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. 

A fairly large hybrid by Luis Ariza, (brachycaulos x fasciculata), to about 10 to 16 inches with many leaves in a spreading rosette. The leaves are somewhat softer than a fasciculata and dusted with silvery scurf. The inflorescence is a cluster of short red branches on a red scape, with long scape bracts that blush reddish too. The flowers are exceptionally long, tubular and light bluish purple. An easy grower that does well mounted. 

An interesting novelty that occurred in the collection of Bert Foster about 25 years ago and has persisted ever since. An otherwise normal ionantha but with even breaks in the trichomes, forming a banded pattern. Very decorative miniature measuring approximately 2 inches tall.

*MINIATURE TILLANDSIA*

A nice bright hybrid made here at Tropiflora, a cross of tenuifolia v. strobiliformis x stricta Hard Leaf. Mature open rosette to about 8 inches across on a rather caulescent stem. Upright, arching, stiff, light green leaves, tapering to a point. 

The inflorescence, exerted just above the leaves, is about 6 inches long and rather strobilate with white-tipped candy pink bracts and slightly-flaring white flowers.

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. 

This plant from Bolivia has a good possibility of being a new species. However, for now, we are offering it as a ’giant form’ of vernicosa, a species to which it is most similar. The leaves are very stiff and many in an 8 to 12 inch rosette, dark greenish bronze with a beautiful multi-branched inflorescence of pinkish orange with small white flowers. The colorful inflorescence lasts for several months. The regular form of this plant is 4 to 6 inches and by comparison this form is a true giant.

A John Arden hybrid of (jalisco-monticola x capitata). A tough and showy plant with leathery reddish leaves in a symmetrical, very leafy rosette. The inflorescence is a tight cluster of many dark orange branches in a capitate head with long scape bracts exceeding the branches. Very long lasting in color. A heavy plant, tough and sturdy, easy to grow. Grows well mounted or potted in a fast draining mix with good aeration. 

Something of a mystery. We had this plant for years labeled as (ionantha x brachycaulos) which is the opposite cross of ‘Victoria‘ but it was quite different looking. Recently we examined this plant in bloom more closely and it appears that it is more likely a hybrid of (ionantha x caput-medusae) based on the leaf texture and inflorescence structure. Possibly a natural hybrid, it superficially resembles a giant ionantha to about 8 inches tall, with stiff, silvery leaves arranged in a recurving upright vase shape. The inflorescence is a short pink scape with blue flowers nested in the center. The whole plant blushes slightly reddish when in bloom. 

A showy hybrid of (capitata ‘Red’ x ionantha v. stricta) by Bill Timm. A nice plant about 6 to 8 inches tall that strongly resembles the ionantha parent with many narrow leaves in an upright, flaring, rosette. Green until blooming, when it blushes bright red.

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!

A natural hybrid of Till. argentina x tenuifolia. A clustering plant with very stiff, dark gray leaves tapering to a sharp point. The inflorescence is a lanceolate scape of pink with lavender flowers with an open corolla. Overall the plant takes more characteristics from the argentina parent.