Giant Baby Tears (Micranthemum umbrosum) - Portion Cup

Giant Baby Tears (Micranthemum umbrosum) is sunshine in plant form: sprigs of small, perfectly round, bright yellow-green leaves that stack up into cheerful bushes wherever you plant them. Despite the name it is not a giant, the leaves are simply larger than its famous carpeting cousins, and it is far easier to grow than either of them. Use it as a foreground bush, a midground filler, or let it grow into a soft, rounded hedge. Browse the rest of our live freshwater plants to complete the scape.

Care Guide

• Planting: split the portion into small sprigs and plant them an inch apart. Each sprig roots quickly and bushes out with light trimming.
• Light: moderate. Enough light keeps growth compact and rounded; in dim tanks stems stretch taller and looser.
• Water parameters: 68 to 82°F, pH 6.0 to 7.5. Adaptable and forgiving, happy in most community setups.
• Fertilizer and CO2: occasional Seachem Flourish keeps the green vivid; CO2 is optional and simply speeds it up.
• Trim to shape: pinch the tops to keep dense round bushes, and replant the trimmings to widen the patch for free.
• Shrimp safe: the fine stems are a favorite picking ground for dwarf shrimp and fry cover in breeding tanks.

Specifications

Placement & Companions

Sort out the baby tears family once and for all: Giant Baby Tears is the easy bushy one, Monte Carlo is its creeping cousin that carpets the floor, and Dwarf Baby Tears is the tiny high-tech showpiece. All three together make a beautiful texture gradient from lawn to bush. Completely safe with shrimp, snails, and community fish; only dedicated plant shredders like goldfish will bother it.

Recommended Supplies

• Seachem Flourish water-column fertilizer
• Monte Carlo the carpeting companion

FAQ

Is this the same as Dwarf Baby Tears?
No, and the difference matters. Dwarf Baby Tears (Hemianthus) is a demanding carpet plant that wants high light and CO2. Giant Baby Tears has bigger leaves, grows upright, and thrives in ordinary low-tech tanks.

Will it carpet?
Kept trimmed low in good light it forms a loose, bushy ground cover, but its natural habit is upward. For a true tight lawn, choose Monte Carlo and use Giant Baby Tears as the bush behind it.

Why are my stems stretching?
Reaching for light. Raise the intensity or accept taller, airier growth; a trim always resets it to compact bushes.

How do I plant a portion cup?
Rinse off the gel or wool, divide into sprigs of a few stems, and tuck them into the substrate with tweezers. They root within days.