photo and floral courtesy of Imagine That Events, Inc. I’m pretty sure this palm tree ice stand was their idea and they did a FANTASTIC job with the floral. I wish they would’ve helped me with what to call it though 😩
updated 7/16/23 with seo and agonizing
still don't know what to call this. palm tree ice stand?
I confess, I have avoided this design. This is the very LAST design that I have to upgrade in my giant seo-friendly reboot of the website. After this, I’m going to work on all the non-design posts. But I’ve been putting this one off because I don’t know what to call this design!!
palm tree ice stand? (odds on favorite)
support?
platform?
dais?
stage?
Or maybe palm ice trunk?
Or what about ice trunk for a palm tree?
The problem is that I’m trying to guess what other people would call it if they even thought it might exist. I’ve always thought it was one of the coolest ice/floral combos I’ve ever been part of. I wish I could take credit for the idea, but I’m about 95% sure it was the florist’s idea.
I think I’m going to go with “palm tree ice stand.” I hate that, but 🤷♂️
this palm tree ice stand really is a weird bird
I’ve been dreading trying to figure this post out. When you look at only the ice portion of this ice sculpture design below, it looks very odd. In this piece, the floral and the ice work together to create their effect. Without the other, neither works. So the florist is crucial in this case, and they must understand what’s required for an effective presentation.
a word of warning
If you try the whole palm tree display with my palm tree ice stand, the florist has to understand what’s required. If I were you, I’d give them the photo at the top and tell them their floral has to look as good as what’s in that pic. Because I’ve done this piece with other florists that MAYBE didn’t take it as seriously as they should have. And it ended up looking a bit like a dead palm tree 
Ok, maybe not dead. But definitely dying ☠️
making floral work with ice sculptures
For any sort of vase or floral display, instead of trying to cut a hole in the top of the sculpture, I almost always leave the top as a flat surface. And the same goes for this palm tree ice stand. As long as you tell the florist ahead of time, it’s usually no problem for them to make the arrangement on a flat-bottomed, plastic dish that will fit on the top of the pedestal. That way, they can make the arrangement ahead of time, instead of on site, which helps a lot also.
When it comes time to put the ice and floral together, you just set a cloth napkin on the top of the ice and then set the arrangement on top of the napkin. The napkin will stick to the ice and the plastic dish won’t slide on the napkin like it would on the ice.
Of course, the top of the ice has to be flat and level and if it doesn’t seem like the arrangement is sitting properly, then you have to make the necessary adjustments. As long as the arrangement hangs down below the level of the dish and napkin, like it does in the picture above, then the guests won’t really see the way the ice and floral are put together unless they really go looking for it.
Finally, you’ll notice that the base on my palm tree ice stand is substantial. Whenever I make any sort of vase or pedestal, I always go to extra lengths to make sure that the sculpture is very stable. When you put the floral arrangement on top of the piece, it raises the sculpture’s center of gravity some and it makes the sculpture a bit more likely to tip. Be very cautious with this scenario and even add a larger base to the sculpture if you think it’s necessary.
always think safety and avoid surprises
Finally, make sure that you don’t make the trunk of the palm too thin, especially up near the top. Leave some extra thickness, front to back, in the ice and pull the sculpture if it looks like it’s melted too much to hold the arrangement. Otherwise, the guests might have an unwelcome surprise.
links and stuff
If you have any questions about my I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO CALL IT sculpture design, email me or comment below. (It might not let you though.) If you would like to use this ice sculpture design or any other design on this site, please check the design usage guidelines. The design collection page lists designs on the site.
You might also find photos and info from this entry on the ice sculpting secrets Instagram account and you can comment there as well as below. Thanks!
earlier comments
The following comments were on the original blog entry. After some technical difficulties etc., the blog was reconstructed, and this was the only way to keep the original comments. Unfortunately, the hyperlinks from the original comments are gone in some cases. You can add your own new comments at the bottom.
Darren
I like the idea of a flat top, Ive always measured the hole I cut then gave measurements to the florist but time has always been a big factor with that system
Tuesday, April 10, 2007 – 03:16 PM
Anonymous
This was an easy and impressive design. Went over at the local wedding fair. Thanks for all your help. Kathy
Sunday, March 6, 2011 – 08:09 PM
