DIY: How to make a kokedama ball

The kokedama has been around for a hot minute now, in fact decorative plant lovers across the world have been making them for about a thousand years. Also known as the Japanese moss balls this delightful little addition to your home provides a great stay-at-home plant project for when you can’t get outside. This cute plant reflects the Japanese principles of wabi-sabi which embraces the beauty in imperfection. In a world that can sometimes appear less than ideal, this DIY project is the perfect self-care plant project, and would you like to know a secret? It’s pretty simple to do, the plant supplies can be easily found and it provides a great stress-free activity for new plant parents and professional plant lovers.

What you’ll need

• (Potting) Soil
• A roll of twine
• Your favourite BabyPLNTS
• Living moss
• PLNTS sprayer

1. The chosen ones

Your very first step should involve you picking your plants that you would like to transform into your kokedama. Of course, you can make a kokedama with one type of houseplant but isn’t variety the spice of life? So let’s get crazy and remove several plants from their soil with the root still attached. Rinse the root and gently place your chosen selection to the side for later use.

2. Having a ball

Start by taking a good handful of potting soil and slowly pouring in water until you get a mixture that can be kneaded into a small plant ball. Make sure the ball of (potting) soil is big enough to completely cover the roots of the plants.

3. Add the green!

Now take the ball that you made and break it in half. Take your BabyPLNTS and place them on one half of the ball. Place the other half with soil on top, so that your baby plants are in between the ball. Knead the ball well so that you don't see any big cracks in the surface anymore and it is really one piece.

4. Tie it up!

As with the roots, cover the whole ball with living moss. Tie it up with twine or rope. Once your kokedama is solid, you can decorate it to match your interior. Make sure there is no loose soil or moss, otherwise you might have to re-tie the rope.

5. Make it personal

You have finished your kokedama, now what? Decorate your kokedama so it matches your interior! Plant lovers often hang their kokedama from the ceiling by attaching a piece of string to the rope around the plant. I like to use different materials to hang up my plant, like copper wire for a personal touch.

Maintenance of your kokedama ball

In many ways, caring for your kokedama is similar to caring for other houseplants. If the newest member of your plant family feels a lot lighter than usual or if the leaves start to turn brown, you should give it extra water. Remove brown leaves to keep the plant healthy, but if you often see dead brown leaves, it could be a sign that your kokedama needs more frequent watering. Depending on the houseplants you have used to create your beautiful new kokedama, you can make sure that your newest offspring grows big and strong with a splash of water. But how do you water this eccentric ball? Soak your kokedama ball for 5-10 minutes in a bucket of water at room temperature. Of course it is also good to spray the kokedama once in a while with a plant sprayer.

When the roots start to come through the bottom of the root ball, you know it's time for a bigger home, although this should not be necessary more than once or twice a year.

Our DIY video:

Style inspiration

There’s so many fantastic opportunities to add those personal embellishments that make the kokedama your own. There are limitless options for choice of materials and presentation. If you need a little more depth in your urban jungle, don’t confine your plant to eye level. Make sure you can look at every corner of your space and be wowed by your urban jungle. Consider placing your kokedama low on a coffee table or hang it from the ceiling for a breath of fresh air that can’t be missed. How about repurposing a vintage item and using it to enhance your home’s existing aesthetic? Personally I love finding unique materials that make my kokedama completely unique.

Plant inspiration

Looking for the perfect plant to add to your kokedama ball? There are so many cute babyPLNTS to use, but my personal favourites are the Alocasia Black Velvet, Alocasia Dragon Scale, Alocasia Zebrina and a Philodendron Gloriosum, but any tiny plant will do the trick! What's your favourite?