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Care of a Baby's Tears Plant
Care of a Baby's Tears Plant. Baby's tears (Helxine soleirolii or baby tears) is an easy-to-care-for moss-like plant with a tiny, inconspicuous white flower that blooms in spring. It makes an excellent ground cover that fills in between stepping stones or rocks quickly. It also will survive being stepped on periodically.
Baby's tears (Helxine soleirolii or baby tears) is an easy-to-care-for moss-like plant with a tiny, inconspicuous white flower that blooms in spring. It makes an excellent ground cover that fills in between stepping stones or rocks quickly. It also will survive being stepped on periodically.
Preparation
Begin by checking with your location university extension office to see if baby's tears is invasive in your area. If it is, you should not plant it, or should plant it only in a hanging basket or in a container that will sit on concrete. Also, bear in mind that baby's tears is aggressive and will quickly choke out other low-growing plants. This is a boon if you have lots of weeds, but keep it away from desirable plants.
If baby's tears isn’t invasive in your area, consider the soil in your garden. Baby's tears enjoys neutral to slightly acidic soil that drains well. If your soil drains poorly, plant baby's tears in a container or add plenty of organic material and sand to the location you’d like to plant it in. Baby's tears does not tolerate full sun, so make sure you plant it in full or partial shade, although the plant most enjoys indirect, bright light.
Obtaining Plants
Baby's tears grows easily from seed if you start it indoors before the last frost of the season. You may also obtain plants by taking a cutting. The easiest method to obtain a plant is by simply breaking off a chunk from a friend or neighbor’s yard.
Naturally, this popular plant is also available in nurseries.
Planting
Prepare the soil by turning it with a shovel or tilling it with a hand tiller. Baby's tears have shallow roots, so there’s no need to dig any deeper than 2 or 3 inches. Water the soil well and allow it to drain.
Next, dig a hole for the baby's tears plant and remove it from its current pot by holding the plant gently at its base with one hand and turning over the pot with the other. A gentle tapping should remove a stubborn plant.
Loosen any soil around the baby's tear roots and place the plant in the prepared hole. Fill the hole with more soil.
Long Term Care
Baby's tear plants need to stay moist, but not wet. If you over water, the plant’s roots will rot and the plant will die. In most cases, baby's tears do not require fertilizer, but it’s a good idea to add rich organic compost around the plant once or twice a year.
