How to Care for a Tiny Tears Plant

Outdoors

• 1

  Water baby tears freely during the summer as the plant thrives in damp soil. Decrease watering during the winter, providing just enough to keep the soil slightly moist.

• 2

  Feed baby tears in spring or late autumn, using a granular 12-12-12- fertilizer. Apply the fertilizer at a rate of 1 1/2 to 2 pounds for every 100 square feet of planting area. Scatter the fertilizer evenly over the plants, and spray the plants thoroughly with water to remove the fertilizer from the foliage and into the soil.

• 3

  Plant tiny tears in a container and bring it indoors before the first frost in autumn if you live in USDA zone 8 or below as the plant does not tolerate freezing weather. In USDA zone 9, tiny tears is often nipped by frost, but the plant rebounds in spring.

• 4

  Propagate tiny tears by division. Remove a section of the plant from the main plant using a sharp spade. Be sure the section has three to five shoots and several healthy roots. Plant the section in a moist, well-drained spot with full or partial shade.

Indoors

• 5

  Place tiny tears in moderate to bright light, but avoid intense, direct light.

• 6

  Locate the plant in a room with temperatures of approximately 75 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and about 10 degrees cooler at night.

• 7

  Water the plant whenever the surface of the soil feels slightly dry. Don't allow the soil to become completely dry, as tiny tears requires moist soil. Water deeply until water drips through the drainage hole, and let the plant drain thoroughly before returning it to its drainage saucer.

• 8

  Fertilize tiny tears once every month during spring and summer using a regular fertilizer for indoor plants. Mix the fertilizer to one-fourth the recommended rate because a full-strength fertilizer may scorch the plant. Withhold fertilizer during the winter.