Kokedama is a Japanese word that, simply translated, means “moss ball”. Sometimes called the “Poor Man’s Bonsai” or “string gardens,” the of art of binding plants into green, mossy orbs dates back centuries to the Edo era in Japan (around 1600 AD).

Making kokedama is a fun process that involves stripping soil from the plant's roots, and using a special-clayrich soil blend to sculpt the plant into a ball, which is later bound with moss. Check out our step-by-step instructions for the  project, or sign up for a workshop to have us walk you through the process!

Caring for these living sculptures varies widely depending on the species of the plant used. Here’s the procedure that we use to water our kokedama, as well as a list of the plant types and species we commonly use to make ours, with the care needed for each plant.