# Wabi-Kusa Knowledge Base + Q/A



## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

Hey I wanted to start a thread to pool all the WK resources and inspirations


The Name
Although ADA coined the name "Wabi-Kusa" specifically for the product, TundraFour Gives us a deeper look at what it actually means.


> If you look at the etymology of the phrase "wabi-kusa," the definition you're left with is very open-ended.
> 
> The Japanese word "wabi" denotes part of an aesthetic (wabi-sabi). The Wikipedia article on wabi-sabi states that "wabi... connotes rustic simplicity, freshness or quietness, and can be applied to both natural and human-made objects, or understated elegance."
> The Japanses word, "Kusa" means grass (or plant in some contexts).
> I suppose a planted aquarium or even a blade of grass that somehow captures or evokes the feeling connoted by wabi could be referred to as wabi-kusa.


TundraFour then goes on to show us a really great link of what a google image search turned up when the japanese characters for "Wabi-Kusa" were entered into the search field. Google search of wabi-kusa in japanese




Q/A's

Question From Oni


> Hi,
> I saw your step by step wabi kusa, looks great! Can you tell me the stem and tall plants you used in the final picture?
> I am a newbie to the plant world so I'm clueless in identifying plants, thanks!


Answer


> Hey oni, glad you like my work!
> The real philosophy behind wabi-kusa (with the true japanese meaning of the word - not the commercial ada thing) Is that they are 100% natural, you take your tools - scissors tweezers ect. - and take them to nature, then take your inspiration from whats around you! you dont need a great knowledge of plants and you dont need any money even! just look at the plants around you, dig some up and replant them in your substrate(wich should also be dug up from your surroundings - or use my WK-Soil coming soon ;P)
> so the short answer to your question is - the stemmed plant I used is a rose-bay willow herb, but you should use whatever you find as that will work best
> hope that helps


_________

Question from Posit


> Hi, im looking to start my first wabi-kusa
> can you give me a good recipe for substrate. i have some extra ada aquasoil, do you think it is possable to use it in some way? I have a good "tank" and would love to get started. thanks!


Answer


> heres my recipie:
> 
> get a bowl, add your spare aquasoil and a little bit of water, then mould it into a small ball, then go into your garden or for best results down by a river in the woods and dig up some soil
> 
> ...


*Please Do Not Hesitate To Ask Questions In This Thread Or By PM*



Noteable Wabi-Kusa's
My Inspiration For Starting WK - Chongs Hawiian WK/Ikebana
My first
Messy's 3x3 WK
Bacarlile's Custom WK - One of them is very High-Tech
Messy's Take on WK
One Of My own WK experiments
TurtleHeads WK

Photos









































































































Other Resources
The Wabi-Kusa Website!
The Fully Photographed Guide
Google search of wabi-kusa in japanese


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

Anyone got anythign to add/ questions?


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## James From Cali (Dec 15, 2006)

Theres a couple with stones to make it look like an Iwagumi or something. And theres also a piece of Driftwood. Do these take away from the wabi kusa "feeling"? It seems that its just a mud ball and plants.


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## fish_lover0591 (Nov 11, 2006)

wow nice idea. I will start one once i get some time


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## tundrafour (Sep 25, 2006)

James From Cali said:


> Theres a couple with stones to make it look like an Iwagumi or something. And theres also a piece of Driftwood. Do these take away from the wabi kusa "feeling"? It seems that its just a mud ball and plants.


I think that's an interesting question. We're all aware of the definition of Wabi-Kusa as a product made and sold by ADA. (I believe the phrase was coined for this product.) But if you look at the etymology of the phrase "wabi-kusa," the definition you're left with is very open-ended.

This is a bit of an oversimplification, but the Japanese word "wabi" (侘び) denotes part of an aesthetic (wabi-sabi). The Wikipedia article on wabi-sabi states that "wabi... connotes rustic simplicity, freshness or quietness, and can be applied to both natural and human-made objects, or understated elegance."

"Kusa" (草) means grass (or plant in some contexts).

So, based on its etymology, the only thing a wabi-kusa necessarily has to be is grass or plants that somehow reflect wabi. There's no particular requirement for or provision against rocks, wood, et cetera. I suppose a planted aquarium or even a blade of grass that somehow captures or evokes the feeling connoted by wabi could be referred to as wabi-kusa. If you do a Google Image Search for "侘び草," you can see that Japanese aquarists have wabi-kusa growing emersed and immersed, alone and in aquariums.

So, in the end, unless what you're going for is a strict emulation of ADA's Wabi-Kusa product, there's no exact definition of what a wabi-kusa is; it's actually very ambiguous. So it can have rocks and wood if you want/need and does not even necessarily have to be a small cluster of plants. As long as you're left with "kusa" that captures "wabi."


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## anthonysquire (Jul 18, 2006)

Those pics are great along with some great info. I vote sticky!


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

Really great post tundra four! i will put it into the knowledge base 

this is MY defenition of wabi-kusa:
Wabi-Kusa is the impression of nature on a small scale. Incorporating land, water and air, combining these three elements of natures beatuy, and bringing them into our homes and our gradens. Redefining the way we create scapes, bringing the process of creation into nature and allowing us infinite resources to do so.

^^ or atleast thats what it is to me

to answer james question, i belive that there should be no set rules on a WK as long as it is still replicating nature, you find stones and wood in nature so why not in a WK?

thanks for the comments guys


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

updated with tundrafours insight


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## Anti-Pjerrot (Jan 20, 2006)

FelixAvery - i love your work and dedication to WK, i have been looking forward to this summer for making my own experience with WK

This should be a sticky - but also a subforum

Im hoping to make a Danish translation of your work this summer to bring out your knowledge to others...

STICKY THIS!


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

Tak Anti Pjerrot,I se frem til seende jeres WK's


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## Anti-Pjerrot (Jan 20, 2006)

Nice FelixAvery - wery good, but the correct way is: " Jeg ser frem til at se jeres WK'er"


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## ruki (May 28, 2007)

This was great idea! Concentrate related information under a buzz-word that people don't fully understand yet.

This also incorporates other Japanese aesthetics in related areas such as bonsai and ikebana.


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

lol thanks but i cant tell wether your being sarcastic or not ruki


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## ruki (May 28, 2007)

Not trying to be sarcastic. Wabi-kusa is another useful term with those other Japanese terms. I said buzz word because people tend to overuse exciting new terms, especially in the wrong context until they fully understand it. But, this thread is trying to define what it means, so it has to be a positive.

For example, I may have been doing this wabi-kusa thing for the past couple years. I picked up a redwood burl at a Muir Woods National Monument (North of San Francisco). I got home and put it in a shallow glass bowl of water. Kept the bowl filled with water and it sprouts branches that don't die. It's simple enough to be wabi. It's definitely not iwagumi, bonsai, ikebana or wabi-sabi though.










California Redwood burl in glass bowl.

Wabi-kusa or not?


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## retoid (Jan 2, 2007)

When I made a wabi-kusa I walked down to a local stream and picked several native plants and grabbed a hand full of the soil that was just emersed from the water.

When putting together the wabi-kusa soil ball I had trouble keeping it in a ball. Once it was formed I placed it carefully onto the sand and slowly added water. I think 20% of the soil dissolved into the water and it took about a week for the water to clear. Is this normal?

I also added some glosso around the edge, it ended up growing underwater for a week then it emerged and died but returned a few days after, growing great above water. There is also xmass moss growing strong underwater and native moss growing emersed. Lately we have been getting ALOT of direct sunlight and it seems to have killed the glosso and its killing the native moss yet the xmas moss grows strong. Also some tall grass is completely taking off.
The entire bowl I have used is surrounded by tall grass roots.
I will take some shots today even though its not looking its best. 

I plan to make a few more of these and give them as gifts.


Oh,... this









...is AWESOME! Great job!


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

Thanks Ruki - Yes that is very nice and definately a wabi-kusa  looks really cool actually i might have to try somethign like that

Retoid - Certainly the water will go muddy, how muddy depends on the soil itself, to combat this Shake the WK around in the water to get all the horribe bits out then gently lift the WK out of the water and put it down, then pour most of the water out, then run a tap into your container and allow is to overflow leave this for about 10 minutes and the sand should be clean.

Hope this helps - WK is alot of trial and error and i was godamn lucky to get it right first time, I am trying to find out how i got it right so i can help everyone to get good resuslts!


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## retoid (Jan 2, 2007)

Felix: Awesome. Thanks for that bit of info.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Any issues with algae for the wabi-kusa? especially BGA.. I always get BGA in standing water in a bowl (no water movement).


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## ruki (May 28, 2007)

mistergreen said:


> Any issues with algae for the wabi-kusa? especially BGA.. I always get BGA in standing water in a bowl (no water movement).


I've found that shrimp help clean out algae in such containers.I've had a 250 ml container planted with pygmy vallisneria going for a few weeks with no filter and the shrimp take care of the big algae. I had an algae problem before adding the shrimp.

I had a green water problem so I put some daphnia in the water take care of it. To my surprise they have reached equilibrium with the green water, so they have been in there for about two months. Usually the daphnia consume all the green water algae and then completely die out.


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## monkeysea (Aug 19, 2007)

*How to get beautiful UNDER-water aquascape with Wabi-Kusa?*

Hi,

I recently made my first Wabi-Kusa 

I'm too embarrassed to post a picture, but for a first attempt, I think it turned out OK. I gathered mud from a quiet spot along the river, found moss and small-leafed plants, tied on the moss and pushed the plants' roots into the ball, and dunked the whole thing halfway into water. I'm using a small rectangular 2 liter transparent plastic tank, filled about 1/3 with water (very small water volume).

Now, my question: while the upper-half (above water) of my Wabi-Kusa looks cute and green (little moss and leaves, like a tiny floating garden), the lower-half of my Wabi-Kusa (submerged) looks wholly unspectacular and brown-colored. 

From the earlier photos posted in this thread, I can give an example of what I mean. The submerged half of my Wabi-Kusa looks kind of like the submerged half of this Wabi-Kusa: 

(THIS IS NOT MY PHOTO - it is from earlier in this thread) http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e321/messy_da_legend/WabiKusa.jpg

Notice the submerged half of that Wabi-Kusa is kind of brown and a little "loose" and random-shaped.

Now, what I want is something like these spectacular Wabi-Kusas:

(THIS IS NOT MY PHOTO - it is from earlier in this thread) 
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/shadowgee/Wabi-kusa-done-net-signed.jpg
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s232/bacarlile/nikonwabi2.jpg

Notice in these Wabi-Kusas, the submerged part is lush, green, and orderly.

HOW can you get the underwater part of a Wabi-Kusa to look that beautiful? My Wabi-Kusa, made from mud, kind of crumbled around the bottom when I put it into water, and the moss I tied on (terrestrial moss) looks brownish and floats in random directions underwater.

It looks like in the Wabi-Kusas above that they are using medium-size rocks around the base to hide the muddy bottom of the Wabi-Kusa ball, then putting some vibrant green plants on the rocks. Is that right? Or is there some other substrate or technique that is needed to get that kind of a look?

What plants are on the rocks in the above photos? And how can you keep the plants from floating away from the rocks?

Would appreciate any help....


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

java moss can cover rocks. I use rocks as a transition from the soil to the sand part.. It looks fine without the moss but it would be cool too.


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## bubbless (Nov 19, 2006)

hi,

beautiful concept and mind-blowing execution of it...
here are my questions pertaining to the photos you attached:
how does the filter with the air pump (?) work?
and what are the plants used in the WK with the fancy guppies?


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

The plants in stevens WK are all plants he collected locally (hawaii) and so are most of the wks around here

the difference with stevens is that he use some known emersed plants from an established aquarium i belive and that is why they are so lush, the moss is probably tied to the rocks


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## questor (Jan 7, 2008)

About 40yrs ago, as a youngster, I used to do these.
They were called terrariums then. :icon_wink

Found an oversized acrylic brandy glass that was about 18" tall at a neighbors yard sale, added some compost, rocks, moss, ferns, and other plants I didn't know the names of, and I ended up with what is shown in some of these pictures. FWIW


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

FWIW? 
cool story i once grew a lemon tree in a terrarium, you should try making one now!


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

For the Redwood burl, you can nip those shoots and get thicker growth and turn it into a bonsai.

Redwoods are extremely fast growers, so lots of pruning will be needed and lots of water and nutrients are also needed.

I would not call it WK though.
This is a good thread, it makes the method simple and straight forward and removes a lot of myth from the method.

BTW, you may use this method with the dry start method also, then flood the tank later.

If you like moss on things like rock prior to flooding, use a mix of 1 part steer manure and 3 parts milk, get some moss of choice and brush this mix(after blending and cutting up the moss good) on the stone, wait and keep moist. It'll be furry with moss in no time.

You can also roll clay in this mix to make the shapes you want or use ADA AS.
It's a nice little method that is really pretty and easy to do.
Well done Felix! 


Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

thanks tom!
the redwood burl idea sounds pretty cool i always wanted a bonsai in a wk
but i dont think you find them in the UK? have you got a photo i can see?


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## Joetee (Mar 28, 2006)

What kind of lighting would be recommended for Wabi Kusa?


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

Sunlight or a Desklamp
ive got an empty 15gal with a 36w pc above it and im going to try a WK in that
ill let everyone know how it goes.

any kind of lighting will work really, i like to use sunlight as it looks nicer and you dont need to switch stuff on and off everyday


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