A natural hybrid of (utriculata x fasciculata) known from the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Our plants originated on the island of St. John in the vicinity of Cinnamon Bay where the only two possible parents of this beauty occur side by side.

Taking the best of both parents, it has an inflorescence much larger and more branched than fasciculata, but much more colorful than utriculata. It does offset, though it may wait until the inflorescence is almost finished. Very rarely seen in any collections. We have two clones in our collection, and this one is by far the best.

A real oddity. Showing characteristics of both parents, the influence of duratii is obviously stronger. A caulescent plant, with narrow, succulent silvery leaves like duratii, but leafier and more of a rosette shape like stricta.

This plant is a bit of an enigma. It came to us years ago, on more than one occasion, mixed in with wild taken plants shipped as T. lenca (formerly fasciculata ‘Hondurensis’) from Honduras, of course. (That plant was recently given species status as Tillandsia lenca). That plant lives on cliff faces in central Honduras, often in association with the species Til. hondurensis.

Confused yet? Well, some years ago Steve Correale found a natural hybrid of the two species which was described and published as Til. x correalii. Presumably any combination of the two species would be considered an x correalii. T. x correalii has an inflorescence much more closely resembling that of its Tillandsia hondurensis parent. Our plant has a branched inflorescence, much more in line with T. lenca, but otherwise also appears to be a hybrid with hondurensis.

So, is this just a ‘branched form’ of x correalii or another natural hybrid deserving its own name? We are certainly in no position to make that decision, so we are choosing to give it a cultivar name to serve to keep them separate in the interim. Is this clear to you now? By the way, the name ‘Catracho’ is a nickname for the Honduran people. 

One of the most spectacular of Tillandsias, with succulent silvery leaves and a massive inflorescence consisting of a red rachis with long silvery white branches. A Honduran endemic, restricted to the river canyons of the northwest, near the Guatemalan border, where it grows high up on vertical limestone cliffs. A large grower, it thrives potted or mounted and can reach well over 30 inches tall. An outstanding plant worthy of space in any collection.

 A slow growing, large, showy species that’s never in good supply.

An interesting species from Bahia, Brazil where it grows on exposed rock. Upright growing with narrow, 8 inch long leaves on a caulescent stem. The inflorescence is an erect spike, slightly taller than the foliage, terminating with a cluster of pink bracts and white flowers. A mature plant in bloom can reach 16 inches tall and 8 inches wide. Our plant is descended directly from the type collection by Elton Leme.

A cultivar of a hybrid by Mark Dimmitt of Tillandsia ferreyrae x bulbosa, named by Bill Timm. Most resembling the bulbosa parent, but much larger with more leaves. This plant is dramatic looking with a bulbous base that is ‘egg shaped’, about 2 to 3 inches thick. The base is somewhat darkened, brown to almost black and the leaves, which are terete and taper to a fine point are green with a slight gray wash of trichomes.

The inflorescence is branched on a short scape, not quite as tall as the leaves. The braches and the leaf-like scape bracts blush bright red at anthesis. Flowers are two-tone, blue and white or pale lavender and blue. 

This hybrid of aeranthos x tenuifolia that has been in our collection for years, did not match the hybrid with the same reported parentage in the BSI cultivar registry, named ‘Flamingoes‘. Ours is a colorful, small, clumping plant with stiff leaves that are dark green and form a 3 to 4 inch rosette. The inflorescence has bright pink bracts and deep bluish flowers. In a tip of the hat to the ‘original’, we decided to call this one ‘Flamingo Redux‘. 

This plant is from Bak nurseries in Holland but it does not, apparently, have a registered name. Too bad because it is a beauty. A fairly large size grower to about a foot tall with a 20 inch spread of channeled, silvery leaves tapering from about a half inch wide to a slender tip. Very graceful in aspect with a soft, velvety quality but sturdy nonetheless. The inflorescence is a branched scape just longer than the leaves, erect with four or five branches held upright in a cluster. The color is greenish yellow to orange-red, depending somewhat on the light, the brighter the more colorful in most cases. Easy to grow under typical Tillandsia conditions, offsets well after blooming.

This is a giant form of Tillandsia pruinosa from Colombia. It is like the smaller or regular forms except that it is larger and does not color up at anthesis as some forms do. It grows to nearly 12 inches tall with a thick base. It might resemble a slightly more slender Tillandsia seleriana due to its size but is a pruinosa for sure. Up right leaves and a bulbous base, all covered with heavy trichomes. Nice.

A hybrid of (mallemontii x duratii) by M. Patterson in Australia, it’s a pretty good combination of the two parents. Tillandsia duratii is a robust plant with a long stem and curling leaves, rootless in the adult form and producing a long, branched inflorescence with fragrant purple flowers. Tillandsia mallemontii is a plant with fine leaves, forming a tangled ball with many plants. The slender inflorescence is un-branched and produces a large, fragrant, purple flower. 

The hybrid ‘Wonga’ looks more like a skinny duratii with many curly leaves and a long, branching inflorescence. The stunning thing though is that the flowers of both parents are very fragrant and those of ‘Wonga’ are not!

Bill Timm’s hybrid of Tillandsia ionantha ‘Druid’ x ionantha v. vanhyningii, looks pretty much like a large vanhyningii. If this plant had turned out with a yellow blush instead of red, more like the ‘Druid’ parent, then this would have been a show stopper. But alas it isn’t yellow, but it is still a very nice, compact and colorful plant as you can see by the photo. 

A handsome form of this variable species from Mexico has grayish-green leaves in a 12 to 18 inch upright rosette. The inflorescence is a torch-like head of long yellow bracts that is long lasting and colorful. A lithophyte in nature, it can be grown mounted or potted in a well-draining mix.