Kokedama, literally "moss ball", is a plant grown with its roots in a ball of soil that is wrapped in living moss and bound with string. No pot, just a green sphere you hang or rest on a dish. It is the friendliest way into growing with moss.
What you need
- A small shade-tolerant plant: ferns, ivy, peace lily, asparagus fern and many houseplants all take to it.
- A soil mix that holds together: the classic is roughly seven parts akadama (a Japanese clay soil) to three parts peat-free compost, but any heavy, slightly clayey mix that binds when damp will do.
- Sheet moss to wrap the outside.
- Cotton or jute twine, and a bucket of water.
Making it
Ease the plant from its pot and tease most of the loose compost off the roots. Dampen your soil mix until it holds a shape like modelling clay, and press it around the root ball into a firm sphere. Wrap the moss around the outside, green side out, covering the ball completely, then wind twine around it in every direction until the moss is held snug. Tie off and tidy the loose ends.
Watering and care
You water a kokedama by soaking, not pouring. When the ball feels light, sit it in a bowl of water (rainwater for preference) for ten to twenty minutes until it stops bubbling and feels heavy again, then let it drain. How often depends on your room, but once or twice a week is typical. Keep it out of direct sun and away from radiators, mist the moss between soakings if your air is dry, and feed the plant occasionally in summer by adding a weak feed to the soak water.
Choosing the plant
The plant matters more than the wrapping. Pick something that tolerates shade and likes its roots evenly moist, since that is the life a kokedama offers. Ferns are the natural fit, and ivy, pothos, peace lily, asparagus fern, spider plant and many small foliage houseplants all settle in happily. Avoid succulents and cacti, which want to dry right out and will rot in a damp ball, and skip anything that grows into a heavy specimen the wrapping cannot support. A small, slow plant is easier to keep looking right than a vigorous one straining at the moss.
When it goes wrong, and how long it lasts
Two faults account for most trouble. A ball left to dry hard sheds its moss and stresses the plant, so weigh it in your hand and soak before it gets light. A ball kept sodden, sitting in a saucer of water, rots the roots from the inside; let it drain fully after each soak and never leave it standing. The moss itself wants the humidity and indirect light described above, and will brown on a hot dry windowsill. Looked after, a kokedama lasts a year or two before the plant outgrows the ball, at which point you simply unwrap it, pot it on or split it, and start again with a fresh sphere.