DIY kokedama (aka DIY hanging moss ball planter)

We fell in love with these hanging moss ball planters as soon as we saw them and knew we had to learn how to make them ourselves. After a bit of trial and error, we’re so excited to share this DIY hanging moss ball planter tutorial with you!

While this DIY is inexpensive and rather quick make, it can get really messy! It’s best to work outside on a flat workspace that’s fine to get dirty.

We’ve updated this DIY with a new, easier to follow DIY mini moss ball tutorial here

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Items you will need:

  • Plant (we used a succulent but you could use herbs, ferns or flowering plants)
  • Dry sphagnum moss (you can buy a big bag from most florists or Bunnings)
  • Soil (some people recommend mixing one quarter Bonsai soil with regular soil but we just used soil that was around the plant we purchased and regular soil from the garden)
  • Bowl of water
  • Thread (we chose a bright builders line from Bunnings, also available in other colours)
  • Scissors
  • Gloves (if you don’t want your hands to get messy)
Items you will need

Steps:

1. Remove as much soil from around the plant as possible so the roots are exposed but be very gentle not to damage the plant.

2. In a large bowl mix two cups of soil with 3/4 cup water. Gently pack enough wet soil around the roots of the plant until you have the size of a cricket ball.

3. Cover in sphagnum moss. (At this stage, your moss ball will be looking quite small and sad but we will add three layers of soil and moss to create the final product.)

Hanging moss ball step 3

4. Add another layer of wet soil (you may find it easier if this layer has more water added, think mud cake batter texture) and another layer of sphagnum moss. You will most likely need to wrap some string around the moss ball to keep it together. If it feels like it’s going to fall apart, gently press it together to compact the ball. We found it easiest to do this when it was resting on a table, turning the ball as though you’re doing pottery.

Step 4 hanging moss ball planter

5. Add the final layer of wet soil and moss. At this stage, you’re ball will be quite big and difficult to manage so we recommend keeping it on a flat surface. We cut long strips of string (around 60cm) to start and tucked extra moss under the string as we wrapped it around the ball. Once we were happy with the moss coverage, we used the string on the spool to wrap the entire ball well, continuing to compact it as we worked.

6. If you would like to hang the planter as we did, simply cut two long strips of string. Tie the centre of both strings together and place this knot under the bass of the moss ball. Position the strings at 12 o’clock, 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock and 9 o’clock. As you lift them up to a hanging position, tuck each string under one of the pieces wrapped around the ball to secure the holder in place.

Voila, your DIY hang in moss ball is complete!

Care:

– These moss ball planters can last as long as any potted plant so long as you care for them.
– When the ball feels dry, simply dunk it in a bucket of water.
– They weigh approximately 2-4 kilos when wet so if you hang yours, be sure to use a hook or nail that can support that much weight. Alternatively, you don’t have to hang the moss ball and could place it in a pot stand or on a table or window ledge.

You could create just one of these bright and stylish hanging planters or cluster several at different hanging heights. Will you give this DIY hanging moss ball planter tutorial a go? We’d love to see pics if you do! Email them to hello@stylecurator.com.au or tag us @stylecuratorau when you post them online!

More DIYs for the home

DIY Hanging moss planter
DIY Hanging Moss Ball Planter
DIY Hanging Planter
Style Curator
Style Curator is an award-winning blog about the pursuit of a stylish home. Founded by Gina Beschorner, a social media adviser turned blogger and Interior Designer, we share our favourite home products, tours of designer homes, interviews with artists and experts in the design industry and other stylish news. Subscribe to our e-newsletter for weekly highlights!

15 COMMENTS

  1. Love it! by the time you see this reply I will be gone off to buy sphagnum moss for my succulents. Thankyou so much for sharing such a lovely secret

  2. I love that you chose a bright orange thread! It looks gorgeous against the moss! I think I’m going to make one to hang by our kitchen window to dress it up. Thanks for sharing it with me!

    • So glad you enjoyed this DIY! Would love to see pics if you do make one 🙂 You’ve got so many fun DIYs on your blog too. Thanks for stopping by x

  3. How many of these do you think you can make from one bag of Sphagnum Moss? I was wondering if I made some as gifts for family how many I would get out of a bag of the moss from bunnings that is about $11.00. I already have the soil mix as I grow succulents at home 🙂 These look so cool!!

    • Absolutely! To avoid an emergency manicure, we suggest wearing rubber gloves (the kind you can buy in bulk packs from the supermarket) 🙂 If you get the chance, we’d love to see your finished hanging plants by emailing hello@stylecurator.com.au or tagging @stylecuratorau when you share it online. It’s always exciting for us to see others making our DIYs 🙂

    • Thanks Cindy, we’re so happy with how well it turned out and glad you like it too! Such a great idea to make them as Christmas gifts 🙂

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