Make a Cyclamen Kokedama

Up your houseplant game and make a Kokedama, a unique self-contained way of showcasing your plants with no need for a pot. 

Kokedama is the Japanese word for moss ball and literally translates from “koke” meaning moss and “dama” meaning ball.

Coraleigh Parker shows you how to make a beautiful kokedama by wrapping the roots of a cyclamen in a ball of moss-covered soil. You'll need only 5 pieces of tools and materials to transform your Cyclamen plant into a self-contained ornament to adorn your living space.

What you'll need to make a Cyclamen Kokedama:

• Potted Plant (Cyclamen)
• 1 part compost
• 1 part coir (moss)
• Parcel string
• Scissors 

 

 

This project has been taken from Coraleigh Parker's book Hanging Kokedama with kind permission of Quarto Books and photography by Larnie Nicolson. 

Step 1

Take the plant out from the pot. Empty saturated moss onto a work surface (counter) and form into a disk (like a big meat patty). Press the moss with flat hands to compress into a pancake. Water will squeeze out so be prepared for the mess with some towels if need be.

Step 2

Mix up the appropriate soil recipe for your chosen plant. Add the new mixture of soil to the plant.

Tip: If you have soil mixture left over, keep it in an airtight container to use next time.

 

Step 3

Place the plant and soil onto the moss pancake. Try to keep both plant and soil in the centre of the flattened moss.

Step 4

Slide your hands underneath the pancake on both sides of the plant and lift up like a taco to cover the root ball. Gather in the remaining moss to completely cover the root ball and soil.

Step 5

Compress the moss into a covering all around the plant.

Tip: Don’t be shy, you can squish it fairly firmly without damaging the plant. The firmer you get the moss now, the easier the next part will be.

 Step 6

Tie a belt around the centre of your ball with one end of your string. Make a knot so you have an anchor to start twining from. Tie this as tight as you can without chopping the ball in half. Don’t hold back!

 Step 7

Tilt the ball up carefully so you can loop all the way over and under. These don’t need to look pretty; they are just to hold it all together.

Step 8

Coil the string around the ball in an evenly random pattern. Keep a firm pressure on the string; try to compress the moss as you wrap.

Tip: Use the edge of the table so the leaves don’t get crushed.

Step 9

Press down firmly and roll the ball back and forth to make it round. Pat down to shape it all over. Make sure to this before you finish or you may end up with saggy string. Add more string to keep it in shape if need be.

Step 10

Poke the end of the string back into the ball with the closed scissors. Tuck the string into the ball in an opposite direction to secure it.

Step 11