How to grow Bear's Paw (Cotyledon tomentosa)? A full guide to soil mix, pots and watering techniques

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ForewordQian Yan

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I really started growing succulents in June 2014. Like everyone else, I was drawn to their adorable leaves, gorgeous colors and distinctive forms.

Falling in love with Bear's Paw was inevitable too, with those chubby claws, so fuzzy and cute! My first pot was the one below, and it even arrived together with its pot. It made the lower leaves very dirty and quite a few leaves fell off, but luckily the leaves were very thick.

Later, because I didn't know any better, the more I grew them the thinner they got, so I studied and practiced from all kinds of books. Then I went crazy buying Bear's Paws, green bear, white bear, yellow bear, all kinds of bears, and even duplicates. Now I have nearly fifty pots, big and small, and even I am speechless at myself.

Let me talk about my experience growing Bear's Paw. It may not all be correct or suit the climate of the whole country, but most of it should be suitable. If I say anything wrong, please forgive me! I just want to share because I like them, no bashing if you don't like it, thanks for reading!

1 Soil: For small seedlings or beheaded cuttings without roots (Bear's Paw basically cannot be leaf-propagated): 70% peat soil + 30% grit. For peat soil my favorite is Miracle-Gro (even though a small bag costs 6 yuan), but it really works well. If you want to save money, ordinary gardening soil is fine too.

The grit I use is:Medium-sized akadama + maifan stone (buy genuine maifan stone, there are lots of fakes now, and fake maifan stone mixed into the soil easily compacts). For top dressing I like large-grained rainbow stone (it depends on personal preference, akadama is quite good too. But don't use those small white stones, they suffocate the roots). Generally repot the soil about once a year.

Mature plants, old stumps:The roots are already firmly established, and compared with small seedlings they need more airflow, so 50% grit soil + 50% peat soil (materials as above). Repotting once every 1.5 to 2 years is fine.

Whether it's a small seedling or an old stump, I always lay a layer of Leca (clay pebbles) at the bottom of every pot to prevent water accumulation.

Note:The reason I put soil first is that the roots of succulents are very important. If the soil isn't suitable, even if the plant establishes itself, it may not grow strong when it matures and the roots can easily rot.

2 Pots:The material of the pot affects the watering schedule, so let's understand this as well. Common ones are:Clay pots, red terracotta pots, ceramic pots, purple clay pots, Wanxiang pots, cement pots。

I simply divide them into two types: breathable and not very breathable. As we all know, clay pots, red terracotta pots, purple clay and the like are fairly breathable, while ceramic is not breathable. So the watering intervals will naturally differ.

Also those insanely expensive Korean pots are quite breathable. At home I've used every kind of pot for my Bear's Paws, and they're all quite easy to grow, not that delicate, and they get through summer and winter just fine. Pots without holes in the bottom are not recommended.

3 Seasons and watering:Friends who have grown succulents for a while all know that spring and autumn are the peak growing seasons for succulents, when you can water heavily and give lots of sun. Bear's Paw likes this even more. During the growing season, growing them fully outdoors is no problem at all, though of course you still need to guard against continuous rain or heavy rainstorms.

In summer and winter it's fine not to give water for a month, but it's best to water heavily a few times before entering summer and winter, so you won't be itching to act when you see shriveled leaves during those seasons. During the growing season you can water once a week, watering until it runs out the bottom of the pot. For pots that aren't very breathable, once every 10 days during the growing season is fine. The best watering is rain, as it penetrates better than watering.

In summer the main things are shade and ventilation. My home has a courtyard, and in summer I pull up black shade netting for full shade. Shading should start at 30°C; you can choose 3-needle netting (more transparent), and above 35°C use 6-needle netting (thicker). Green and black ones are sold online, buy the black ones.

After summer rainstorms, strong sun is the most deadly. One day of heavy rain and one day of strong sun can send you right back to square one. If your succulents get rained on in summer, you absolutely must put them somewhere ventilated and blow air on them like crazy, otherwise the little bears' leaves will drop in an instant and they'll become a bare commander!

If ventilation conditions are poor, bring out an electric fan and run it on the highest setting for 24 hours, blow! If you don't have a fan, use the air conditioner to lower the temperature, but that's still not as good as blowing air. Succulents don't grow in summer and winter (below about 8°C and above 25°C they barely grow, of course excluding some summer- and winter-growing succulents), and when water is poured on them the roots won't absorb it, so it easily accumulates, and if it isn't dried off in time, the roots will rot!

Except during the growing season, don't repot and don't behead, as they won't survive easily.

4 Potting up Bear's Paw:After beheading, the little bear should be left to dry for about three days, until the wound at the base has healed and dried. Use tweezers to gently tuck it into the soil. With the soil mix I wrote above, it roots very easily (Miracle-Gro soil itself is a little moist, but not wet, so no watering needed), rooting in about 2 weeks.

White bear and yellow bear take longer, about a month or more (in the growing season). After rooting, water in a circle around the edge, no need to soak it through, because newly grown roots are too tender. Once green bear and the like are more established, you can water thoroughly.

For Bear's Paws that haven't been beheaded, ones with roots, you can water a week after potting up during the growing season, and you can water thoroughly. After potting up, place them somewhere with light, but not in direct sunlight. After about a week it's fine.

5 Color:Temperature difference is the key, so it's perfectly normal for them to be all green in summer. Winter to spring is the most beautiful period for succulents, with big temperature differences between day and night. Plus, if grown outdoors, the claws turn even redder, and the leaves can even look blood-red.

6 Growing environment:Friends who love succulents but have no conditions for outdoor growing shouldn't be discouraged. If they can't get sunlight for very long, just stretch out the watering intervals, extending them by 1/3 to 1/2 more days than the times written above. Windowsill growers should choose the south side and give as much sun as possible, and in summer they can move them to a north-facing balcony.

7 Green bear, white bear, yellow bear:Green bear is the easiest to grow, basically just water heavily and give lots of sun. I've lost several pots of white bear, a heartbreaking experience. Absolutely water less, water less, and when you do water, water thoroughly; never water in summer or winter. Yellow bear is relatively cheaper than white bear and also a bit easier to grow, basically similar to green bear.

8 Pest prevention, bird prevention, family prevention:People say Bear's Paw has a bad smell. I haven't really noticed a strong one. I don't know if that's the reason, but my Bear's Paws at home have almost never been attacked by pests.

As for birds, you absolutely must guard against them. Hang a red plastic bag, put up a pinwheel or something to scare the birds away. The most important thing is guarding against family members, who water them for you now and then, leaving you wanting to cry but with no tears!!!

Also watch out for damage from mice, ants, pets, children and all sorts of other external factors that make you uneasy. Growing succulents really makes you worry.

But no matter how difficult or troublesome it is, Bear's Paw is so cute, succulents are so cute, it's pain and happiness together. The pain of growing succulents is something others can't understand, and the happiness of growing succulents is also something others can't experience! Growing succulents, we're on the way!

As long as you have a bit more patience, love and faith, your own succulents can also bloom in their most beautiful form!

Such a cute Bear's Paw, how can it charm everyone if you don't grow it nice and plump~~