Tillandsia balbisiana The Florida form of this wide ranging species that occurs from Florida, the Caribbean down through Mexico and Central America and Northern South America. The Florida form tends to grow in open woods and cypress swamps from twigs in the full sun to shaded hammocks. An elongated bulbous base formed by the leaves that constrict before flaring out to an open but few leaved rosette. The inflorescence is tall, branched and lacquer red. An easy and rewarding species to grow.
Believe it or not, this glowing green plant appeared in the same grex as the 'Red Robin' with the only difference being it's completely green with not even a hint of red! We have been growing this plant side by side with it's sister, 'Red Robin', for years and have not found any reddening of the leaves to date. It's possible future pups may appear red but there's no way of knowing at this point. We do know this plant has straighter leaves and does not get as curly. It's larger than T. streptophylla, with a bigger bottom and thicker more succulent leaves and heavy trichomes. Very pretty!
This Tillandsia came to our collection from the late Bill Soerries collection after his passing in 2013. There are several without names and some that have defied identification. This plant is one of those. It's an obvious hybrid withTil. ionantha, but with what? We don't know for sure. It has a short but branched inflorescence. It does not seem to match anything in the BSI Cultivar Registry.
Tillandsia 'Chickasaw Bill' (Til. ionanthax ?) The name is to honor Bill Soerries, who used to run the famous Chickasaw Club in Columbus, Georgia.
An all-time favorite from Brazil is about 6 inches across in a leafy rosette with stiff gray-green leaves. It produces a stunning blue-flowered, plume-shaped pink inflorescence in the summer. In nature this plant can be found growing on the restinga sands of beach dunes and in trees in the foothills of the Atlantic Range in Brazil.
Large clumps will form in just a few seasons, that can be hung from wires and will form perfectly symmetrical balls of many plants. One of the easiest and most prolific of Tillandsias to cultivate.
A choice Guatemalan form that grows vase-shaped, with the leaf tips curving outward. Rather large for an ionantha, at about 3 inches. Light green, blushing brilliant red in bloom. A very nice form.
Rare in collections, this oddity grows on vertical rock walls in Peru. Soft, narrow needle-like leaves twist gently like a rope. Inflorescence is a simple rosy spike with small purple and white flowers.
A rock dwelling species from Oaxaca, Mexico. This form differs from the typical epiphytic form having more rigid reddish leaves in a 12 to 15 inch rosette and a stouter inflorescence of yellow branches. Found growing on rocks in canyon bottoms and occasionally on cliffs, in full sun. Grows in typical Tillandsia conditions in cultivation.
