Baby Tears Mimics Moss for a Green Accent Indoors
http://www.decor-ideas.org 09/14/2013 13:20 Decor Ideas
Baby tears is a diminutive and delicate creeping herb with tiny bright green kidney-shaped leaves and multitudes of almost inconspicuous white flowers when in bloom. It grows close to the ground in mats and is often used in ornamental gardens alongside ferns and other moisture-loving plants; it's also used as a general ground cover.
Fortunately for the indoor gardener, it can also thrive inside. You can use it in many creative ways to mimic the look of moss or boxwood, or as a delicate backdrop in an open terrarium or mixed planter.
Because of its spreading, creeping form, baby tears (Soleirolia soleirolii) works especially well when allowed to drape over the edge of a pot or systematically pinched off to create a mound of tight green leaves. In the arrangement here, tiny tendrils cascade over the sides of an aged urn, while the show stealer is the central clump.
This stunning living wall owes much of its fluid and textural form to baby tears, which is quite simple to maintain in an installation of this kind, as long as it's kept moist and gets some natural light. A haircut now and then is necessary to maintain the moss-like look.
Once you get the care of this little plant down, you can easily expand your collection, as propagation is simple and generally successful.
To propagate baby tears:
Method 1: Press any attached stem or shoot into a moist rooting medium. New roots will form, and the new plant can be cut from the parent plant.
Method 2: Dip a cutting into rooting hormone, then place it in a mixture of moist peat and perlite. Cover the pot with a plastic bag, sealed at the top with a rubber band to contain the moisture and give the plant much-needed humidity. Place it in bright light, and roots will begin to form within a week or two.
Baby tears is native to the northern Mediterranean, in and around Italy and nearby islands, but it has been cultivated nearly worldwide as an ornamental and garden plant. It can be used in habitats for amphibians as well as be submerged entirely in water in fish tanks.
It can adapt to water or soil, but not both. When grown in soil, the plant needs adequate drainage, because it cannot tolerate excessive water.
Another species, dwarf baby tears (Hemianthus callitrichoides), is the smallest known aquarium plant, and is an ideal foreground plant. If regularly pruned, it can also be floated at the water's surface; it's a perfect location for spawning fish to hide their eggs in and for bottom dwellers to forage for their next meal in.
Baby tears looks great in a variety of decorative containers, but it is preferable to use a liner that can be removed for watering or, even better, that sits on a bed of rocks within the container of your choice. Keep the rocks moist and they will help provide a humid setting for your plant, but make sure that the liner is never sitting in water.
Small pots of baby tears can be moved around the house as decorative props, though it will thrive best if raised most of the time in a humid environment, such as a bathroom.
Due to its propensity to spread, the plant works well as a ground cover. It's used outdoors in many landscape installations and works especially well with other moisture-loving plants, such as the foxtail fern in the foreground and the asparagus fern in the background here.
Baby tears prefers shade and moderate moisture outdoors, and in colder regions it dies back during the winter, returning with lush growth as the temperature increases.
How to Care for Baby Tears
Temperature: 60 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit (16 to 24 degrees Celsius).
Light: Bright to filtered indirect sunlight. Leaving the plant in direct sun can cause the leaves to burn and lose their beautiful coloring.
Water: The soil should be barely moist at all times. Always use room-temperature water.
Soil: Use a good general-purpose potting soil that retains water but also drains well. Well-aerated soil allows the roots to have some breathing room. If the soil is packed tightly, add some sand or perlite along with some peat moss to give the roots plenty of room. Use a pot with a hole in the bottom so excess water can drain out.
Humidity: Very high. Mist your plant often to keep it looking its best at all times. Place pebbles or bigger stones in a dish under the pot; this will allow the excess water to create humidity around the plant without your overwatering.
Feeding: Balanced fertilizer if desired, though some growers state that fertilizer is unnecessary.
Pruning: Pinch off the dead leaves and keep the plant well pruned to maintain its bushy appearance.
Botanical name: Soleirolia soleirolii (Helxine soleirolii)
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