baby tears (soleirolia

baby tears (soleirolia (post #17521)

travellbag on Sat, 07/17/2010 - 10:54

in

General Gardening

I turned my grass into a sea of babytears guarded over by "Harry the Hippo" see attached photo.

Baby tears has been doing great for many years but recently it has not been as lush as it used to be. We had a very rainy, cool winter and spring. I thought the water would bring back my groundcover.

Instead there is lots of die back, and large patches of baby tears have matted and acts like a barrier to water. There are areas of thatch.

Not sure what to do to quickly fill in all the dead spots besides removing the thatch. Is it possible the soil has compacted too much?

We are selling our house, and the entry has been of interest to many 'shoppers'. And I don't want to spend lots of money digging out the whole area and replacing with new soil and starting over.

Any one have any suggestions?

Kathleen

I'm loving Harry ! (post #17521, reply #1 of 2)

by Noel-in-England in reply to travellbag [original] on Tue, 07/20/2010 - 04:27

Yes, Harry look very realistic in his Swampy home !

Sorry I can't suggest why some of your Baby Tears has died out But I think the idea of the idea of it forming a shielding 'Thatch'

er, - excuse the pun, "Holds Water" . Perhaps the only way is to remove those thatchy areas & get back tot he real soil level &

start again.

If no-one has been walking on the area to squash the area - I can't see how Compaction comes into the equation, especially if

there is worm activity, which will help keep the soil 'open' . Those worms feed on decomposing vegetation matter, so in the

absence of them , there may be too much thatch build-up.

If there ain't worms - which do do a remakably good job of natural aeriation & prevention of thatch build-up - maybe that's a

problem, and this is a knock-on effect (?) Sure, worm casts are unsighly in excess - but I'm on about a Natural Balance , and

those casts could be gently brushed & 'hosed' back in to the ground if they bother you that much.

Tks Noel....Brits always have a pun ready!! (post #17521, reply #2 of 2)

by travellbag in reply to Noel-in-England [original] on Thu, 09/02/2010 - 12:12

We did solve the problem by doing as you suggested. unthached the soil, and replanted. Its beautiful now., and Harry is delighted.

Kathleen