Fire-retardant artificial plants: what the terms mean and what we can document

Fire-retardant (FR) artificial plants are made from materials intended to make them harder to ignite and to slow the spread of flame, but they are not fireproof: they can still burn. Every product in this guide is supplied by our manufacturer as fire-retardant (FR) grade. This guide explains what the terms mean, which standards specifiers ask about, and how to request documentation for a commercial project.

Fire-retardant, fire-resistant and fireproof: what the terms mean

Sellers use these words loosely, but they don't mean the same thing. The difference matters when you are writing a specification or completing a fire risk assessment.

• Fire-retardant (FR): a material that contains, or is coated with, chemicals that make it harder to ignite and slow the spread of flame. It will still burn if it is exposed to enough heat or flame. This is the term our manufacturer uses for the products in this guide, and the term we use.
• Flame-retardant: used interchangeably with fire-retardant for plastics and fabrics.
• Fire-resistant: in everyday speech this often means the same as fire-retardant, and our collection names use it that way. In UK building terms, though, fire resistance means something specific: how long a wall, door or floor holds back a fire, measured in minutes. Fire resistance in that sense doesn't apply to decorative plants.
• A fire rating or classification: the result of a test to a named standard. A rating only tells you something useful when it names the standard, the class achieved and the test report behind it, and when that report covers the product you are buying.
• Fireproof: something that cannot burn. No plastic or fabric plant is fireproof, and ours are no exception.

That is why we describe these products as fire-retardant: it is how our manufacturer supplies them, and it doesn't promise more than the material can do.

Built into the material or applied as a finish

There are two broad ways to make artificial foliage fire-retardant. The retardant can be built into the plastic or fibre when it is made, which is often described as inherently fire-retardant (IFR). Or it can be applied to the surface afterwards as a spray or a dip.

The difference matters to specifiers. A retardant that is part of the material stays in it when the plant is cleaned, while a surface finish can wear away with cleaning and handling and may need renewing.

Our manufacturer supplies the products in this guide as fire-retardant (FR) grade. If your specification needs to know which method was used for a particular product, ask us before you order and we will tell you what information we hold for it.

Fire standards specifiers ask about

The standards below come up most often in UK specifications. We describe them here as general information to help you read a specification: this is not a statement that our products have been tested to any of them. Most were written for building materials, furniture or fabrics rather than for decorative plants, so ask your fire risk assessor or specifier which one they need.

BS EN 13501-1

The European system for classifying how construction products and building materials react to fire, published in the UK as BS EN 13501-1. Materials are placed in classes from A1 (non-combustible) to F, with additional ratings for smoke production (s1 to s3) and flaming droplets (d0 to d2), so a full classification is written in a form such as B-s1,d0. The classification draws on tests including the single burning item test (EN 13823) and a small-flame ignitability test (EN ISO 11925-2).

BS 476 parts 6 and 7

Older British tests for materials used to line walls and ceilings. Part 7 measures how far flame spreads across a surface and places materials in classes 1 to 4, with class 1 the best. Part 6 measures how much heat a material adds to a fire, known as fire propagation. "Class 0" is a classification that older UK Building Regulations guidance defined using the results of both parts.

BS 5852

A test of how easily upholstered seating ignites, using ignition sources that range from a smouldering cigarette and a small flame, roughly equivalent to a match, up to larger burning wooden cribs. It was written for furniture, but it is sometimes used for other decorative products.

BS 5867-2

Flammability requirements for fabrics used in curtains and drapes, with three performance types: A, B and C. Type B is commonly specified for public and commercial buildings.

Supplier paperwork sometimes quotes overseas standards instead, such as NFPA 701 from the United States or DIN 4102 from Germany. Check with your assessor whether they will accept them.

Who decides what your venue needs

In England and Wales, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the responsible person for most non-domestic premises, usually the employer, owner or manager, to carry out a fire risk assessment. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own equivalent legislation. Decorations, including artificial plants, are part of what that assessment should consider.

So whether a space needs fire-retardant plants, and what paperwork you should keep, is decided by the venue's fire risk assessment, not by the plant. Fire-retardant plants are decorative products: they are not fire safety equipment and are not a substitute for the assessment.

What documentation we can provide

We can supply fire certificates for commercial projects. Contact us for more information.

When you get in touch, it helps to tell us:

• the products and quantities you are considering;
• the type of venue and where the plants will go;
• the standard or classification your specifier or fire risk assessor has asked for, if any;
• when you need the plants installed.

Please ask before you order rather than after, so the paperwork is ready when your assessor needs it. For larger orders, our trade customers page explains how trade accounts work.

Compare every fire-retardant plant and tree

Every product in this table is supplied by our manufacturer as fire-retardant (FR) grade. Sort by height or price, or show only products in stock.

In stock only Sort by Height: low to high Height: high to low Price: low to high Price: high to low

Image	Tree	Height	Spread	UV-stabilised	Price	Buy
	Hanging UV and Fire Resistant Artificial Foliage Plant 85cm	85cm	40cm	Yes	£19.99	View
	Hanging UV and Fire Resistant Artificial Plant Pearl String 92cm	92cm	15cm	Yes	£14.99	View
	Hanging UV and Fire Resistant Artificial Peperomia Plant 68cm	68cm	30cm	Yes	£11.99	View
	Hanging UV and Fire Resistant Artificial Green Pothos Plant 85cm	85cm	30cm	Yes	£11.99	View
	Hanging UV and Fire Resistant Artificial Pothos Plant 71cm	71cm	30cm	Yes	£14.99	View
	165cm Artificial Fire Retardant Nandina Tree with 4857 Leaves	165cm	90cm	No	£126.99	Back soon
	210cm Artificial Fire Retardant Areca Palm Tree	210cm	100cm	No	£199.99	View
	82cm UV & Fire Resistant Artificial Trailing Button Fern Plant	82cm	30cm	Yes	£11.99	View
	180cm Fire Retardant Artificial Retusa Ficus Tree - 1134 Leaves	180cm	70cm	No	£169.99	View
	Hanging UV and Fire Resistant Artificial Clustered Fern Plant 128cm	128cm	40cm	Yes	£19.99	View
	Hanging UV and Fire Resistant Artificial Forest Foliage Plant 81cm	81cm	30cm	Yes	£14.99	View
	45cm Fire Retardant Artificial Aglaonema Bush	45cm	45cm	No	£20.99	View
	Hanging UV and Fire Resistant Artificial Spider Fern Plant 78cm	78cm	30cm	Yes	£11.99	View
	Hanging UV and Fire Resistant Artificial Angel Plant 76cm	76cm	30cm	Yes	£11.99	View
	75cm Fire Retardant Artificial Boston Fern Plant - 49 Leaves	75cm	80cm	No	£42.99	View
	45cm Artificial Fire Retardant Mini Ficus Topiary Ball Plant	45cm	30cm	No	£39.99	View
	Hanging UV and Fire Resistant Artificial Variegated Plant 76cm	76cm	30cm	Yes	£17.99	View
	Hanging UV and Fire Resistant Artificial String Pearl Plant 75cm	75cm	30cm	Yes	£11.99	View
	210cm Artificial Fire Retardant Cherry Blossom Tree with 1206 Flowers	210cm	70cm	No	£179.99	View
	80cm Artificial Fire Retardant Aglaonema Bush with 72 Leaves	80cm	45cm	No	£34.99	View
	180cm Fire Retardant Artificial Black Olive Tree - 2925 Leaves	180cm	80cm	No	£209.99	View
	30cm Artificial Fire Resistant Foliage Mini Leaf Stem	30cm	15cm	No	£11.99	View
	Hanging UV and Fire Resistant Artificial Fronded Thyme Plant 70cm	70cm	30cm	Yes	£11.99	View
	78cm Fire Retardant Artificial Fern Foliage Branch	78cm	60cm	No	£23.99	View
	40cm Fire Retardant Artificial Palm Tree Stem	40cm	30cm	No	£20.99	View
	210cm Artificial Fire Retardant Phoenix Palm Tree Natural Trunk	210cm	80cm	No	£199.99	View
	Hanging UV and Fire Resistant Artificial Boston Fern Plant 75cm	75cm	30cm	Yes	£10.99	View
	Hanging UV and Fire Resistant Artificial Small Leaf Plant 78cm	78cm	30cm	Yes	£11.99	View
	90cm Artificial Fire Retardant Caladium Bush 49 Leaves	90cm	30cm	No	£63.99	View
	90cm Fire Retardant Artificial Peacock Foliage Bush	90cm	30cm	No	£63.99	View
	180cm Fire Retardant Artificial Lychee Ball Tree - 3774 Leaves	180cm	80cm	No	£249.99	View
	180cm Artificial Fire Retardant Ruscus Tree With 4173 Leaves	180cm	75cm	No	£199.99	View
	200cm Artificial Fire Retardant Natural Bamboo Tree	200cm	100cm	No	£199.99	View
	40cm Fire Resistant Artificial Foliage Grass Stem	40cm	15cm	No	£14.99	View
	30cm Fire Resistant Artificial Grass Stem	30cm	20cm	No	£8.99	Back soon
	35cm Fire Resistant Artificial Fern Stem	35cm	20cm	No	£14.99	Back soon

Live prices and stock. Heights are overall, from the bottom of the pot (or of the stem, for stem flowers and ferns) to the top of the leaves. Spreads are as arranged in our photos, and wired stems can be shaped wider or narrower.

The range falls into four groups:

• Tall trees: palms, bamboo, an olive, a ficus, a ruscus, a lychee ball tree and a cherry blossom tree, most of them 180–210cm tall as arranged in our photos. They suit receptions, atriums and lobbies with the ceiling height to take them. Several have natural trunks.
• Potted plants under a metre: a 75cm Boston fern, an 80cm aglaonema bush and a 45cm mini ficus topiary ball, for desks, counters and meeting rooms.
• Foliage stems and bushes, 30–90cm: bare stems for arranging in your own planters, troughs and displays.
• Hanging trailing plants, 68–128cm long: bare stems for high shelves, wall brackets and ceiling installations.

Our 180cm black olive tree is the only fire-retardant tree in our olive range; our artificial olive tree guide compares it with the others.

Which are also UV-stabilised

All of our fire-retardant hanging plants are also UV-stabilised. They include pothos, string of pearls, Boston fern, spider fern, trailing button fern, peperomia and clustered fern designs. That makes them an option for covered terraces, balconies and entrance canopies where a venue wants both properties. UV-stabilised products are guaranteed against fading for one year.

None of our fire-retardant trees, potted plants or foliage stems are UV-stabilised, so keep them indoors or in a covered spot out of direct sun. Our outdoor artificial plants guide covers the full UV-stabilised range.

Where fire-retardant plants are used

Businesses often choose fire-retardant plants for spaces where the fire performance of furnishings and decorations is a consideration, such as:

• hotel lobbies, restaurants, bars and function rooms;
• office receptions, meeting rooms and breakout areas;
• waiting rooms, communal lounges and dining rooms in care settings;
• shops, showrooms and shopping-centre units;
• schools, colleges and other public buildings.

Some people also choose them for their homes because they prefer fire-retardant materials. In every case, fire-retardant plants add to the precautions a building already has; they don't replace any of them.

Planning a scheme with fire-retardant plants

A few practical points help a project run smoothly:

• Don't mix ranges in one display. If an area needs fire-retardant decorations, use fire-retardant products throughout it, including the stems in any arrangement. A single standard stem in a fire-retardant display undermines the point of the display.
• Plan ceiling and wall installations carefully. Our fire-retardant hanging plants and foliage stems are bare stems, so they can be fixed to a ceiling grid, a trellis or a wire frame. Agree the layout with the fire risk assessor before you install it, and keep it clear of detectors, sprinklers and lighting.
• Think about the whole product. Tall trees come in a weighted starter pot. If you put them in a decorative planter, the planter and any top dressing are part of what your assessor will look at.
• Keep the paperwork with the plants. Record which products went where, so that anyone checking the building later can match each plant to its documents.

What designers and specifiers should check

1. Ask the fire risk assessor whether the space needs fire-retardant decorations at all and, if it does, which standard or classification they will accept.
2. Ask for documentation before you order, and check that it covers the products you are buying rather than a similar line.
3. Check which parts of the product the documentation covers. A potted tree has foliage, a trunk, a starter pot and sometimes a top dressing.
4. Remember what you add. Decorative planters, moss, bark and gravel are separate items, and they are not fire-retardant unless their own documentation says so.
5. Keep plants off escape routes and clear of exits, stairs, fire doors and exit signs.
6. Keep foliage well away from heaters, open fires, candles and hot light fittings, and clear of sprinkler heads, smoke detectors and emergency lighting.
7. File copies of any documents with your fire risk assessment records, so they are ready for an inspection.
8. If you are buying in quantity, order one first to check the size and look in the space.

For hotels, restaurants and bars, our guide to artificial plants for hospitality covers where fire-retardant and UV-stabilised plants fit in a venue. You are also welcome to see the range at our showroom in Louth, Lincolnshire: no appointment is needed Monday to Friday, 8am–4pm, and weekend visits are by appointment.