A natural hybrid from Tropiflora of Tillandsia stricta x aeranthos.

A hybrid of Tillandsia aeranthos x gardneri. Fairly stiff, silvery-green leaves in a full 8 inch rosette. Pretty pink floral bracts. Easy to grow and prolific.

A lovely, robust hybrid by Jim Irvin is a cultivar of (limbata x bulbosa).  Most closely resembling the bulbosa parent with a bulbous base, glossy leaves, and a branched, red inflorescence, it does differ though in some aspects.  The plant is larger than bulbosa, growing to about 12 inches tall with upright, terete leaves that are glossy or nearly lacking visible trichomes.  The color is green overall until anthesis. 

The inflorescence is tall with multiple branches which are long and slender (more so than bulbosa) and bright red in color.  The foliage will blush slightly bronzy-reddish at anthesis and in stronger light.  A vigorous grower that produces more offsets than the bulbosa parent, forming nice clusters in a relatively short time. 

A beautiful plant that forms large colonies on the rocks of its Brazilian habitat of Cabo Frio. A caulescent lithophyte with short, stiff, green to bronzy leaves and a nice inflorescence of salmon bracts and blue flowers. Forms many offsets on the old stems. Very easy to grow in partial to full sun.

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. 

We have had this plant for quite a few years, having acquired it as T. ionantha ‘Snake’. It appears to be a hybrid with ionantha as one parent, but the other is unknown. Sometimes growing conditions will cause ionantha varieties to grow excessively long, but this one grows and grows under normal greenhouse conditions here in Florida. Aside from the long stem, which can reach well over 24 inches, it has narrow, fleshy leaves, hundreds of them, along the stem. The foliage is silvery gray and the inflorescence is a short scape of tight pink branches that barely exerts itself above the foliage. Offsets form along the stem at irregular intervals. An oddity worth growing. 

An early hybrid (1960’s) by Charles Wiley is a cultivar of (seleriana x bulbosa). The cross was made in Eastern Germany and is a relic of the Cold War era. Aside from this, the plant is a handsome combination of both parents. More bulbosa-like it is however stouter with more leaves and has a slight scurff unlike the bulbosa parent. The inflorescence is a short rachis with red branches and a corresponding blush in the upper leaves at anthesis. 

This is a natural hybrid apparently of (ionantha x lenca (formerly fasciculata ‘Hondurensis’) that came from Honduras and was given to Bill Timm some years ago. Later Bill gave us a piece back with the name ‘Veronica’s Gift’ on it. It took quite a while to propagate enough to release them.

It is a handsome plant with many silvery, semi-stiff leaves in a full, vase shaped rosette. Unusual for an ionantha hybrid, it does not blush in the center at anthesis but rather produces a short cluster of pinkish branches and blue flowers. A very nice plant that has proven easy to cultivate under typical conditions afforded our Tillandsias.

Steve Correale’s cross of (capitata (red form) x streptophylla) bears some resemblance to both parent plants, but is definitely not to be confused with either. The foliage is rather soft but heavy, silvery-pink with trichomes and forming a bulbous based, open rosette with recurving leaves.

The inflorescence reaches almost 18 inches and has short silvery branches and large blue flowers, and has many long, leaf-like, pink, scape bracts as well. A choice plant named after Steve’s granddaughter. 

This plant has not yet been published but has been in cultivation for a while under the name of Tillandsia cocoensis.

In correspondence with Eric Gouda he says that this plant is most likely a form of T. tenuifolia and will likely be published as T. tenuifolia var. cocoensis by Renate Ehlers, hopefully in the near future. It was discovered growing on the cliffs of Morro do Coco in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil where it forms mats of plants with procumbent stems and stiff, silvery leaves. The flowers are slightly violet-white, borne on a short red scape with bright red bracts.

A cute and easy to grow species that blooms faithfully. Our plants came originally from the collection of the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens with the accession number of SEL91-0099A.

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 large growing species from the area where the Rio Marabasco separates the Mexican states of Jalisco and Colima, an area of rugged mountains and rocky canyons.  This species is mostly found growing in full sun, mainly on the ground in open scrub among deciduous shrubs and small trees.  A large species that can reach about 24 inches tall and when in bloom, over six feet tall! This clone, however stays much smaller in size.

In cultivation, a three foot tall plant in bloom is much more typical. The foliage is silvery-grey in an upright, vase shaped rosette. The inflorescence is a very tall scape with many slender, upright branches of yellow with light reddish borders to the bracts.  Flowers are tubular, whitish, light lavender. A rare species discovered by Renate Ehlers in 1991.