DIY: Kokedama Hanging String Plants

I love plants. When it comes to our green friends, I don’t discriminate. I love them all. However, I must confess, just like school teachers, I do have my favourites.

Architectural plants get me a bit hot under the collar, Banana palms get me more excited than a man in a uniform and I would happily trade my own head of hair for that of a healthy Maiden Hair fern.

At the moment though… I can’t get enough of the of the ones that have a certain Spiderman like quality. They hang from the ceiling leaning down alluring the upside down kind of kiss. Kokedamas, also known as hanging string plants, are my new found love. So much so, that over the past 4 weeks I’ve made half a dozen. I thought I’d take this opportunity to brag about my new learned skill and to show you guys how to make one (or 6) for yourself!

YOU WILL NEED:

– A plant (I used Maiden Hair fern and other shade lovers, but I recommend doing some research as to which plants grow well in your desired spot, eg. sun/shade, indoor/outdoor)
– A 7:3 ratio of peat soil and premium potting mix
– Slow release fertiliser
– Dry sphagnum moss
– Scissors
– Cotton thread – natural colour is best
– Twine
– A bowl of water
* All of the above can be found at your local gardening store, (or my fave hangout – Bunnings).

GET TO IT:

1.  After taking the plant from its pot, gently remove two-thirds of the soil, being careful not to disturb the roots.
2. Use cotton thread to wrap some wet sphagnum moss around the roots of the plant.
3. Mix water, peat soil and potting mix, a very small amount of fertiliser (half a teaspoon) to create a new soil base for the naked plant. Do your best to form a ball shape from the mix. Pack it tight and form a nice round ball around the sphagnum covered roots.
4. Start packing your ball with moss. I used sphagnum moss, however, you can use a combination of sphagnum and green moss. As you wrap and pack, wind again with cotton string. It’s a little tricky holding it all together, and at times you’ll wish you were an octopus with an extra few limbs, but the aim is to keep adding moss and wrapping the cotton around your ball until you achieve a round shape.
5. After you have a nice round ball and before you’ve covered the whole thing in cotton, start to firm the ball up by wrapping twine around it. Remember to leave some to hang the plant in place.
6. Hang and enjoy!

To keep your new friend alive and happy, either spray him daily with water or remove from the hook and soak a couple of times a week in water. (depending on the plant and how much water it requires).