How to Make a Bonsai Moss Ball

Wrap the roots of a small plant in sphagnum moss. It can be almost any plant as long as its root system is between 1 and 2 inches long. It should be a plant suited for a fairly moist environment as well.

Wrap black sewing thread around the sphagnum moss to keep it in place around the plant's roots.

Combine two parts compost soil with one part vermiculite and one part sphagnum moss and mix well. The compost should have a clay soil consistency. When everything is combined, the mixture should hold together when pressed firmly between your fingers. Add small amounts of water if the mixture is too dry to hold a shape. Do not add so much water that the soil is dripping or runny.

Press small amounts of the compost mixture around the root ball of the plant. Keep adding small pinches of the soil to cover the root ball evenly until you have a ball of soil about the size of a baseball. Pat the surface smooth. The compost soil should be moist enough to stay in place and not crumble away from the root ball.

Cover the soil ball with pieces of living green moss so that the entire ball is covered in moss. If the moss is too dry, mist it with a spray bottle to help make it more flexible.

Wrap black sewing thread multiple times around the moss ball to keep the moss in place. The thread will eventually degrade and disappear or fall off. By the time that occurs, the moss will be rooted in the soil and will not fall off.

Place your bonsai moss ball in a shallow ceramic pot or other container with low sides. The moss should show as part of the display. Do not hide it in a deep pot.

Mist the ball a couple of times a day with a spray bottle to keep the moss green and the plant thriving.