One of Steve Correale’s hybrids that we love and just had to name. We thought long and hard about a name and finally thought to name it for Steve’s late wife who passed away recently. Steve has inspired us with his Tillandsia hybrids and with being a great guy, an asset to the bromeliad society and a good friend to many. Steve was also a happily married man and he and his wife were together over sixty years. We figured that she deserved our thanks for helping Steve with his hobby and allowing us to enjoy his talents all these years. I asked Steve’s permission to name the plant after Bea and he said that he would be honored. 

Two outstanding parents; streptophylla x chiapensis both lend their best characteristics to this cross. Silvery all over with a pinkish tint, bulbous based with a short scape with long silver branches and bracts that blush pinkish at anthesis. Broad leaves of heavy substance make this a heavy and substantial plant. Note that this plant is different from the same cross by Dimmitt named ‘Royal Rene’.

Another lovely hybrid by Paul Isley of xerographica x rothii. 

C.I.T.E.S. - No export, sorry.

*VIPP plants are not in bud

This beautiful hybrid of (polystachia x capitata) by Steve Correale is a full rosette of recurving, light green leaves. An inflorescence with long red scape bracts and a cluster of glabrous, red-tipped green branches rises well above the foliage. 

A hybrid of arequitae x stricta. A robust cross forming a very leafy, silvery-green rosette with a tall, unbranched inflorescence. The inflorescence has subtle pale peach bracts and large light blue flowers. A strong grower that likes bright light and airy conditions.

A natural hybrid of ixioides x bergeri from Argentina, with many stiff, silvery-gray, arching leaves in a tall rosette. The tall inflorescence is erect with tan to light pink, dry bracts like the ixioides parent and light blue, flaring flowers with twisted petals like the bergeri parent. Is hardy and very easy to grow, producing many offsets.

A cultivar of (baileyi x ionantha ‘Druid’) by Margaret Paterson.  Similar to ‘Califano’ but because the ionantha parent is the ‘Druid’ form, a yellow blushing cultivar, it does not seem to blush as red as ‘Califano’, though it does not blush yellow either. 

A small grower to about 7 inches tall with a slightly bulbous base and narrow, flaring leaves.  The plant is silvery with trichomes and blushes pinkish at anthesis with a short pink inflorescence and blue flowers.  Will form a large clump in time.

An impressive hybrid of Tillandsia fasciculata x ionantha by Mark Dimmitt. 

This plant is an apparent natural hybrid but we are reasonably certain that it is a cross of (riohondoensis x ionantha) that came in with a shipment of the former from Guatemala some years ago. We have been propagating it ever since. The plant has many narrow, velvety leaves in an upright vase shaped rosette. It can grow to over ten inches tall and wide with leaves about a half inch wide tapering to a point. The inflorescence is a capitate head of very tight branches on a short scape bearing long leaf-like bracts. The bracts blush pink at anthesis along with the upper whorl of leaves.

Overall the plant is silvery with a heavy coating of trichomes. The leaves are soft and graceful. We are naming this plant in honor of our dear friend Ruby Ryde of Australia. An avid bromeliad collector of many years with her late husband Keith and who has for years faithfully sent us a beautiful calendar of Australian nature each December. She is our ‘Calendar Girl’ and we are proud to have her as our friend!

This hybrid of (leonamiana x ixioides) is pretty much what you’d expect of this cross. An open rosette of narrow, arching, stiff leaves of silvery gray and an inflorescence that is tall and slender with a few short branches at the top, silver dusted orange bracts and yellow flowers. Easy, prolific and showy.

Bill Timm’s hybrid of Tillandsia ionantha ‘Druid’ x ionantha v. vanhyningii, looks pretty much like a large vanhyningii. If this plant had turned out with a yellow blush instead of red, more like the ‘Druid’ parent, then this would have been a show stopper. But alas it isn’t yellow, but it is still a very nice, compact and colorful plant as you can see by the photo.