Good Look - Reasonable Price
I have planters on my patio that have been home to small arborvitae for 10 years. As my backyard abuts conservation land the population of deer has increasingly found my arborvitae a food source - particularly during cold New England winters when food is scarce.After replacing them for the fourth time I decided to acknowledge defeat and change them out for artificial topiary balls.These look good for the money (others were SO much more expensive) and are the perfect size to fill the large urns they will occupy. They come with chains to hang them but mine will sit inside my urns so I will need to stake them down to ensure they aren't blown away by the variety of winter storms we see.Because we still have snow covering most of our backyard, I will not be installing them for another 3-4 weeks making it difficult to determine durability at this time.Pros:They look realistic from 10 feet awayThe price I paid for 25 in. diameter topiary balls was the cheapest by far on the internetCons:Each ball comes in two pieces which must be clipped together and is not an easy task. I needed pliers and a good deal of patience to get the many plastic clips secured - but once together the seams were invisible and the two halves appear quite secureThe topiaries are not round after being in a shipping box for however long and at first they will resemble your hair after wearing a baseball cap all day. They do however respond well to "fluffing" and will eventually be the shape you expect and desire. I recommend opening them in a warm space and letting them acclimate to achieve the best results although a hair dryer can help speed things up if desired.Assuming they stand up to year round outdoor exposure I will be pleased with them particularly because the cost vs. appearance equation is strong. However, I recognize that with full summer sun exposure and severe winter weather I am asking a lot of a plastic shrub. I suspect using them in a protected outdoor environment like a covered porch will result in a longer lifespan.