The white is a less dense foam, the green is more dense, softer and is used in fresh flower arrangements, it absorbs water. I would use white, you can get it at Walmart or Hobby Lobby. I have used it for years in flowers vases in cemeteries. One set of vases has had the same white foam in it for 15 years and I changes the flowers out seasonally. Do the pots you intend to use the artificial flowers in already have dirt in them and are you going to just stick the foam in the dirt?.. Just curious as to what method you are going to use to secure the foam in the pots.

I would prefer not to use dirt. At the moment, I'm using dirt in the planters to hold the artificial plants & flowers, but dirt makes a mess. Any heavy rain causes dirty water to flow out of the drain holes, and stain my concrete patio (even when using saucers). If I plug the drain holes, I think dirty water would flow over the tops of the planters.

I think foam, covered with crushed stone, would be an better & cleaner alternative to dirt. Crushed stone alone would probably work, too, but it would be very heavy.

Thanks!

I would be a tad bit concerned about water not being able to drain out, just run over. I'm afraid that over time it would become stagnant and stinky.. clean water draining out should not stain your patio. Maybe you could buy the flat sheet type foam and cut it to where it just wedges into the top of the flower pot with a couple or so inches to spare at the top, then lay a nice layer of sphagnum moss on top to hide the foam. That way the water going thru should be clean water not stain. I can understand your dilemma plus I have found artificial flowers just stuck in dirt are not anchored all that great.

Thanks very much for your help!

Yes, I need to keep the drain holes. Otherwise, stagnant water could build up in the planters. In addition to being messy, dirt doesn't hold the plants very well. I'm using wire & stakes to keep the plants from leaning over.

It seems that some type of foam would be a better solution.

I don't know what size planters you're using but in addition to the floral type foam you can also use expandable foam. It's what I've seen used with the silk trees. Then you can cover the top with moss or black polished stones (my favorite).

i want to do this for the cemetery, do you use glue to hold artificial plants in the foam? or just stick them in? I am concerned about the wind. Do i use dirt or stones to weigh down the bottom of the pot?

Withput any idea what the plants will be...it seems foam would be a problem...any movement will deteriorate the foam ...for outdoors i would use a combination of rocks to hold stems upright...filling in empty spaces with pea gravel

So I want to hang a huge wire basket lined with moss liner, outside with artificial greens and flowers. Sounds like my best bet might be white foam, with rocks to weigh it down...I need the weight to protect it from weather, but I worry about it ending up TOO heavy. Any suggestions?

My other suggestion would be to consider finding a cheap pot or bucket that is slightly smaller and will sit inside your other planter. Then use quick setting concrete. You only need a little bit to add weight. I put a small length of ABS black pipe and used a plastic disposable dinner plate with a hole in it to keep the pipe in place while the concrete hardened. I drilled holes threw the PVC pipe, so you can use green zip ties to attach the greenery. To hide the bucket, I went to dollar tree and bought a plastic charger, drilled a hole in it the size of my pipe, and turned it upside down. In my situation, the charger covered the bucket and left 1/8 inch around the edge between it and the larger (prettier) flower pot. I then poured some brown rubber mulch on top of the charger. This allowed for drainage and made it look for natural.

Obviously you can amend these suggestions for your particular needs... but this gives you some ideas.

Tho’ this IS sort of irrelevant..at this point…but ,i would also say , flowers would not really be believable year round..so a permanent install of leaves and hanging foliage could be permanent …while adding flowers only in spring/summer…