My Cute Green Pets: MARIMO – Moss Ball

Marimo (a kind of water plant) is found in a number of lakes in Japan, Hokkaido.
Further reading about Marimo can find here.

(image source from: Wikipedia)

Marimo is rare & given to close ones to bring good luck & love.It is said that taking good care of Marimo will make one’s wishes comes true.It’s not just a plant. In Japan, they actually keep it as a pet!!! Ya for this 3 years i treated it as a pet for me..

Here is the legend of Marimo:

Marimo, also known as Cladophora ball, Lake ball, or Moss Balls in English, is a species of filamentous green algae (Chlorophyta) found in a number of lakes in the northern hemisphere.

Marimo is native to Lake Akan in Hokkaido, Japan. It was declared a national treasure of Japan in 1921 and people from all over the country gathered these balls in glass jars to take home as keepsakes, perhaps to bring luck, or just because they look good as a tabletop centerpiece at home. It is said that taking good care of Marimo will make one’s wishes come true.

The popularity of Marimo, also known as a plant that symbolises love, was immortalized by a legend: Once upon a time in a tribe near Lake Akan in Hokkaido, the daughter of the chief of an elite tribe fell in love with a warrior from a rival tribe. Their tribes forbade their love, but the love between the star-crossed lovers was so strong that they decided to give up their possessions and flee from the land where their love was forbidden. Although their new life was harsh, they survived because of the deep love they had for one other. Legend has it that the lovers’ spirits metamorphosed into Marimo, a plant of love at the deepest reach of the Lake Akan where they lived happily ever after. This folklore passed from generation to generation. Marimo has become a symbol of determination in overcoming adversities in search of true love and happiness.


(source: giveaplant.com)

How to take care this cute green ball?

* Light Requirement: Natural indoor lighting or indirect sunlight is sufficient (NO direct Sunlight)
* Temperature Requirement: Avoid temperature of 28°C or higher. Keep it indoors, away from heat. Marimo is a slow growing plant, however its growth rate will be expedited at a temperature of between 20°C to 25°C
* Water Requirement: It is recommended that you change 50% of the water once a month or whenever the water becomes dirty. Wash Marimo under running water gently (if dirty). Chlorine-free water is preferred.
* I will grow about 5mm (so damn tiny?!!!) each year if you take good care of it. A 3cm diameter Marimo will take about 10 years to grow to its size. If Marimo grows bigger, you may wish to transfer it to a bigger container to give it more growing space.

This marimo i bought it for my hubby to put on his office.. Until now still same size liao.. @.@” I bought it from Toy Outpost at VivoCity.. selling by giveaplant.com. We also give a name for it, we called it MaruMaru (Literally means round and round)

This Marimo is very giant, we call it Pang2 and Fei2 (meaning fat or chubby in English). They are now breaking themselves into few smaller size marimo.. I think because it’s too big already.. It’s about 5-6cm in diameter. My friends said never saw this kind of giant marimo, they always saw the small2 one.. Honestly, the small one looks more cute than this giant, haha.. ^.^

I found this Giant Marimo at one aquarium at Kuala Lumpur.

Currently i moved them into longer jar, so cute rite??

In the aquarium shop, saw this marimo become host for cute transparent prawn. They are spreading around the “hemisphere” of marimo.

Btw, i have Nano Marimo bought from Toy Outpost as well, think selling by the same source (giveaplant.com). They call it Nano becoz the the ball is soooo tiny and very cute.. Come with the strap for your pouch or to hang on your phone. But i really scared the glass will break.. So end up i just placed it at home.. 🙂

Ah, this is my working space/ office table with very crowded creatures: 

– Cactus, bought from Ikea-Alexandra – now only left the rounded spiky cactus, currently transformed into oval shape alrd, they are growing!!! The rest died due to too much watering.. T.T

– Chamaedorea (Bamboo Palm) in hydroculture system (Will blog about this system in some other day, hehe). It’s from my ex-company, they specialize breeding plant in hydroculture system (planting system without soil from Europe) for most of Indoor plants. Currently this plants still ALIVE in my office table, for four years already.. ^.^v

– And Marimo.. I brought it back home and put together in long jar bcoz easier to take at home.. In office sometimes very lazy to bring marimo “take a bath” Hehe..

If you need Marimo for a gift to your friend, family or your special one, you can visit their box at Toy Outpost.

Btw they are selling other interesting product also: Terrarium and Frozen Flower. 

If need detail info, here is their website, you may check this out:

http://giveaplant.com

I am a landscaper, that’s why i love plants and all creation from plants.. 🙂

But it is very nice to at least have “pets” to take care instead of having a “real” pets which occupying more attention and space. But anyway, everything need commitment, although only the small creature you taking care also at least need a bit of your attention. 

Plant really a unique creatures, it can show you its own beauty when you paying attention and carefully take care them with <3 and="" be="" dying="" font="" forget="" might="" neglected="" or="" other="" the="" them.="" they="" turned="" way="" when="" you="">

Have a nice day, and keep on loving your “pets”.. :’)