One of the most exciting species to come into cultivation in a long time.  A beautiful compact growing Cryptanthus with broadly triangular leaves, banded lengthwise with three rows of silvery trichomes over a base color of reddish chestnut-brown, in a full, leafy rosette.  Grows 4 to 8 inches across and produces a profusion of offsets on long stolons.  This stunning decorative species was extremely rare and fairly expensive when first introduced.

One fantastic plant! This is a cross of Neo ‘Royal Burgundy‘ with Sincoraea navioides, made by Herb Hill. A mature plant can reach over 30 inches across with dozens of deep-burgundy leaves in a dense rosette. One of the best-ever xSincoregelias. Can adapt to full sun and makes a great landscape plant.

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.

A Jim Irvin hybrid named for a longtime active bromeliad enthusiast of the Caloosahatchee Bromeliad Society of Fort Myers, Florida, a cultivar of ‘Icecile’ x ‘Black Mystic,’ has 14+ lanceolate leaves forming a medium-large plant 20″ in diameter with a strong oval form, deep forest green in color with banding the entire length and edge to edge with narrow silver bands set widely apart.  The undersides have heavy silver scurf.

This hybrid by Richard Lum is of unreported parentage, but is a nice large size plant.  It features black colored leaves that have heavy silver scurfing covering the entire leaf.  There are a few breaks in the scurf giving it some bands of black.  It has a nice soothing look.

A stunning Venezuelan species with deep chocolate-brown over deep-green leaves, with abundant silver banding. Formerly known as venezuelana, it is a giant that can reach nearly 4 feet tall in a tubular, vase-shape, but normally remains a manageable size if kept in a 6-8 inch pot. Stout spines line the leaf margins. The inflorescence is nothing short of spectacular, a huge pendant panicle of bright pink bracts with white ovaries and large green petals that coil back like clock springs.

A hybrid cultivar of Cryptanthus ‘Hapa Haole’ x ‘Elaine’ by Australian, David Cross.  A full rosette of leaves to about 18 inches across.  The leaves are banded with silver over a background color of dark brown to reddish-brown, with slightly wavy margins.

A beautifully variegated cultivar of Aechmea blanchetiana, the result of an intraspecific crossing by Chester Skotak. It grows in the form of a typical Ae. blanchetiana, over three feet tall in a cluster of offsets, with three-inch-wide, stiff leaves, forming a funnelform rosette. The foliage is light green, does not tend to blush bronze or reddish, but has wide, bright cream-colored variegation. The variegation is bold and does not fade with age.

The inflorescence is typical of the species, tall, branchy, orange with yellow flowers. A spectacular plant for landscape in shade to full sun. At this point, still a desirable collector item.

CULTURE REQUIREMENTS

LIGHT	Full Sun to Shade
WATER	Frequently
TEMP	Warm
MATURE DIMENSIONS	3' x 2'
CARE	General Bromeliad Care Make Your Bromeliad Bloom