is about 2 1/2 ft tall with a 10 inch grapevine orb. At Christmas it is decorated with little white lights and set on a timer. Thanks for any ideas from you or your readers.

    1. Kathy,
      There are several possibilities but I’d start with fresh boxwood. Just cut stems and stick them into the grapevine until you have a full topiary again. If it needs trimming you can snip the longer pieces to pruning shears.

    2. @Rachel,

      Thanks for this idea. I love it, but had just recently donated old tree when I
      downsized. I may have to go looking for another as this would work nicely
      for an inside spot I have. Your ideas are always great

  8. Hi Rachel,
    Love your creations! Your blog is one of only a few that I would actually attempt to recreate the projects! Was wondering if you felt the time and energy was justified? Would you do it again? Just discovered an old dusty ficus tree, and wondering if I should attempt to repurpose it. Yours is beautiful, but I live in a small place. Your thoughts?

    1. Joy,
      It was an easy project and was very budget-friendly. I would do it again if I wanted a Cherry Blossom tree. It was less expensive than purchasing one. If you have the space to decorate with one, I’d definitely do it again.

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