A beauty that grows in long caulescent clusters, with wide, stiff, silvery-white leaves. The inflorescence is a simple thin red spike. Native to central Mexico. Can be cultivated in a basket, mounted or hanging from a wire or string. Likes bright light and good air circulation.

This plant is one of the rarest Tillandsias in Colombia and has always been in demand as a collector item. Shaped like a green sea urchin about three inches across, it produces a single vivid red flower, then offsets, forming a clump. An epiphyte in medium altitudes, it does well at sea level.  Tillandsia andreana is another of the genuine collector items of the genus.

Today it is grown from seed, but in years gone by, was only rarely available outside of Colombia from where it was said to have been occasionally smuggled in the robes of a Jesuit Priest, and sold for quite high sums. This lovely little species is a golf ball sized tuft of yellow/green leaves that sports a giant, single red flower. Will form large clumps which bloom enmasse.

This is a very odd hybrid that doesn’t much resemble either parent. Assuming that the reported cross is correct, the plant does not have the thick leaves of either parent, the long stem or curled leaves of duratii or an inflorescence resembling either parent in any way. The flowers are large, spreading and light blue, borne on a tall scape with green bracts. The foliage is silvery, stiff, straight and forms a leafy rosette. Whether this hybrid is correctly identified remains a question, at least to me, but does not take away from the fact that this is a handsome plant.

A nice hybrid by Jim Irvin that unfortunately he never named nor registered. Using two South American species native to warm to hot arid regions. Tillandsia babuagrandensis is a species with a simple inflorescence of pinkish red from Peru in the region of Bagua Grande in the state of Amazonas and the didisticha is a handsome species from Bolivia and Argentina with a branched pink inflorescence.

The cross has many short, stiff, pointed leaves with a coating of silver trichomes. The inflorescence is a tall spike with on or two upright branches, red with silver trichomes giving it a pinkish coloration. Easy to grow, pups well and does best in bright light, mounted.

One of the faster growers. Will in time form clumps of dozens of plants if conditions are right. From Argentina, it is cold hardy and tolerant of sun or shade. Delicate blue & white flowers have gently twisted petals.

A cluster of tapering leaves, silvery with heavy trichomes. The inflorescence is a simple spike of pink, dusted with silver, bearing white flowers. We collected this plant quite some years ago at a very high altitude, about 12,000 feet. They were growing on rocks in full sun and were coated with heavy dust from the nearby dirt road. We never expected this plant to survive in Florida, at sea level, but survive they did, and thrive. They are slow growing, but steady and healthy and long lived.

A large, stunning cross of botterii x chiapensis, by Steve Correale. Two species of southern Mexico, each a beauty in their own right. A large plant to about 24 inches tall with silvery leaves that taper to fine points forming a graceful vase shaped rosette.

The inflorescence is multi-branched, taller than the foliage, with many short, pink branches. This is the reverse cross of ‘Mixtec Treasure’ and does not much resemble that plant.

This species of Mexican and Central American forms a 6 inch open rosette of gray-green leaves which flush vivid red when in bloom. Flowers are blue. A lovely, easy to grow, all-time-favorite. An easy growing, sub-mesic plant that grows well when mounted and kept in moderate light and humidity.

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 size small (approximately 2-3" tall)

A curious hybrid of cacticola ‘Splendid’ x duratii has some characteristics of both parents but really resembles neither. The plant forms an upright rosette of stiff, succulent leaves that taper to a curling tip. The inflorescence is upright, usually simple, dark purple with pale lavender flowers. Unusual.

A tall-growing form of this species of northern and central Peru where it lives as an epiphyte in thorn forests of the arid foothills in the eastern Andes. Many variations, forms and cultivars have been selected from this species that long been popular with hobbyists.

This form has a long stem with many broad, curling, silvery leaves. The inflorescence is about 18 to 24 inches tall, above the foliage, and is topped with a cluster of pinkish-lavender branches. In nature this plant grows in mostly full sun in an arid climate, receiving most of its moisture from nightly fogs.

For best results keep in a bright and airy location.