A choice hybrid from Mark Dimmit is an unusual cross of roseoscapa x bulbosa. Taking characteristics of both parents, it has an upright vase shape with a somewhat bulbous base. Grown 'hard' the bulbous base is more pronounced. The leaves are many, semi-terete, slightly undulating and green with a light gray scurf. The inflorescence is tall with long, leaf-like scape bracts that blush pink and a cluster of six or so fairly long, upright pink branches. Flowers are light blue. Easy to grow and long lasting in color.

A cross by Bill Timm which he reported to be Tillandsia fasciculata v. densispica x capitata 'Red'. We raised seedlings from his cross. Upon blooming, it was obvious that this was not its legitimate cross, but what it might be, we didn't know. The form of the plant is much like that of a Tillandsia fasciculata, but the inflorescence in no way suggests any relationship to T. capitata. The inflorescence is a spike with two or more branches, each about four inches long. Glossy reddish-pink with tubular blue flowers. Nice, with long lasting color. We gave it this name with a nod to Bill's sense of humor.

A stunning hybrid of (chiapensis x tricolor) takes on the very best of both species. In general the shape is like that of tricolor, an open rosette of narrow, fairly stiff leaves. They differ from the wide leaves of chiapensis but take on the silvery coloration of that species. The inflorescence is taller than the foliage, with a central spike and three or four side branches, rather like the shape of the tricolor parent. The color is glossy red in the center with a dusting of silver trichomes towards the margins, which appear pink. Immature branches are yellow and flowers blue. A very colorful hybrid!

A surprising and unusual hybrid of (flabellata x utriculata). What a graceful beauty! The plant forms a large open rosette of narrow gray-green leaves and will reward you with an amazing inflorescence. The spike is about 24 inches tall in a pyramid of slender red, yellow and orange branches. Grow mounted or potted in a very well draining mix.

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 early hybrid (1960’s) by Charles Wiley is a cultivar of (seleriana x bulbosa). The cross was made in Eastern Germany and is a relic of the Cold War era. Aside from this, the plant is a handsome combination of both parents. More bulbosa-like it is however stouter with more leaves and has a slight scurff unlike the bulbosa parent. The inflorescence is a short rachis with red branches and a corresponding blush in the upper leaves at anthesis.

A handsome, fairly large growing hybrid by Bill Timm is an unusual cross of (capitata domingensis x dasyliriifolia). The plants are leafy, with fairly narrow leaves tapering from about .75 of an inch to a slender point. The color is reddish, and becomes deeper colored in strong light.

The inflorescence is very tall with many branches held upright to the rachis, deep burgundy red with red bracts. Produces many offsets. Quite showy.

 

A hybrid of (fasciculata (Mexico) x flabellata ‘Giant Red’) showing influence of both parents. A silvery-gray rosette of stiff, half-inch, tapering leaves in an open, arching rosette with an inflorescence of slender, upright, dark red branches. A showy, long-lasting beauty.

An exciting natural hybrid of (Tillandsia rotundata x capitata) from Guatemala. A full, leafy rosette of narrow, silvery-gray leaves that are quite stiff and are angled slightly upward. The inflorescence is a short scape with long, stiff, silvery-grey bracts and a cluster of about 15 short, lanceolate branches of a clear, brilliant red. A knockout!

A lovely, robust hybrid by Jim Irvin is a cultivar of (limbata x bulbosa).  Most closely resembling the bulbosa parent with a bulbous base, glossy leaves, and a branched, red inflorescence, it does differ though in some aspects.  The plant is larger than bulbosa, growing to about 12 inches tall with upright, terete leaves that are glossy or nearly lacking visible trichomes.  The color is green overall until anthesis.  The inflorescence is tall with multiple branches which are long and slender (more so than bulbosa) and bright red in color.  The foliage will blush slightly bronzy-reddish at anthesis and in stronger light.  A vigorous grower that produces more offsets than the bulbosa parent, forming nice clusters in a relatively short time.

This is a very nice plant that we collected in back in the 1990’s near El Cameron, Oaxaca, Mexico at an altitude of 4,600 feet. It was an obvious hybrid and the only possible parents were both growing in the same area; T. fasciculata ‘Lithophytic Form’ and ionantha v. stricta.

The plant was a single clump of three plants growing lithophytically (see photo taken in the wild) and we took the larger plant. Over the years this plant has developed into a real beauty, similar to ‘Nidus’ (another fasciculata x ionantha hybrid from Veracruz) but distinctly different.

It has soft but firm leaves in an upright rosette, somewhat caulescent, about 12 inches long, with a short scape with clustered branches that rises about two to three inches. The bracts are red and flowers blue. The foliage blushes red but the scurf on the leaves make them appear pink. No cultural problems under ‘normal’ Tillandsia culture.