Monday, November 19, 2012

The Progress of Tillandsia ionantha: Bloom!

The pretty and petite, silvered Tillandsia ionantha hails from Nicaragua. It's a hardy and beautiful Tilly which is frequently crossed with other species because the results are so lovely. (Many crossed Tillies are rather dull by comparison.)

I have several ionanthas and crosses.  This is the first to bloom. First phase, it blushes pinkish red, and here comes a bud!


T. ionantha in bud
More buds follow:


T. ionantha, with ionantha fuego and friends
 And finally, a triple bloom!


T. ionantha in full bloom
On the left is another ionantha, T. ionantha fuego, very fiery indeed!  Once the bloom is over, the plant itself will continue blushing for a while, then a pup will appear at the base. Once the pup is about half the size of the parent plant, it can be removed to grow on its own. And so on it goes....



7 comments:

  1. You have me inspired, I'm going to look at plants this afternoon...........

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  2. How beautiful is that! Love the colours!

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  3. Beech Street Gardens,
    I'm glad I inspired you! Tillies are great fun.

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  4. Beautiful blooms & the colours are gorgeous! Really like the frosty leaves on the Tillies.

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  5. where did you get that greenish blue earth pot

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  6. I made it. It's a white earthenware clay with a glaze called Bluebell. Generally I use Bluebell glaze over redware, but it looks nice over the white sometimes, too.

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