I participated in the bonsai and bonkei (tray landscape) classroom held in Tokyo.

Since it was my first time, I learned how to make kokedama (bonsai) that are relatively easy to make and are easy to take care of.

Preparation

Peat

Damp, sticky soil.

Sphagnum moss

White moss.

Necessary to improve water retention the peat.

Hypnum plumaeforme

Necessary to cover the peat.

Cotton thread (Black)

Used to set the shape of the moss ball.

Seedlings of the plant

Plants that were planted in the above picture are like this.

• Pine
• Camellia
• Trachelospermum asiaticum
• Winter chrysanthemum

Make

Since white snow creeper was left over this time, I will make bonsai using it.

By the way, the method to make it is the the same regardless of the number of plants you plant.

When planting multiple plants, it is necessary to put plants that grow together with each other.

They do not grow well unless it’s the season when flowers bloom, and they have the necessary amount of water and days, as well as being kept in the same temperature.

First, knead the peat and form into balls.

If you do not like getting your hands dirty, you may put it in a plastic bag.

Next, mix the moss with soil.

I heard that it is unnecessary to worry at length about the amount of soil , but as a guide, I used around half the size of the soil.

Try to mix the soil and moss as uniformly as possible.

Mixed state. Kneading firmly makes the moss disappear.

Next, remove the soil from the white snow creeper so that there are just the roots.

While considering a good-looking arrangement, cover the roots with soil.

State when balls are formed. Be careful that the root does not stick out.

Affix the creeping moss to the surface of the soil. Careful not to overlap each other.

State when done with affixing. It is still misshapen but do not mind.

Wrap the black cotton thread around the moss ball.

It is all right to wrap around however you see fit, but if there are places you have forgotten to wrap or it is too loose, the shape may collapse later on.

By the way, the cotton thread will naturally decompose and disappear over time.

Refine the shape with scissors at the end. Let’s water it well.

When the creeper moss grows for some time, the color will become bad or it will wither, so at that time, it is necessary to affix a new one.