How to Make a Hanging Kokedama

Ever heard of a hanging kokedama? I hadn’t until just recently. Basically, they are a type of hanging garden or pot plant without a pot, a kind of Japanese hanging bonsai. Made from a ball of moss and soil, a kokedama makes an attractive piece of home décor. They are also incredibly popular and expensive to buy.

Not one to miss out on some good old kiwi DIY, Miss 4 and I did some research and made our own hanging kokedama! This was our first ever attempt, so it’s not quite as pretty as the images floating around on the web… but Miss 4 was happy with it!

What You Will Need:

• Mini plants – e.g. cacti, succulents or baby ferns
• Soil
• Water
• Moss (we used Sphagnum Moss purchased from our local garden centre)
• Cotton thread
• Natural or coloured twine
• Scissors
• Bucket

How to Make Your Own Hanging Kokedama at Home

In a bucket, mix together soil and water until it becomes damp. You should be able to make a small, firm ball that holds together without falling apart.

Gently remove as much soil from around the roots of your plant as you can. Form a ball of the damp soil, just big enough to hold the plant roots (about the size of a large orange).

Make a hole big enough for the roots to go in. Pop the plant roots in and gently cover up and reform the ball shape.
Wrap the sphagnum moss around the soil mixture and tie it tight with cotton thread. This was quite tricky and required an extra pair of adult hands!
Keep adding moss and tying with thread until you have a nice round shape.
Use your twine to wrap around the outside of your sphagnum moss. This twine is supposed to be seen, which is where using coloured twine to match your décor works well. Make sure you leave a length of twine long enough to use to hang your new kokedama!

Caring for Your Hanging Kokedama

Your kokedama is simple to look after. Either spray daily with water, or soak in a bowl of water once a week or so. As a type of bonsai, your kokedama is not meant to grow large. Just like a pot plant in a pot, the plant is limited to growing with the space and resources it has available. If it does become too big or is not thriving, you may need to make a bigger ball for the roots. Simply cut off and remove the twine and cotton. Add extra soil and re-wrap again.

Of course, Miss 4 wore her Mud Mates Coveralls to keep her clothes clean (and save me washing!) and you can get yours here.

If your littlies enjoyed this, they may enjoy helping to create your own vegetable garden. It’s a lot fun, plus a great way to help get kids excited about eating their veggies!

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