Indoor light tree!

Looking for some ideas. Not exactly an indoor tree, more like a large indoor plant with maybe a tree sort of habit. Let me explain.

The wife and I were watching a programme the other night and in the background was a large floor to ceiling plant, not a clue what it was, and it had white Christmas tree type lights on it. It looked really nice, sort of a lamp tree, lol.

I said to the missus, "we should do something like that", and she agreed. The plant/tree would be in the living room, with a wood burner in. The coolest temp the room gets to is around 18/19°C, but when the fires lit, usually in the evening, it can get to 25-27°C. So a plant that likes humidity would be a non starter, as humidity would be up and down like a yo-yo.

The room is north facing and the plant would be going pretty close to the window, so anything that demands the brightest light/direct sun, is also a non starter.

Bearing in mind I want to eventually wind some lights around it I think a plant with a tree like habit would be more preferable, compared to a large leafy type plant. Woody trunk, branches and stems seem better suited to winding lights around.

It will obviously be going in a large planter and the room height floor to ceiling is your usual 8ft, give or take. Whatever choice I make there is a good chance we will be getting a mature specimen for immediate effect.

Just looking for a few ideas at this point.

 

Big leaves, small leaves, spreading or just one upright stem.

Maybe look at Ficus species for a start.

 

With that kind of temperature variation and low humidity, and given that your main aim is to have lights on it, you might be better off with a decent-quality artificial plant. The process of winding lights around the stems of a real plant could easily cause damage, as well as adjusting and moving them as the plant grows.

 

I've seen dead trees with no leaves used to good effect, if you use enough lights.

 

Lovely idea @Esoxlucius

The biggest challenge is low light levels. Can you add a grow light somewhere above it, there are plenty of normal bulb fitting lights that look sitting room worthy and give natural light.

Dracaenas will quickly grow very tall and tolerate low-ish lights. Ficus Benjamina is the classic choice but can get bugs and drop leaves in low light.

Monstera deliciosa might do well and look very exotic, tied into a sturdy pole would give it more treelike appearance.

Dieffenbachia will grow well also in low lights but is not very tree-like.

If you can wait 5 or so years, Avocado is brilliant- it likes higher light levels but certainly fits the bill of an indoors tree

 

You know, I didn't consider for one minute that the plant we saw on tele could well have been artificial!!

A bit of research on this shows me that you can indeed buy large realistic artificial plants, with lights already on, and they do look quite good!

Admittedly the growing conditions I can offer in the living room would be less than ideal for a live specimen. And with it being so big, and lit up, it would have to have amazing foliage and be very healthy for it to work.

It's pointless having a plant that constantly looks unhappy. Lit up it would highlight all the imperfections in growth, or lack of!

Hmm, maybe not such a good idea after all. And yes @pete, those "twiggy" looking artificial dead trees do look surprisingly good.

A few things for the wife and I to mull over.

 

Would say
Araucaria heterophylla
... but.... humidity...

 

A plant with foliage, real or fake, is going to get dusty and be hard to keep looking good. I'd go for some stylish bare branches - just what you find in your garden or local woods or maybe some bare stems of corkscrew willow. Use plain, discreet lights or decorative ones depending on the effect you wish to achieve.