Perhaps the reddest of all the ionantha forms when blooming. Simply beautiful, it was originally found in a Guatemalan mangrove forest where the first few dozen plants were collected. Grow bright, warm and airy. Forms a ball-like clump that can be cultivated hanging from a string or wire. Individual plants are small, barely over an inch tall. An excellent, easy to grow, must-have species.

Hint: Makes a great holiday wreath or Valentine's Day arrangement!

Tillandsia ionantha ‘Blushing Bride’  The most popular Guatemalan form of this beautiful miniature species. 2 to 3 inches tall vase shaped plants are green with silver trichomes, and blush bright red all over when in bloom, with bright purple flowers.

A large growing clone of the ‘Blushing Bride’ from Honduras. Vase-shaped, with the leaf tips curving outward, reaching over 3 inches tall; big for an ionantha! Blushes brilliant red when in bloom.

The classic ‘Blushing Bride’, one of the first forms of this species imported, and at one time the most abundant.  Now overtaken by cultivated Guatemalan plants, which tend to be less colorful, the Mexican form is much sought.  Growing to about two inches tall and wide, it will form large clusters in a short time (few years) and is very easy to grow. 

Found from northern Mexico, within 100 miles of the Texas border, then south all the way to Guatemala.  It is found mostly in semi-arid, deciduous forest where it can fill the limbs of trees by the tens of thousands.  This form blushes very bright red at anthesis.

This crown jewel of ionanthas, is a rare caulescent form from Sumidero Canyon in Chiapas, Mexico, where it covers the canyon walls in some places, by the thousands. This form has short thick leaves on a 3 to 6 inch stem and blushes a peach color when in bloom and forms large cascading clusters. The plant is very different from typical ionanthas, with a long stem that forms many adventitious offsets which can be removed and grown or left to form a large cluster. Very easy to grow, bright and airy.

A medium sized species from Bolivia and Argentina, with very stiff silvery leaves in a spreading rosette. A tall, nodding scape with brownish bracts bears butter yellow flowers. Forms large clusters of plants in habitat and does very well mounted. Easy to grow and fairly cold hardy.

A cross of two plants of the southern cone of South America. Tillandsia ixioides which has few, very stiff leaves and no appreciable stem and bergeri which has a long stem and many short, stiff leaves. The result is a plant with many stiff leaves that recurve downwards in a rosette to about 4 inches in diameter. The inflorescence favors bergeri, with pale blue, twisted petals.

A smallish species of Tillandsia that grows on a long stem.  The narrow, stiff leaves are 2 to 3 inches long spaced along the stem and taper to a point.  The overall color is dark purplish with a silvery tint.  The inflorescence is a 2 inch scape with bright pink bracts and flaring blue flowers.  Clumps are easily formed and once a clump forms, the plants can be suspended from a string for cultivation. 

Native to Rio Grande do Sul in Southern Brazil, it has a strong resemblance to T. aeranthos though it must be significantly different enough to deserve species status.  Our plants came originally from the collection of Elton Leme.