DIY Kokedama Moss Ball Garden
by
Zest it Up
4 Materials
$15
1 Hour
Easy
I tend to go “ga-ga” over anything Japanese when it comes to design (ahem, and food). Sam and I have shared with you our penchant for shou-sugi-ban, the Japanese art of burned wood, in a few of our posts and projects. Today, my green thumb is taking a wack at the Japanese technique of hanging string gardens called Kokedama. I know, sounds fancy, right? I know! It sounds super fancy and fussy…but it is far from either of those descriptions. Kokedama is a simple and beautiful way to garden indoors and outdoors. In fact, this rather cost effective “craft” could make for the perfect hostess or holiday gift. Honestly, you may become so addicted to making moss ball string gardens that you find that you HAVE to gift some of the away or your house may take on a whimsical plant museum vibe!
Photo Cred: Anya McInroy
Supplies:
- Acid loving plants (like ferns, azaleas, begonias, etc)
- sphagnum moss
- 100% cotton string
- potting soil
When choosing plants for your kokedama garden, look for plants that like a little acid in their soil. Moss does a great job of retaining moisture, but it also does a great job of acidifying soil. Instead of fighting acidic soil, look for plants that will revel in it!
The first step is to soak some sphagnum moss in fresh water.
Once it has soaked for a minute, give it a squeeze to rid it of excess water.
Then, on a table top that you don’t mind getting messy, pile your moistened sphagnum moss into a circular formation.
In the center, fill it with a bit of fresh potting mix.
Removing your chosen plant from the pot it came in, gently press and mold the soil and roots into a ball shape.
Using 100% cotton string, make a basic slip knot.
Then, gently fold the moss up around the root ball and wrap the slip knot around the entire thing.
Carefully pull the slip knot snug and then begin to wrap. You will feel the whole moss ball become solid and secure the more you wrap the string around the circumference at random angles.
Once you are satisfied with how many times around you have wrapped the root ball, tie your loose end snuggly to one of the wrapped strings.
Then let the string out about two feet and tie the end to a spot on the opposing side of the plant. This will be your “hanger.”
I adore the utter simplicity of this garden. Depending on the time of year and the location of your plants, you will need to give their root balls a dunk in fresh water once or twice a week.
I don’t even bring mine down for a dunk, I just lift a bowl of water up to them and give them a dunk in place! Super easy! It is kind of awesome how happy my little plants have been. They just love the acidified soil! These little guys really make me smile.
xoxo
Chanda
Resources for this project:
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Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Comments
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2 of 11 comments
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I live in desert climate and these work great outside either in sun or not but a variety of hanging plants can be used smaller for hanging doesn't take up ground space or patio. Thanks for sharing🌵
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This is my absolute fav, I love this for of growing plants. I have not tried it but I saw it several years back. Thank you for reminding me. 🎈🎈🎈
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
I was wondering if this can be done with orchard plants? They grow in a bark type medium. They also sell orchard soil at the Wallmart. Since orchards grow on tree bark I think it may work. What do you think?
Please respond. Thanks. Linda B.
Dosent the water drip on to the floor?
Could you use the moss from the Dollar Tree Store?