A choice form that should be registered. (Maybe we will). Depending on how it’s grown, can be very ampoule-shaped with short leaves or a little more open in a vase shape. Green with dark reddish brown banding, stronger on the undersides of the leaf. Grows on short stolons, forming attractive clumps and perfect for mounting or for decorative containers or baskets.

*VIPP plants are Offsets

A beautiful plant that Tropiflora helped introduce to cultivation. Native to the same mountainous region of central Colombia which produces ospinae and chrysostachys, there is absolutely nothing that compares to this plant. The foliage is very tough and is various shades of green, with brown and black reticulations, mottling and markings. The effect is almost like that of a ‘Silk’ plant so unique is the pattern. Does not much resemble typical ospinae, the plants are bigger, fuller with wider leaves and do not pup as much as the typical form. The inflorescence is yellow and well branched. Thrives in normal bromeliad mix or even bare root.

A colorful hybrid from Altria Labs in Brazil. Medium sized with a symmetrical shape, nice green-flecked red leaves and red leaf tips.

*Some leaf blemishes

Stephen Hoppin created this wonderful Cryptanthus, a cultivar of his cross of ‘Ebony Beauty’ x ‘Roseus.‘  A large grower with rich, shiny dark brown leaves that have bright bands of silver running up their length.  This is not your typical windowsill Cryptanthus unless you have a big windowsill, it can reach 24 inches across!  Like most Cryptanthus it has white flowers.

Glowing coppery-red best describes the color of this vivid compact Neo. Some red speckling in the leaves give it character and the small size of 10 to 12 inches lets it fit nicely on your garden room shelf.

*VIPP plants are Offsets

One of the most stunningly beautiful of Dyckias with narrow arching silvery green, sometimes even reddish leaves and massive, soft, comb-like spines in a graceful rosette. Newly published in only 2002, it is a narrow endemic species known from only one site in the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grade do Sul where it is native to basaltic rock outcrops in isolated mountainous interior.

Our clone came to us from Constantino Gastaldi in adjacent Santa Catarina state, from seed produced in his private collection. Because the seed are from cultivated plants, he admonishes us that it is altogether possible that they are not pure delicata. However, in our seedling crop, all plants are consistent and all “look like” what a Dyckia delicata should look like at this stage.

This is a stunning species that was new to science in 1992. Since then it has entered cultivation and has been quite widely cultivated. As with any new plant, eventually one or more clones are selected to be grown on and the rest seem to fade into oblivion. There are already a few clones that have been given cultivar names and more that may.

This one we simply call the ‘best clone’ here at the nursery, not just because of its nice bloom, but because of the foliage. This form is light green with rosy red leaf tips. The red coloration extends inward with maturity and especially in fall when the temperatures begin to moderate. The inflorescence of this form is nice too; a panicle of fiery-red berries and red flowers which rises well above the foliage. A must for your collection and great in landscapes.

*VIPP plants are Offsets

A cultivar of (Billbergia nutans x Aechmea recurvata v. benrathii) Stewart. A cute, clumping, easy to grow miniature bigeneric hybrid. Slender, stiff, moderately spiny leaves of light green, form upright, clustering rosettes to about 8 to 10 inches tall. The inflorescence is fairly attractive, erect to nodding, with bright red bracts, streaked with grey trichomes and a cluster of violet trimmed, green flowers. Can take on a reddish cast if grown in strong light. Suitable for terrariums.

*VIPP plants are Offsets

A nice and different clone collected by Harry Luther on a 1987 Selby expedition to Panama with Libby Besse, Joe Halton and John Kress. The plant was found in Bocas del Toro in the vicinity of Chiriqui Grande at about sea level (SEL87-0233A). A stiff leaved plant, more open in shape than some other forms, with silver banding on the leaf undersides and heavy speckling on the upper sides when grown bright. The inflorescence is short, semi-erect with crimson bracts and yellow sepals and petals. Stoloniferous in habit, it grows to about 15 inches tall. A piece of bromeliad history!

*VIPP plants are Offsets

Both parents of this Ray Lemieux cross of Hechtia lanata x myriantha have some interesting characteristics that should express themselves when the plants grow out. The seed parent, H. lanata, has broad, scurfy, twisting and curling leaves in habitat, which is a tropical desert environment on nutrient poor cliffs.

In cultivation, seedlings of this species tend to have straighter foliage, at least here in sea-level Florida. The pollen parent, H. myriantha, is a giant grower, perhaps the largest of all Hechtia species. Anecdotal stories report that this plant can reach the size of a VW Beetle! The intent of this cross was to produce a large growing hybrid with twisted foliage and silvery scurf. Only time will tell if that will happen. 

*SALE - SPECIAL REDUCED PRICE

**Plants are ready for an 8 or 10-inch Pot

A hybrid of Portea kermesina x Aechmea blanchetiana that makes an interesting plant for landscape with a long lasting inflorescence of red branches and bracts and yellow flowers.  The foliage is coppery red.  Does best in light shade.

*VIPP plants are Offsets