Orchid Kokedama: How To Easily Create Your Own

What in the world is Kokedama, you may ask? Well, it’s simply growing plants in moss balls, rather than in pots. This traditional Japanese style of gardening literally translates to “moss ball’. Many times you see them displayed either hanging from filament or twine, or resting on tabletops. They are a charming way to display your orchids, and are quite easy to do. I’ll show you how you can create your own orchid kokedama in about 15 minutes. Let’s get started, shall we?

Supplies For Your Orchid Kokedama

To create your orchid kokedama, you’ll need a few supplies:

• Orchids of your choice (Phalaenopsis are the easiest to care for)
• Long fiber sphagnum moss
• Plastic wiffle balls
• Sterilized scissors or secateurs
• Purified water
• Fishing line or thread
• 2 bowls – one for soaking your sphagnum, and the other for washing your orchid roots

Soak Your Sphagnum Moss

The first thing you will need to do is begin soaking your moss in a bowl of water. Remove several handfuls and place in a bowl of water. Make sure it is submerged so it will be pliable. Let this soak for a few minutes while you move on to the next step.

Prepare Your Orchids

Next you’ll need to prepare your orchids for kokedama. Remove them from their plastic grower’s cup and wash the roots. You do this by submerging them in a bowl of purified water and swishing all the potting material off. This will also make the roots more pliable so they will shape easier around the wiffle ball.

Once you’ve removed as much of the potting medium as you can from the roots, we’ll clean them up. Begin by inspecting the roots carefully. Trim off any orchid roots that are squishy, dried and brown, or yellowed. It’s very important to use clean scissors so harmful bacteria isn’t introduced to the orchid. If you are making more than one orchid kokedama, make sure you use fresh soaking water and clean scissors for each plant. You don’t want to spread any diseases between the orchids. You can see from the picture below that there are lots of damaged roots that need removing. Be ruthless here! Dying roots will kill your orchid, so they definitely need to go.

Attach Orchid Roots To Form

Now it’s time to start creating your orchid kokedama. Take a wiffle ball, and gently begin wrapping the orchid roots around it. They should be pliable from their water bath and easy to work with. You can gently tie them somewhat loosely with your twine or thread. Just be careful not to cut into any of the roots. Don’t worry about making them all wrap around the ball – some of them are aerial roots and are fine left out.

Create Your Moss Kokedama

Once your roots are wrapped around the wiffle ball, start adding the moss. Getting started is the trickiest part. Simply hold some moss onto a section of the ball, and wrap your string around it. You will use lots of string for this project! Wrap the string in several different directions to hold the moss. Then add another section of moss, repeating with the string. Continue on shaping and adding moss until you’ve covered the entire wiffle ball.

That’s it! Step back and enjoy your lovely orchid kokedama.

Displaying Your Orchid Kokedama

There are so many ways you can display your kokedama! Orchids naturally love humid environments, so they are perfect for a bathroom or even in a shower. You can hang them from a ceiling or group them on a tabletop – the possibilities are endless! I combined orchid kokedamas with traditionally planted orchids to create a beautiful summer arrangement.

Caring For Your Kokedama

Orchid kokedamas are relatively easy to care for. The most important thing is to keep them evenly moist. Orchids do not like soggy conditions. Instead, they prefer humidity. Spritz the kokedama with purified water every day or so. A few times a week it will need a good soaking. Simply fill up a bowl with room temperature purified water, and let it soak for 10-15 minutes. Be careful not to get the crown of the plant wet – water trapped there will cause the plant to rot and die. Squeeze the excess water from the kokedama and let it drain on a plate or in a bowl for a few minutes. Orchids can also sunburn easily, so make sure they aren’t in direct sunlight. A bright room is perfect for them.

Don’t Be Intimidated

Orchids are not as finicky as people assume, and they can absolutely tolerate being shaped and handled. Creating an orchid kokedama is such a fun way to display these dramatic blooms and they add so much character to a vignette. Making kokedamas would also be a great party idea, so grab some girlfriends, and get to creating! Happy Growing!

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