A cultivar of (‘La Noche’ x ‘Domings Martins‘) by Lisa Vinzant is a dark beauty. An upright, tight, tubular rosette to 15 inches tall is dark reddish-black, very dark, with silver banding and few white spots. Leaf margins are nicely spiny.

Billbergia ‘Hallelujah’ (amoena ‘Domingos Martins’ x ‘Ed McWilliams’). A tall, tubular plant with a beautiful pattern of bright red, mottled with cream, green and pink. One of Don Beadle’s most famous crosses.

This early Skotak hybrid is a cultivar of ‘Fireball’ x ?. Unreported parentage. A small beauty almost the same size and shape of the ‘Fireball’ parent, with the same stoloniferous habit. A nicely variegated plant with reddish leaves in good light and light white to pinkish variegation.

The variegation is in the form of multiple thin stripes or lineations up the center of each leaf. It is a great plant for hanging baskets, for mounting and for use in terrariums.

A Brazilian native with wide, thick, leathery leaves in a 15 inch, recurving rosette. An unusual gray-blue color, speckled with tiny red dots and bearing an interesting, branched, yellow inflorescence produced in winter make this an attractive species. In spite of the gray, thick leaves, it is a shade grower in nature, living on granite rock cliff faces inside the mountainous Tijuca forest of Rio de Janeiro. A slow grower, excellent for terrariums when small.

One of Grant Groves finest hybrids. A large, robust plant with especially broad leaves in a 24 inch rosette that blushes a bright red with maturity, regardless of blooming.

This is a commercial mix that we at Tropiflora have custom made 50 yards at a time. We use this formula because #1 it works for us and #2 it is economical.

Anyone can mix their own potting media and we encourage you to do so in order to best suit your needs. However, if you wish to use our proven mix, we are more than happy to oblige!

Here is the formulation:

• 30% Canadian Peat
• 30% Green Bark
• 30% Hardwood Chips
• 10% Perlite (though this can vary with availability of materials).

It also includes 3 pounds of minor elements per yard and has a pH level of 6.0 to 6.5.  This mix allows good air access to the root zone, good moisture retention without getting soggy, long pot life, and good substance for holding plants upright.

Note: A one quarter cubic foot bag of soil should fill about half a dozen 6 inch Azalea Pots.

A long time favorite with wide deep-burgundy leaves has become a standard in horticulture. Widely used in landscapes of central and southern Florida, this handsome bromeliad is a beautiful asset to any collection.

A spectacular Brazilian bromeliad which reaches impressive sizes, suitable for landscaping and interiorscape use. A wide leaved, funnel-form rosette to well over 30 inches with bluish-green leaves, reticulated and striated with light green. As the plant matures, the striations become almost white. A slow grower that makes a great terrarium plant when young.

As you may be aware, Fireball is actually an undescribed species that has never been re-collected in the wild. This plant is apparently the same, except that it has green leaves. The size, shape and stoloniferous habit are the same, but the plant only flushes red in the center at anthesis. A very decorative plant when blooming and nice for basket culture or a terrarium anytime.