At first sight the Kokedama plant may seem a little intimidating with its unique mossed appearance and absence of a standard pot, however, with a little special care they are relatively easy to keep. The word Kokedama translates to “moss ball” in Japanese and for obvious reasons. The entirety of the plant’s roots are kept in a little ball of moss and soil which is wrapped tightly using fishing wire.
We create the structure of the Kokedama by mixing moss and soil together adding water as we go to create a sort of mud, but not too wet because we don’t want it soggy. We gingerly encase the roots of the plant in this mixture using the fishing wire to securely keep everything in place. It may seem like a tedious task, and while it’s certainly a little messy it’s also a lot of fun!
Currently we have three different types of plants in the Kokedama style such as a pothos, Chinese money plant, and an oxalis plant which resembles a kind of clover. Each are very easy to care for with the oxalis plant perhaps needing the most attention out of all three, but still relatively easy.
As a bonus these current Kokedama plants come with a little basket tray to sit on sort of like a little perch. It makes for an extra decorative element and looks great on a shelf. I personally have a Chinese money plant Kokedama in my home on my entertainment center and it looks great with its little basket. It’s such a conversation piece and really gives some much needed zen vibes to the living space.
When my Kokedama plant isn’t basking on its corner, I have it rehydrating in a spare wide mouth mug I have just for it. This is probably what I would say is the extent of its special care. Apart from other plants that you can simply water with a watering can, the Kokedama plant must be placed standing in a few inches of water to properly hydrate. To do this will depend on how large your plant is but for explanation purposes we will go over one of our in store Kokedama.
All our in store Kokedama are about the same size, just small enough to fit in the palm of your hand but still a nice size for a desk or shelf. This is one of our Chinese money plant Kokedama and as you can see the moss has gotten a little crunchy, the leaves are beginning to droop a little, and overall it’s a little dry.
To water it I grab an empty container and fill it with a bit of water. You can pretty much use anything that will hold water but don’t choose anything too big that will let it flop over. You want to keep the plant upright the whole time. It’s also best to use filtered water versus tap because the minerals in tap water may cause the plant to die.
Next, set your timer for 5 minutes. You can keep your plant in water for up to 10 minutes, although some will say 20 or more is okay, however, you want to be mindful of overwatering.
After the time is up, you want to remove your plant from the water and allow it to drip dry somewhere.
Once it is no longer dripping you may return your plant to its little basket.
Since moss is an essential component to the Kokedama, you want to give it a nice spritz here and there with a mister to ensure it doesn’t dry out completely. You don’t need to mist it too much because otherwise it may lead to fungus or root rot in the plant, but just enough to keep it together and to allow it to be fine until its next watering which we recommend once a week. Again, this will depend on the type of plant you have but for most its about once a week.
Overall, the hardness of your Kokedama will depend on the type of plant you use, but the three we have are pretty easy. If anything the oxalis plant may need more frequent watering than the pothos, however, both are quite easy to care for.
Lastly, you don't want to keep your Kokedama in direct sunlight. This may cause the plant to scorch and for the moss to dry out so much that it may fall apart. Its best to keep the Kokedama in medium indirect sunlight.
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