The dense, lush and rich green leaves of the baby tears plant look incredible when falling from a hanging basket. However, the thought of maintaining these delicate-leaved plants can be intimidating! Do they look difficult to plant and care for to you as well?
Well, you don’t have to worry about planting or taking care of these charming baby’s tear plants. They are easy to maintain and can serve as an excellent houseplant.
Scientifically, they’re known as Soleirolia soleirolii or Helxine soleirolii, baby tears is delicate looking, featuring bright yellow leaves with tiny white flowers. Outdoors, you’ll usually find them as a ground cover or in ornamental gardens.
They’re native to southern Europe, mainly Italy, Sardinia, and Corsica. These moss-looking plants are often regarded as environmental weed in Western Europe and California. If you’re looking for a plant to enhance the appeal of your home’s interior décor, Soleirolia soleirolii is a great option to choose.
Read on to learn more about how to plant dwarf baby’s tears plant and take care of them properly.
Baby’s tears (Soleirolia soleirolii) is a delightful little plant that can add charm and greenery to any indoor space. With its carpeting nature and tiny round leaves it’s perfect for terrariums hanging baskets, and mixed containers. However, to get the most out of your baby’s tears plant, it helps to understand how to pollinate it properly. In this article, I’ll provide a comprehensive guide to pollinating baby’s tears to boost your yield and get more from these petite plants.
What is Baby’s Tears?
Baby’s tears also called angel’s tears or panda plant is a species of flowering plant native to the Mediterranean region. It’s a member of the nettle family Urticaceae. Some key facts about baby’s tears
- Herbaceous perennial plant
- Grows up to 4 inches tall and spreads rapidly
- Tiny round or teardrop-shaped leaves on short stems
- Delicate, creeping habit
- Small white flowers bloom in spring/summer
- Thrives in warm, humid environments
Why Pollinate Baby’s Tears?
You may be wondering why it’s necessary to pollinate baby’s tears if you’re just growing them for ornamental purposes indoors Here are some key reasons
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Encourages growth & increases yield: Pollination allows baby’s tears to produce seeds, resulting in new plant growth. This boosts your overall yield.
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Propagation: The seeds produced from pollinated flowers can be collected and used to propagate more baby’s tears plants.
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Blooms: Pollination is required for baby’s tears to produce its petite blooms.
How to Pollinate Baby’s Tears
Pollinating baby’s tears is a simple, straightforward process:
Materials Needed
- Baby’s tears plant in bloom
- Small paintbrush
- Magnifying glass (optional)
- Tweezers (optional)
Step-by-Step Process
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Wait for your baby’s tears plant to come into bloom. The blooming period is usually spring to early summer.
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Examine the tiny blooms closely. You’ll see small, cream-colored flowers less than 1⁄8 inch wide.
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Use a magnifying glass to identify the stamens (male parts) and pistils (female parts) within each flower.
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With a clean small paintbrush, gently brush the stamen of one flower to collect pollen.
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Transfer the pollen to the pistil of another baby’s tears bloom.
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Repeat this process, transferring pollen between flowers. Cover all open blooms.
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You can also use tweezers to remove spent blooms once pollinated.
Be very gentle when handling the petite blooms to avoid damage. Work quickly in one session for best results.
Tips for Successful Pollination
Follow these tips to ensure effective pollination of your baby’s tears plant:
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Pollinate in the morning when pollen is most viable.
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Group plants together to make transferring pollen easier.
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Gently shake or fan plants after pollinating to distribute pollen further.
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Maintain warm (60-80°F), humid conditions after pollinating.
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Stake and support plants so they don’t move around and shed pollen.
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Clean tools thoroughly between plants to prevent pollen contamination.
Ongoing Care
Proper care after pollination will ensure your baby’s tears thrives:
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Keep soil consistently moist but not soaked.
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Mist leaves frequently to maintain humidity.
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Apply balanced liquid fertilizer every 2-3 weeks during growth.
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Prune back overgrown sections to encourage dense growth.
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Propagate using seeds or cuttings for more plants.
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Repot annually in spring to provide fresh growing medium.
Troubleshooting Issues
Here are some common issues and how to resolve them:
No blooms: Increase light exposure, maintain warm temps, fertilize regularly.
Flowers falling off: This is normal, but can indicate overly wet soil.
Poor germination: Stratify seeds, ensure fresh seed stock.
Leggy growth: Increase light exposure, prune back overgrowth.
Wilting: Check for pests, improve watering practices.
Final Thoughts
Pollinating your baby’s tears houseplant is a simple way to boost blooms and increase propagation. Focus on careful handling of the flowers, proper timing, and consistent care. With a little effort, you’ll be rewarded with a fuller, thriving baby’s tears display. This endearing little plant may be tiny, but it has huge potential as an indoor specimen when properly pollinated.
Baby’s Tear Plant Look-Alikes
If you are wondering how to care for Soleirolia soleirolii (baby’s tears) plants, it is important that you delve deeper into understanding the family of Urticaceae to which it belongs.
Pilea or Pilea depressa is a native of Mexico and Brazil. It belongs to the Urticaceae family and looks largely similar to the original baby’s tears plant. Though both types are not closely related, they can be confused with each other. Pilea has leaves smaller than a fingernail and are round in shape.
If you are looking to grow baby tear plant for terrariums or container gardens, Pilea ‘Baby’s Tear’ can be the best option. With their small and delicate structure, they look beautiful hanging from the containers or draped on the wall. However, you have to make sure that this type of Soleirolia soleirolii does not dry out.
Aurea is another variety of Soleirolia soleirolii. It is commonly known as Golden Baby’s Tears plant. They are perennial plants used for groundcover. These baby’s tears plants have the ability to grow as high as two inches and as wide as 18 inches.
The growing conditions for these baby’s tears plants remain the same: they need well-draining soil with even moisture. It can grow in shady locations and places without direct light. Aurea baby tears has broad leaves and is golden in color.
All About Baby Tears Plants
Baby tears has small round leaves in lush green and yellow leaves on rather fleshy stems. They are low growing plants that give off a moss-like look. Belonging from the Urticaceae family, Soleirolia soleirolii grows vigorously and is likely to outgrow its container. It can be easily grown indoors near bright sunlight windows, patios or even in shady spots.
If you are looking for an alternative to grass, baby tears is an excellent option, especially because this is an evergreen plant. This mat-forming creeping member of the nettle family is perfect for subtropical and temperate areas. Baby’s tears originates in the Mediterranean — specifically in coastal Italy. Today, baby’s tears plants are common in many other parts of the world.
The baby tears plant is similar to other members of the nettle family, and even shares a common name with Sagina subulata, called Irish moss. However, the baby’s tears plants has a completely different botanical structure and belongs to another family.
Baby Tears Plant Care (How Not To Kill Your Baby Tears Plant)
FAQ
Do Baby Tears spread?
How do I make my baby tear plant bushy?
Can you plant Baby Tears with other plants?
How do you grow baby’s tears?
A standard houseplant potting mix will work well for your Baby’s Tears Plant but any added humus or compost will aid growth. If growing outdoors, added manure will really help your plant. Baby’s Tears plants thrive in the average temperatures of your home so try to avoid extremes caused by radiators, AC vents or drafty windows.
Are baby’s tears a good plant for beginners?
Although they do need tending to fairly often, the Baby’s Tears plant can still make a good plant for beginners. They grow relatively quickly and can adapt to a range of environments and homes. When mature, a Baby’s Tears plant can reach a height of 4 inches (10 centimeters) and a width of around 36 inches (90 centimeters).
How do you fertilize baby tears?
A balanced plant fertilizer will keep the foliage of baby’s tears plants bright green and dense. Give the plant liquid fertilizer through spring and summer every two weeks. The liquid form is easier to apply than spike inserts or granular fertilizer when no bare soil is visible.
How to care for a baby’s tears plant?
Another really important thing to take into account when caring for a Baby’s Tears plant is humidity. They like a high level of humidity in the air so mist regularly and invest in a humidifier to keep them happy. Ideally, you want to grow your Baby’s Tears Plant in a humidity of over 50%.