How do I Make a Fake Outdoor Palm Tree?

Sand down the corners of one 8 foot long wood beam that is either 4 inches by 4 inches, or 6 inches by 6 inches, wide. Sand until it is somewhat round in shape. If you prefer to skip this step, you could purchase a round beam like ones used on front porches.

Insert the modified 4 by 4, or 6 by 6, post in the ground at a slight angle so that the palm tree will have a little bit of a lean as if it grew in the wind. Use post hole diggers to dig a 2-foot hole.

Pour in about two inches of crushed gravel and pack it down with the handle of a shovel.

Insert the post in the hole and pour concrete in the hole around the post. If you don't want the palm tree to be a permanent fixture, skip the concrete step, and instead fill with a mixture of crushed gravel and dirt.

Paint the beam a medium brown color, and add highlights. Look at a picture of a palm tree for help. Use a lighter shade of brown and make upside down V shapes around the trunk to make it look like the outer surface of a palm tree.

Staple silk palm leaves to the beam starting at about two feet from the top. Use a staple gun to attach them. Layer them in rows all around the trunk. Staple some to the top of the beam as well. Make sure to attach enough to the top so that there is enough to face out around the entire circumference of the post. The top ones will flow over and give it extra height and a real feel.

Place rocks around the base of the beam to cover it and also grass around the base for a more natural look.

You also could insert a steel pipe for strength and slide a PVC pipe over top instead of using a wood beam. Wrap the PVC in burlap for the bark effect. Or you could cut and heat the pipe in places to raise the surface and create texture, and then paint it with plastic bonding paint.