Top 10 Types of Greenery to Use for Your DIY Wedding Flowers

By Alison Fleck

DIY Wedding flowers can be daunting for so many reasons. And one reason is knowing what flowers to use but people usually forget about the greenery as greenery isn’t usually at the forefront of the list when it comes to color palettes. More recently people have come around to using more greenery or even all greenery but for the most part, they’re focusing on the flowers. And rightly so! But as we all know (or as we are all learning) the more flowers you have the more the price point goes up.

There are a few ways to combat this price creep from busting your budget but one of the most simple ways to keep costs down is to use a good balance of greenery with your florals. The ratio along with specific varieties can really make an impact on whether or not you stay within your floral budget. This applies to DIY Wedding Flowers as well as working with a florist.

If you are familiar with any of the tutorials or our process at Bloom Culture (or if you’re just learning it now), you’ll find that we ALWAYS start with greenery. We thought it would be helpful to list our fabes and break down why to give you a leg up when it comes to greenery and your DIY Wedding Flowers.

Best DIY Wedding Flower Greenery and Why

Now not all greenery is created equally. There are various shapes, sizes, and colors and we’re about to break down which are our top faves along with some Pro’s and Con’s for each. Most greenery varieties can be pretty versatile but it can also take a color palette in the wrong direction if you're not careful. Here are some helpful tips on what to consider when choosing greenery to accent your wedding or event flowers.

Greenery 1: Salal/Lemon Leaf

This greenery is a beautiful green color and has a bit of a waxy feel to the broad leaves. It feels very “greenery” if that makes sense in that it has “typical” leaves and can come in two sizes, regular and tips. This comes in a typical growers bunch.

Pros: Has a bit of a classic feel to it with its broad leaf structure. A little goes a long way and does well out of water. Has a long vase life too.

Cons: With a little goes a long way always being a positive, it can be a bit overwhelming in a design if too much is used.

Greenery 2: Italian Ruscus

This is a beautiful deep green color and the leaves can look a bit shiny. Has great length and comes 5 branches/stems to a bunch.

Pros: The deep green color is ideal to some people and the length can be ideal for cascade bouquets, arches/arbors, table greenery and more! Does well out of water.

Cons: The length can be inconsistent. In some bunches the branches/stems can be 30” long and others they are 12”-18”. When designing thinking you’re getting the longer length but getting the shorter, it can be a bit disappointing to not get the length you were hoping for.

Greenery 3: Israeli Ruscus

Similar to Italian Ruscus but it's more like a line flower in that the rounded leaves come off one single stem/branch instead of having multiple off shoots to use for other things (like boutonnieres and corsages). Comes 5-8 a bunch.

Pros: Has a fairly consistent length and color. Does well outside of water.

Cons: Can be hard to work with as it is very rigid.

Greenery 4: Leather Leaf

This is a very classic greenery and you get a lot of bang for your bunch. It looks more like a fern and does well out of water. Large bunches 10+ stems per bunch.

Pros: Very Consistent, doesn’t need much water so awesome for arch/arbors and or other designs that don’t have a direct water source. A little goes a long way and can be broken down for wearable flowers really well.

Cons: Some people don’t love that it resembles a fern and may not have the right feel to pair with some wedding flowers.

Greenery 5: Plumosus

This is a very light and airy greenery known for its feathery appearance. Comes in a typical growers bunch.

Pros: Does well out of water and some stems can be really long creating great reach. Lends itself well to winter weddings and can be tinted (spray painted) easily.

Cons: Sometimes the short stems are too short in some designs. It can muddle up water easily and can shatter when it dries out (needles/leaves fall off stem).

Greenery 6: Nagi

This is a beautiful deep green color and has a bit of a waxy feel to the leaves. Comes in a typical growers bunch.

Pros: Has a bit of a classic feel to it with its leaf structure and has a great deep green color that’s very consistent. Similar to Italian Ruscus but shorter stem lengths and fuller bunches.

Cons: Needs to be in water and can tend to curl a bit if dehydrated.

Greenery 7: Seeded Eucalyptus

Seeded Euc is beautiful and creates a lot of texture!

Pros: Texture, great color, great for filling in holes in your design

Cons: Can be inconsistent, you can get a bunch like the one shown or one with really heavy seeds or one with dark seeds or one with more leaves than seeds. This is due to the seasons they are grown in and conditions. Springtime they can have what are called cupps (huge seeds) and they don’t really resemble what you would think of as seeded Eucalyptus. This variety is more like a box of chocolate… you never know what you’re gonna get but you’re happy because you have a box of chocolate!

Greenery 8: Silver Dollar Eucalyptus

This variety is most likely the “Voted most popular”… Euc. (I’m just gonna abrev from here on out because I don’t want to type Eucalyptus a bajillion times. mmmmmk).

Named silver dollar euc due to her giant, silver dollar sized leaves.

Pros: Makes a statement, covers lots space, great bang for your buck

Cons: Can take over the show… the leaves are so big they can be all you see at times and steal focus.

Greenery 9: Gunni/Parfavolia

Not unlike the parvifolia, the difference is basically the leaf structure. Gunni has small leaves rounded at the tips and Parvifolia has pointed leaves at the tip. Not much different. I love this euc. It is full, great bang for your buck so I guess I’m already getting into the pros…

Pros: Full and fills in arrangements beautifully. The little shoots off of one stem elongate its usage and are perfect for floral crowns, bouts, bud vases. Basically it’s a great use for all your needs. Another workhorse greenery with a great bang for your buck.

Cons: Can curl at the tips and create more of a drape than some want and be heavy feeling but that’s if I’m trying to come up with a con. 🤔I’m really having to think on this one… maybe the growers bunches can be small? It’s a good one.

Greenery 10: Baby Blue

TRUE, BABY BLUE, OR SPIRAL EUC. Three names, same euc.Pros: Smells like the spa, gives you long reach (think long stems for big arrangementsor arbors) and wonderful texture. Also perfect dusty green color.

Cons: It’s pretty rigid and the linear leaf structure can be hard to work with at times (feels like it’s just sticking out). The oil from the plant can seep into your skin. For me it’s a bit overpowering but some love it!

I want to leave you with a few bits of general info on greenery. Unlike flowers they don’t typically have a stem/branch count as they come in what we call a growers bunch and can fluctuate in size. Most bunches of greenery are based on weight and it’s typical for these to look and feel different depending on the growing season and where they were grown (state-side or imported). Greenery is always a great way to help cut down on wedding flower costs and I hope this guide to Wedding Flower Greenery helps you make the best decisions for your designs.