A beautiful caulescent plant with short, broadly triangular, silvery-gray leaves and a stunning red-flowered inflorescence. A native of Bolivia where it lives a lithophytic existence on sheer rock cliffs, hanging in massive cascades. Care-free to grow, when mounted in a pendant fashion it freely produces offsets along its old stem, soon forming large attractive clusters.

Our stock came from a collection we made in 1993 in Bolivia. The excitement still lingers when I think of my fist encounter with the species in the wild. We had been traveling the rugged canyons that lay between ridge after ridge of the Cordillera de los Andes on Bolivia’s rugged and desolate eastern frontier.

On our satellite maps the terrain appeared to have been clawed by a giant jaguar, leaving parallel grooves hundreds of miles long etched deeply into the altiplano. We were weary from several weeks travel having seldom enjoyed a bed or hot meal. It remains a mystery why in such a relatively rich habitat for Tillandsias such as this, that one can travel for many miles and endless hours and not see a single plant! But on this dusty day our luck changed.

In a deep gorge where the escarpment walls seemed to rise and close in, causing dark shadows across the valley floor, we came into an incredible sight. Our first hint was an isolated cliff, across a muddy stream, that had a small colony of a caulescent Tillandsia. Crossing the stream, a break in the monotony of the day, I carried collecting pole and camera towards the cliff. Distance deceives among the stone monoliths of these haunting canyons and as the ‘bushes’ at the cliff base became large trees at my approach, so also did the Tillandsias disappear into the forest canopy.

Reaching the base of the cliff, I couldn’t even see the plants that lured me in the first place, as they were easily over a hundred feet overhead obscured by the canopy of the forest. However, with adrenaline coursing as it does when victory or discovery is in the wind, we drove onward to our reward. Not over a mile further on, the cliffs, which towered hundreds of feet tall, were covered with Tillandsias as far as the eye could see. Approaching this time we discovered that our long awaited prize was Tillandsia edithae!

Buy one now and save the bone-jarring, dust-eating, dangerous trip to Bolivia’s eastern desert.

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 fairly newly resurrected species related to compressa and fasciculata, native to the State of Veracruz in Mexico. The type locality is near the town of Hidalgotitlán in the seasonally dry, broad leaf forests of the eastern Isthmus of Tehuantepec. A medium sized plant to about 20 inches tall with narrow, tapering leaves in an upright vase shape. The inflorescence is stunning, uprightly branched and bright yellow. An outstanding plant without any special cultural requirements other than typical for Tillandsias.

*VIPP plants are Offsets

One of the all-time favorite, easy to grow, beautiful Tillandsias, from Chiapas, Mexico. A pinkish-silver plant with wide, leathery, scurfy leaves in a broadly spreading open rosette. Can grow to 18 inches, but usually is much smaller.

The inflorescence, which can last in color for a year, is an inflated, sometimes branched, pink spike. A cliff-dweller from the dramatic canyons of Chiapas, it best kept mounted in bright light, and fed frequently.

A cultivar of Paterson’s cross of (tenuifolia x recurvifolia). A small plant to about 4 inches tall and wide with stiff, gray-green leaves in a loose rosette. The plant much more closely resembles the tenuifolia parent in shape but is more silvery. The inflorescence is a short scape with deep pink bracts and white flowers, close to the recurvifolia parent. Easily forms clusters of plants and is a fast, easy grower. 

Somewhat resembles a Tillandsia brachycaulos in size and shape but less leafy. Leaves are somewhat stiff, shiny, and gray/green. The entire plant flushes pink or peach when in bloom, with a short scape. An epiphyte on shrubby trees in the scorching valleys of central Honduras. Definitely something different. Easy to grow.

A tall Tillandsia with needle-like leaves to over 18 inches. Great for using as an accent in mounted arrangements. Will eventually form a large clump. Inflorescence is simple, greenish white to pink to red in color.

This is the same plant in every way as the regular form of the species, except much, much larger. Reaching up to 12 inches in diameter, with stolons of 6 to 8 inches, it is an impressive plant. The many leaves are silvery, with an 8 inch bright red spike with blue flowers. This rare form is restricted to the north central Pacific coast of Ecuador. Grow mounted, bright as with most Tillandsias.  Please note that this species was described as and was considered a Vriesea until the recent DNA studies prompted a realignment to the genus Tillandsia.

A hybrid of (brachycaulos x streptophylla) by Paterson. A plant of variable size that may flower from 5 to 10 inches tall. Somewhat bulbous and upright, the leaves are reddish and lepidote, blushing red at anthesis. The inflorescence is capitate with blue flowers. 

A colorful hybrid of (capitata ‘Red’ x concolor ‘Cuicatlan’) by Bill Timm. Bill has been a prolific hybridizer of Tillandsias, creating quite a few unique crosses. This one is a medium sized plant about 12 inches tall when in bloom, with stiff glabrous green leaves in an open rosette shape. The inflorescence is about 6 inches tall with very long, stiff, scape bracts and a cluster of erect yellowish branches. The scape bracts and upper whorl or two of leaves blush deep reddish at anthesis. A colorful plant that will grow easily and add color to your collection.