Tillandsia 'Ragtime' (abdita x concolor 'Red Prince')

Beautiful bright red color when in bloom.

A Paul Isley hybrid of balbisiana x exserta. 

*VIPP plants budded as of 7/17/2025

A spectacular, large, red-bracted cultivar of ‘Houston‘ (stricta x recurvifolia) a popular Mark Dimmitt hybrid. A very leafy 8 inch, gray-green rosette, with a large, full inflorescence of bright red bracts and flaring white flowers. 

A cultivar of a hybrid by Mark Dimmitt of Tillandsia ferreyrae x bulbosa, named by Bill Timm. Most resembling the bulbosa parent, but much larger with more leaves. This plant is dramatic looking with a bulbous base that is ‘egg shaped’, about 2 to 3 inches thick. The base is somewhat darkened, brown to almost black and the leaves, which are terete and taper to a fine point are green with a slight gray wash of trichomes.

The inflorescence is branched on a short scape, not quite as tall as the leaves. The braches and the leaf-like scape bracts blush bright red at anthesis. Flowers are two-tone, blue and white or pale lavender and blue. 

Jim Irvin’s cultivar of (ionantha v. vanhyningi x caputmedusae ‘Red form’) shows some characteristics of both parents. Overall it is most similar to the caput-medusae parent with a somewhat bulbous base and narrow leaves flaring outward. The leaves are semi-terete but do not contort like caput-medusae often does. 

The ionantha v. vanhyningii aspect comes through in the inflorescence which is a short scape of tight branches and rosy red bracts. At anthesis the upper leaves blush reddish and in bright light they can be reddish most of the time.

We received these plants as straight Tillandsia seleriana but quickly realized there was something different about them. After further research we have decided the plant to be Tillandsia 'Selerepton', a hybrid of Tillandsia seleriana x streptophylla. Our plants grow to about 12 inches in height before blooming. 

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. 

A handsome cross of Tillandsia tricolor x fasciculata by Bill Timm. The same cross and a similar plant to T. ‘Ervin Wurthman’. A robust plant to about 24 inches tall, with narrow, gracefully arching reddish, somewhat silver dusted leaves in an upright rosette. The inflorescence is a tall red and yellow scape that is usually well branched.

An excellent hybrid of concolor x fasciculata, by Steve Correale. A stiff leaved, twelve inch open rosette of tapering, pointed leaves, silvery on both sides, blushing blackish towards the tips in bright light. The inflorescence is a simple, sword-shaped spike of glossy red to slightly orange or yellow towards the base. Silver trichomes on the spike cause it to look pinker in color. Very long lasting in bloom. 

An attractive hybrid of (ionantha x chiapensis) by John Arden. As with most ionantha hybrids, it shows very strong characteristics of that species. A very leafy open rosette to about 8 or 10 inches tall with a pinkish blush to the scurfy, silvery leaves. The inflorescence is very colorful, a cluster of bright red branches nested deep in the center, with large, tubular, inky-blue flowers. Very pretty and easy to grow. Likes to be on the dry side.