With its clumping habit, brilliant rose bracts and inky blue flowers, this species is a gem of the Tillandsia world. From the ‘southern cone’ of South America, it is tolerant of some cold. Beautiful and undemanding.

A hybrid of (brachycaulos x schiedeana). Upright to 10 inches, it has rather narrow leaves and an attenuated inflorescence that forms a tightly capitate head. A late-spring bloomer, with rosy-blushing silvery leaves and yellow flowers. This is a very interesting and different-looking plant. 

A hybrid of (capitata x streptophylla). An extraordinary beauty that takes on a bulbous shape with wide, recurving, curling leaves coated with silvery scurf.

The inflorescence is fairly short with long, curling scape bracts and a tightly clustered head of red branches and light blue flowers. The whole plant takes on a reddish-peach blush at anthesis. A choice plant. 

A hybrid reported to be a cross of (durangensis x seleriana) by Bill Timm. We grew these from seedlings given to us by Bill. The plants have an open rosette shape of fairly broad, recurving, silvery leaves that can reach almost 20 inches across. 

The inflorescence can reach about 12 inches tall with very long, stiff, leaf-like red bracts. Many short, red branches point upwards from between the bracts and will produce tubular purple-blue flowers.

Honestly we cannot see either parent in the cross, but the plant has been registered and does match the photo in the registry.

A beautiful cross by Bob Spivey of (roland-gosselinii x chiapensis). It has the fuzzy, velvety look of chiapensis, but an inflorescence that betrays the cross. A fairly short red scape bearing long branches that are red on bottom and bright green on top, with blue flowers. The foliage is silvery, tinted pinkish in strong light. A real beauty. About 16 to 18 inches wide and nearly as tall when in bloom. 

This hybrid by Bill Timm is a cultivar of (chiapensis x roland-gosselinii). One of those ‘dream crosses’ using two fantastic plants as parents and getting stunning results. The hybrid is right down the line between the two, taking on the silver leaves and inflorescence shape of the chiapensis parent and the size, and inflorescence coloration closer to the roland-gosselinii parent. Reaching a full 30 inches across, the plant is impressive for size alone, but can also stay in bloom for months. A great plant. 

A cultivar of concolor x capitata ‘Rubra’ by L. Ariza of the Dominican Republic. A really nice cross with gracefully recurving, stiff foliage that is bright red in strong light. The showy inflorescence turns intense red-orange with blue flowers. A very choice and colorful plant. 

A Joe Carrone hybrid of (brachycaulos x streptophylla). An open rosette of light green, curling, silvery dusted leaves form a somewhat bulbous base. An inflorescence that has long, pinkish-lavender blushing bracts and a tight cluster of pinkish branches rises about 6 inches above the foliage. A handsome, easy to grow and prolific plant. 

We first got this plant from a friend under formula, before the name ‘Nugget’ was given and registered. This is a cultivar of crocata x duratii by Barry Genn, both species highly fragrant but the hybrid of the two barely so. That said, it’s beautiful!

Our plant originally was quite small and ‘wimpy’ with few leaves and kind of scrawny looking. Under the care of Veronica our Tillandsia grower, it has become a much larger, robust plant with a nicely branching inflorescence and curling, silvery leaves.

The flower color is buttercup yellow, kind of surprising with the normally dominant duratii in the mix, but all better for it. We have found that if kept well fed and in good light and air circulation, the plant is vigorous and will produce offsets. Different and attractive. 

An interesting cross of kegeliana x rothii for which we have little information. The plant most certainly show strong influence of the rothii parent with an open rosette shape of wide, fairly stiff leaves and a branched inflorescence of inflated branches. The kegeliana doesn’t manifest itself much but definitely makes the plant look a lot different than a pure rothii. The flowers are white.

*VIPP plants are Offsets

This cute little caulescent plant is a cross of (tectorum x paleacea) reaching about 6 to 8 inches long, with 2 inch fuzzy silver leaves. Not as fuzzy as the tectorum parent, but still very fuzzy. A very prolific, fast-grower, producing many offsets and forming clumps fairly quickly. The scape is about 6 inches long with purple flowers. Grow it hanging from a string or mount it. A very easy ‘confidence builder’ for beginners, but a nice plant for any collection.