LR Teddy Bear

LR Teddy Bear Dahlia

Fluffy, orange, ridiculously productive, and apparently named after the one thing you're specifically told not to squeeze at a flower show. LR Teddy Bear piles rich orange petals into big, wonderfully shaggy blooms on a plant that seems determined to keep making more of them.

LR Teddy Bear—also known as Long Road Teddy Bear—is a 2022 seedling hybridized by Amandine Hall of Long Road Flower Farm on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, United States.

And this one really does look like somebody turned a teddy bear into a dahlia.

The fully double blooms are packed with rich, warm orange petals, creating a wonderfully fluffy, almost tousled appearance. It's not a stiff, buttoned-up flower trying desperately to keep every petal in formation. Teddy Bear has texture. Movement. Personality.

Possibly bedhead.

The plant grows approximately 5 feet tall with dark green foliage and, according to its breeder and growers who have trialed it, produces flowers with impressive enthusiasm.

We're talking heavy bloomer.

Very productive.

Extremely prolific.

The sort of plant that apparently misunderstood "Teddy Bear" as a production quota.

Its unusual petal shape adds even more character to the bloom, and that combination of saturated orange color and fluffy texture makes Teddy Bear stand out from the cleaner, more geometrically perfect forms around it.

There is one little quirk worth knowing: those substantial fluffy flowers can droop somewhat after a good rain. Apparently even Teddy Bears get heavy when they're wet.

For cutting, growers recommend harvesting the blooms on the earlier side, and with a plant reportedly throwing flowers throughout the season, there should be plenty of opportunities to do exactly that.

At a Glance

Hybridizer: Amandine Hall
Farm: Long Road Flower Farm
Origin: Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, United States
Seedling Year: 2022
Introduction Year: Not formally documented
Form: Fully double, fluffy form; official ADS form not verified
Bloom Size: Not reliably documented
Plant Height: Approximately 5 feet
Color: Rich warm orange
Foliage: Dark green
Bloom Production: Heavy bloomer / very prolific
Cut Flower: Yes
ADS Classification: Not currently verified
Why It's Loved: Rich orange color, unusual fluffy petal structure, substantial blooms, and exceptional flower production

Moose's Take

I'll admit it: when somebody names a dahlia Teddy Bear, I expect cute.

Maybe fluffy.

Probably something that behaves itself.

Then I read the grower reports on this thing.

Apparently LR Teddy Bear spends the summer throwing orange flowers around like somebody left a toddler alone with a T-shirt cannon.

Now you've got my attention.

The fluffy blooms are fun, but the production is what really makes this interesting to me. Pretty dahlias aren't exactly difficult to find. A pretty dahlia that keeps putting flowers on the plant is considerably more useful.

And I like that Teddy Bear isn't perfectly polished.

The petals have movement. The bloom has texture. It looks soft and slightly unruly instead of like somebody assembled it with a compass and a ruler.

There's even a little grower honesty built into the package: a big rain can make the flowers droop.

Of course it can.

It's a five-foot plant carrying orange teddy bears on sticks.

Physics eventually gets a vote.

But give me unusual form, saturated orange color, and a plant with a reputation for pumping out flowers, and I'm willing to forgive Teddy Bear for occasionally needing to sit down after a storm.

Cute name.

Serious flower factory.

Very Dapper.

Professionally grown rooted dahlia cutting. Ships April 1–May 15.