How to fill Christmas tree patches – experts reveal their top tip for making your tree look fuller and more luxurious
This is what you should do if your Christmas tree has bald patches, according to interior stylists
It’s not uncommon for a Christmas tree to have some bald patches, whether it’s a real one or an artificial one. But it’s certainly annoying. If your tree has some patches, you don’t have to just accept them; there is a way to fill Christmas tree patches that many experts swear by – and that’s using foliage.
I’ve been seeing interior stylists and content creators use this Christmas tree idea more and more this year, whether that’s the burgundy tree of Roti Brown (@rotiibrown on Instagram) or the eucalyptus-filled tree from Alfonso Gomez Sempere (@asempe on Instagram).
And you can go for anything from dried foliage to faux designs, including Christmas garlands which is a trick that Laurie Davidson, interior stylist of The Style Makers, swears by.
‘I like to use a mix of garlands and extra foliage. A garland is a great way to hide gaps, and if you wrap it around the trunk of the tree and then bring some out onto the branches it will give an extra bushy look,’ Laurie says.
What kind of foliage should you get?
When using extra foliage to make your tree look fuller, there are two ways you can go. You can opt for a foliage that brings a bit of well-considered textural contrast (which is my preferred approach), for example, using eucalyptus or flowers to add a splash of colour.
‘A great trick I’ve used is dried hydrangea bloom,’ says Aurélien Farjon, interior stylist of Style Makers. ‘At this time of year they need to come off the bush so it’s perfect timing. You are bound to have a friend or a family member whose garden you can pick from.’
Alternatively, you can match your foliage to your tree to create a seamless look and blend it in. ‘Match the foliage type to your existing tree,’ advises Chloe Barrow, interior expert at Laura James. ‘Faux trees are best paired with faux foliage for consistency in colour and texture, and the same with real trees and real dried foliage.’
Christmas trees filled in with eucalyptus stems have been among my personal favourites this year. So if you want to recreate the look, just invest in some dried eucalyptus like this.
If you don't have access to any real dried hydrangeas, you can opt for artificial ones instead. A few months ago, I saw the Pottery Barn faux flower and foliage range and I was very impressed with how realistic and high quality it looks, including these hydrangeas.
Dried amaranthus has been something of an obsession of mine in the last few months as I love their draped look and the fact that in certain colours, it can look like dripping candle wax. If you want to recreate the look of the burgundy tree above, this is a great starting point.
How to arrange the foliage
When you get to filling your tree’s patches with the foliage, Laurie advises using floristry wire, like this one from Amazon, to keep everything in place. ‘If you're using foliage, whether real or faux, I'd advise tying three or four pieces together with some green floristry wire, and then place them onto your branches to fill some of the gaps. It makes them fuller, rather than just having individual sprigs.’
Where exactly you place your stems or bunches of foliage is likely going to feel quite instinctual, much like decorating a tree with Christmas decorations. But creating enough depth should be at the front of your mind. ‘For stubborn patches, position foliage slightly deeper into the tree rather than just on the surface, which helps create depth and disguise empty areas,’ says David Sumner, sales manager at Christmas Tree World.
And just like that, before you know it you’re going to have the most stylish and just the best Christmas tree around.
