How to make an ivy kokedama?

Have you heard of Kokedama? These lovely little moss balls where beautiful green plants grow? Very trendy in recent years, they can now be spotted everywhere! You've probably already seen them at your florist, in home decor shops and even in some restaurants. Hailing straight from Japan, Kokedama has made its way into our homes, adding a decorative, original touch that's both zen and natural. It's easy to make yourself. Certain plants, like ivy, adapt perfectly to this floral art.

Discover our technique and tips for making an ivy Kokedama.

Ivy Kokedama looks stunning when hung with natural string

Our ivy Kokedama can then be placed on a flat surface, like a slate or ceramic tile, a piece of wood, in a bowl or hung with string.

The Kokedama moss can be replaced with natural string, resembling a large ball of yarn

To learn more: How to make a Kokedama?

Which ivy variety should you choose?

With its trailing stems and beautiful evergreen foliage, ivy makes a perfect decoration for Kokedama, especially when hung or placed on a shelf edge. Moreover, ivy requires little maintenance and suits almost all exposures except full sun. Easy to succeed with, ivy is the ideal plant for beginners to Kokedama. Here are some remarkable ivy varieties:

Hedera helix Glacier - Common Ivy

Hedera helix 'Glacier' has beautiful small variegated foliage in grey-green and silver.

Période de floraison October, November
Hauteur à maturité 3 m

Hedera helix Needlepoint - Common Ivy

A lovely variety with finely cut small leaves, dark green with lighter veins.

Période de floraison October, November
Hauteur à maturité 4 m

Hedera helix Goldheart - Common Ivy

An original and popular ivy with dark green foliage, its heart speckled with golden yellow.

Période de floraison October, November
Hauteur à maturité 8 m

Hedera helix Kolibri - Common Ivy

A pretty dwarf variety with small medium green leaves variegated with cream

Période de floraison October, November
Hauteur à maturité 60 cm

Hedera helix Jake - Common Ivy

A bright variety, whose young leaves emerge yellow, then mature to light lemon green

Hauteur à maturité 10 cm

What do I need to make a Kokedama?

Seed or potting compost
Plant moss
Natural string (or green wire or nylon thread for an invisible effect).
An ivy plant
Vermiculite for good water drainage
Clay (in Japan, they mainly use Ketoh, a black clay).
A soup plate
Rainwater
A spray bottle
A pair of scissors

Note: If you don't have clay, use a piece of horticultural fleece to hold the root ball.

Good to know: you can find moss at your florist and in craft shops. You can also find it in nature, but be careful not to take more than necessary! Indeed, moss grows very slowly and is sometimes essential in its natural habitat.

Essential materials for making a Kokedama

Steps to make a Kokedama

1- Mix 1/2 compost with 1/4 clay, 1/4 vermiculite and a little water to obtain a homogeneous, pliable paste. It should have the consistency of modelling clay, slightly crumbly.

The mixture of compost, clay and vermiculite should be mouldable

2- Remove your plant from its original pot.

3- Gently untangle the root ball. Remove as much soil as possible.

4- Wrap the plant's roots with the substrate.

5- Form a ball by pressing gently but firmly.

Tip: if you don't have clay, wrap your substrate ball in a small square of horticultural fleece, then tie it with string or nylon thread.

Forming a nice ball of substrate around the ivy's roots

6- Moisten the plant moss with a spray bottle, then carefully cover the outside of the ball.

Covering the sphere with plant moss

7- To hold everything together, wrap your Kokedama with string or nylon thread.

Securing the whole with string

8- Don't forget to add a piece of string if you wish to hang your creation.

9- Pour rainwater into a soup plate and place the ball in the water for 5 to 10 minutes.

10- Remove it from the water and let it drain for a few minutes.

11- Optional: with a pair of scissors, you can trim any unsightly bits of moss sticking out from the sphere to achieve a uniform ball.

Caring for your ivy Kokedama

Positioning

The trailing habit of ivy will be showcased if you hang your Kokedama with string. You can also place it in a pretty bowl on a shelf edge.
Your ivy Kokedama will appreciate all exposures, with a preference for shade. However, it won't like direct sunlight. Ideally, place it behind a sheer curtain. Avoid placing it near a heat source like a radiator, stove or fireplace.
You can place it outside in summer, in shade or partial shade, avoiding the hottest hours of sunlight. Moreover, avoid full sun exposure which could dry out your Kokedama too quickly and cause the plant to wither.

Watering

The moss likes to stay slightly moist at all times, so you'll need to spray with rainwater every 3 to 4 days in winter and once or twice daily in summer.
Use this watering time to check if your ivy also needs water. To tell if it needs water, lift the Kokedama. If the ball feels heavy, the plant doesn't need watering. If on the contrary it feels light, your plant needs water and you should then place it for 10 minutes in a soup plate containing rainwater. Generally, this little bath is needed slightly less than once a week in winter and every 2 to 3 days in summer.
You can also completely immerse a Kokedama to properly hydrate the plant, but this tends to make the moss turn brown. Some gardeners will even use a small funnel to water the plant from above, to avoid browning the moss.

Just a few minutes in a bowl of water is enough to rehydrate your plant

Fertiliser and substrate change

Your ivy will have exhausted all the nutrients in its compost after about a year. You'll then need to make a new Kokedama for it. You could also plant it in a pot suited to its size or directly in the garden. This repotting is preferably done in spring. Apart from this substrate change, there's no need to add fertiliser.

To go further

Discover all our ivy varieties
To learn everything, browse our complete guide on ivy, Hedera helix: planting, growing, pruning