Plants
Baby's tears
Soleirolia soleirolii
BeginnerFine in a closed jar
A soft carpet of pinhead leaves. Loves damp shade and can smother neighbours.
What the simulation uses
- Light
- 1,500 to 8,000 lux
- The brightness it grows well in.
- Humidity
- 60 to 95 % RH
- Air moisture it is happy in; below the lower end it dries out.
- Temperature
- 10 to 24 °C
- Comfortable range; outside it growth slows.
- Dies at
- below -5 or above 32 °C
- Days beyond these temperatures kill it.
- Soil pH
- 5.5 to 6.5 pH
- Soil acidity it prefers.
- Grows up
- 0.35 cm/month
- How fast it gains height in good conditions.
- Spreads
- 2 cm/month
- How fast its edge creeps outwards.
- Thickens
- 10 %/month
- How fast its cover fills in on its own ground.
- Copes with wet
- good
- How well it stands soggy soil; poor means rot comes quickly.
- Copes with still air
- good
- Sealed jars have still air; poor means grey mould finds it.
- Copes with shade
- good
- How well it holds on in dim light.
- Copes with drying
- poor
- How well it survives the jar drying out.
- Water use
- 0.14 ml/cm²/day
- Water drawn up from its roots per cm² of leaves in room air; a sealed jar cuts this to a fraction and returns it down the glass.
- Leaf drop
- 4 %/month
- Share of its leaves it sheds each month as litter for the cleanup crew.
- Soft leaves
- yes
- Soft new growth that hungry isopods will nibble.
- Full size
- 10 cm tall, 135 cm wide
- Its size when grown, before the lid stops it.
Care
- Day length
- 10 to 14 h
- Substrate
- Moist
What kills it
- drying out
- direct sun scorch
- heat above ~30 C
Description
Constant moisture and shade suit it perfectly. Over time it crowds out other plants, and any small piece left behind will grow back. Trim it hard if it starts creeping over its neighbours.
Also called mind-your-own-business, angel's tears, Helxine.
Estimated, where sources were thin: temp_c; temp_lethal_c; growth rates; coverage_pct_per_month.