Tillandsia variabilis Honduran Form
 

Tillandsia variabilis Honduran Form

I got this from Tropiflora quite a number of years ago (10+). Truth be told, I've struggled with it at times and this past year has been one, but it's blooming fine and looks gorgeous. I keep this semi-dry in the winter, and then grow it fairly wet in the summer. It gets bright shade alongside my orchids, which are grown in typical indoor temperatures under artificial lights.

No fragrance on this, but it does pique the interest of hummingbirds, so it's got that going for it. The bright red scape doesn't stay brightly colored for long once the flowers are spent, but it does stick around for a long time -- it simply turns green once the flowers are gone.

https://i.imgur.com/nOYCMnCl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/MSMHBEUl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/avXinNol.jpg

I love the bright colors! :)

What a beautiful post.

Have been looking at this flower type for some time now as it is just so beautiful and unusual. They seem to be the larger Tillandsia's that flower like this and plant size is important to me because I have a limited area to grow them in so to speak.

Do not have an example of the image plant here and do not think I have seen it for sale here but I do have Tillandsia streptophylla & Tillandsia xerographica with the same type of flower.

Doing a Tillandsia flower image search brings up other Tillandsia's with the same flower type. But the example image posted here is stand out, totally amazing.

Thanks. This is a variable species as the scientific name suggests, so they come in a range of sizes and some types are more red than others.

I would say this is a decent sized plant that takes up a fair amount of space, but I usually set it outdoors during our warm seasons and then hang it beside my plant shelves when it's cold.

This clone is the Honduran form, but T. variabilis is wide spreading and even occurs in the state of Florida (USA). Presumably some varieties are quite cold hardy, likely able to handle temperatures close to freezing. However, I've never tested it personally.