My first attempt at Kokedama

[FullBloom]

I can't take credit for the orchids themselves, as they just arrived last week. But the mounding was mine. What a great hobby/fascination/fixation/addiction.

[Hakumin]

They look great! Neat and symmetrical, and it they look like the right size for the plants. It's not possible to see whether you've done so, going just by the photo, but hopefully you've either added an open cavity in the middle or kept the moss loose enough to allow enough air at the roots.

In any case, one thing that I should mention though is that these sphagnum mounds that neos are traditionally grown in are not Kokedama. A Kokedama is a ball of usually live moss and the important thing is that it can hold together on its own without a pot. Usually a kokedama is about the living moss itself and doesn't always have another plant growing in it.

The potted sphagnum mounds that neos are grown in don't actually have a name in Japanese, but they are definitely considered distinct from Kokedama. It's best to refer to them as Japanese style potting or Japanese style moss mound when referring to them in English.

[FullBloom]

Thanks, Hakumin! Yes, I do have an open cavity. I've been watching/listening/reading whatever I can find on how to do this right, already on a couple of other neos I have that came already mounded I've found that the outside might be almost crackly dry, yet the inside is still moist. It's good to be able to check inside to make sure it's really time to water again.

I'm not ready to invest in a moss pole quite yet and a wine bottle seemed too narrow. I have an older Quan Yin porcelain statue that actually worked quite well.

I appreciate now learning the difference between kokedama and traditional Japanese moss mounds, apologies to whoever finds this thread with the hope of finding something different.

[Hakumin]

Originally Posted by FullBloom

It's good to be able to check inside to make sure it's really time to water again

Yes! Aside from the air circulation, the open cavity method makes it really easy to tell when you need to water again.

Originally Posted by FullBloom

I'm not ready to invest in a moss pole quite yet and a wine bottle seemed too narrow. I have an older Quan Yin porcelain statue that actually worked quite well.

Poor Guanyin!

[FullBloom]

I've debated giving her away for someone else to enjoy for a while now, I think she enjoyed being useful, lol.

Cool surprise when I took the Amani form out of the bark, it has ruby tips to the roots!

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

[FullBloom]

Thanks estación!

[3rdMaestro]

Reading this sort of inspired me to attempt on my new Kyobijin. Here's my first shot at it. By the way, maybe I missed it, what is this method of potting called? Or is it just referred to as "moss mound?"

[Hakumin]

Originally Posted by 3rdMaestro

By the way, maybe I missed it, what is this method of potting called? Or is it just referred to as "moss mound?"

Strangely enough, it doesn't have a specific name in Japanese, probably because it's such a traditional and widespread method of potting up neos, that it's the matter-of-fact default method when they talk about potting neos.

However, because it's sometimes necessary to distinguish them when talking about them in English, I'd suggest "moss mound," "Japanese style moss mound," and "Japanese style potting" for the method.

[FullBloom]

Originally Posted by 3rdMaestro

Reading this sort of inspired me to attempt on my new Kyobijin. Here's my first shot at it. By the way, maybe I missed it, what is this method of potting called? Or is it just referred to as "moss mound?"

That looks so cute in that pot!