This cross was genius, or maybe dumb luck, but at any rate it ended up fantastic. A cross of (fasciculata x flagellata) by Chester Skotak, it blends two of the best Tillandsias out there. Ecuadorean T. flagellata is itself a gem, with many narrow, soft leaves in a gracefully arching rosette. The inflorescence is brilliant red. This hybrid takes all the best of that species and blends it with the vigor of fasciculata and the robust bloom of both. Beautiful but slow, but like all good things, worth waiting for. 

A nice, rather upright spineless plant with a pink cast to the foliage, bold creamy-white variegation and a deep red center flush at anthesis. Forms an attractive clump with many offsets on short stolons.

A hybrid of (concolor x roland-gosselinii) by Bill Timm. A knock out with broad, stiff, recurving leaves in a full rosette. The color is silvery with a reddish blush in strong light. The inflorescence is branched, not too tall, and yellow. An extremely nice plant! 

A cultivar of (stricta x aeranthos) by Woods. It is a medium sized plant to about six inches across with narrow, silvery-green leaves. The inflorescence is very colorful, dark pink bracts and deep, inky-blue flowers. Grows easily mounted and will form attractive clusters. 

This larger growing species is a rock dwelling saxicole in its native Jalisco, Mexico habitat. A wide spreading rosette of 3/4 inch wide, leathery leaves blushes bright red in strong light. At anthesis the capitate head of red bracts rises well above the foliage, is bright red with blue flowers. A very showy plant and prized by collectors. Can be grown mounted or potted in a well-draining media.

A tiny fan shaped plant that forms massive clusters. Each individual plant grows to about three inches tall and wide. It is found mainly as a twig epiphyte from Paraguay to Argentina and Bolivia. Our plants are from material that we collected near Mataral, Santa Cruz, Bolivia in 1994. It can often be seen growing in ball-like clusters on power lines. The flowers are tiny but pretty, purple colored, flaring and mildly fragrant. Culture with bright light and ample air circulation. Does great just hanging on a wire or string. Do not allow clumping plants to remain wet for long after watering.

A cultivar of (ionantha v. vanhyningii x ionantha ‘Druid’) by Bill Timm. A plant that can resemble the ionantha v. vanhyningii parent with thick leaves on a caulescent stem or can be more upright. The leaves blush reddish with blue flowers at anthesis. A nice hybrid that forms clusters of plants. 

A beautiful yellow-blushing form with white flowers, that we found in Costa Rica back in 2002 on a trip along with Chester Skotak and Hiroyuki Takizawa. We do not have many, even after all this time. It’s a little slower to grow than the typical form, but is worth the wait. SEL2002-0299.

*VIPP plants are NOT in color at this time

A natural hybrid of (albida x concolor) named and registered by Bill Timm. This is a real nice hybrid that shows characteristics of both parent plants. The foliage is silvery, in an open rosette with leaves that recurve and twist. It is not caulescent like albida. The inflorescence resembles the concolor parent with yellowish branches in upright candelabra form, and pink flowers. 

A hybrid of (bulbosa x streptophylla) by Mark Dimmitt. This interesting plant could be described as a larger bulbosa-type plant with broader, more twisted leaves. Or, as a streptophylla-type plant with shiny and deeply channeled leaves. In other words, a good split of characteristics of both parents.

This hybrid is sometimes found as a natural cross in Guatemala. Grows well mounted, easily forming large clusters of plants. 

This plant is an apparent natural hybrid but we are reasonably certain that it is a cross of (riohondoensis x ionantha) that came in with a shipment of the former from Guatemala some years ago. We have been propagating it ever since. The plant has many narrow, velvety leaves in an upright vase shaped rosette. It can grow to over ten inches tall and wide with leaves about a half inch wide tapering to a point. The inflorescence is a capitate head of very tight branches on a short scape bearing long leaf-like bracts. The bracts blush pink at anthesis along with the upper whorl of leaves.

Overall the plant is silvery with a heavy coating of trichomes. The leaves are soft and graceful. We are naming this plant in honor of our dear friend Ruby Ryde of Australia. An avid bromeliad collector of many years with her late husband Keith and who has for years faithfully sent us a beautiful calendar of Australian nature each December. She is our ‘Calendar Girl’ and we are proud to have her as our friend!