Teddy Bear Vine: Plant Care & Growing Guide

The Teddy Bear Vine is a truly unique plant in many ways. 

The color and shape of its leaves are unlike any other flora on the planet. If you are interested in adding another plant to your landscaping, there are lots of things about this one you’ll want to know about.

Teddy Bear Vine Care & Growing Guide

1. Light Requirement

If you are going to keep your teddy bear vine plant inside, you’ll want to place it around three feet from a western-facing window. It is important that these plants get a good amount of sunlight on a daily basis.

Make sure that you choose a spot for your plant that gives it a moderate amount of light, but not too much. Excess direct sunlight can actually do a lot of harm to the leaves of this plant. If you are going to grow it outside, you should put it in partial shade with access to bright sunlight.

2. Water

These plants need to be watered fairly regularly. You want to feel the first inch of the soil to see if it is dry before watering it. This particular plant doesn’t have a resting period, so you will have to give it a good amount of water throughout the year.

You can probably get away with watering this plant just once every week. The fact is that these plants do not require a ton of water to grow normally. Watering more than once each week runs the risk of root rot, which is definitely not good.

3. Climate

You can grow a Teddy Bear Vine in many different climates. These plants prefer a hot and dry climate for sure.

4. Soil

It is best to grow this plant in enriched soil for the best results. The soil should be semi acidic. This will provide you with the best chances of encouraging normal growth initially and keeping it healthy over the years.

5. Temperature

You should make a point of keeping this plant in an environment with a temperature range of 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. These plants do not handle the cold very well, so you need to keep that in mind. You should bring your plant in when it starts to get cold. This plant cannot survive for very long in temperatures of below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

6. Repotting

You should only have to repot your Teddy Bear Vine plant every four to five years when it starts getting old. 

While you will have to put in new potting mix, you shouldn’t need to get a bigger container. Repotting this plant is fairly easy and doesn’t usually come with any complications, but you’ll still need to be careful.

7. Speed of Growth

These plants tend to grow fairly slowly, so you shouldn’t have to worry about keeping up with it. The best way to ensure normal growth is to provide this plant with plenty of sunlight on a regular basis.

8. Height and Spread

The Teddy Bear Vine can grow up to 8 inches with a maximum spread of 24 inches. You should leave a space of a few feet between this plant and any others nearby in your garden.

9. Flowers

This plant begins blooming during the spring and late into the summer months, as well as the beginning of autumn. These flowers are pink and blue, so they can give your garden a nice vibrant overall appearance.

10. Trimming

You’ll need to trim this plant at some point to keep the desired shape. This shouldn’t be necessary for a while, as these plants tend to grow pretty slowly. You can simply trim the stems off to keep these plants from getting too big.

Which Uses Are the Best for the Teddy Bear Vine Plant?

You will find that these plants are really best for rock gardens. It is also an ideal choice if you happen to have a container garden around your home. This plant can bring an infusion of color to your garden that is bound to look great overall.

How to Get the Teddy Bear Vine to Flower

The most effective way to get your Teddy Bear Vine to flower is to give it a good amount of sunlight outside. It is nearly impossible to get this plant to flower when you keep it indoors. Remember that these plants need bright but indirect sunlight.

Common Teddy Bear Vine Diseases

Root rot can definitely be a big problem with teddy bear vine plants, especially if they are watered too much or too often. 

You will need to make a point of keeping your plant’s soil fairly dry between waterings. Root rot can do a ton of damage to just about any plant within a matter of days. You can also avoid this issue by keeping your plant out of cool temperatures for extended periods.

These plants have also been known to have issues with fungal infections, which can cause the leaves to die. If you see brown spots on the leaves of your plant, this is most likely the case. Make sure that you prune off the browned leaves as soon as possible.

Conclusion

• The Teddy Bear Vine plant needs bright but indirect sunlight.
• Too much direct light can burn the leaves of this plant, damaging it badly within a matter of hours.
• You only need to water this plant about once every week, even while it is still in its initial growth phase.
• You shouldn’t water this plant unless the top inch of its soil feels dry.
• Too much moisture can lead to root rot with these plants.
• Enriched, semi-acidic soil is best for growing these plants.
• The pink and blue flowers these plants produce in the summer, spring and autumn months are very beautiful.
• It is nearly impossible to get this plant to bloom unless you grow it outside.
• You can trim this plant down to the stem to keep it from getting too big.
• Fungal infections can be an issue with this plant. If you notice any brown spots on the leaves, trim them off immediately.