Tillandsia ionantha on fire

I remember when I was just starting out with plants and was developing an interest with Tillandsia, this species, T. ionantha, was already quite a staple in garden stalls and pretty well-represented in specialist gardens (when I say 'specialist gardens', I am referring to those whose owners aren't just satisfied with the usual stuff one sees in run-of-the-mill type plants stores and nurseries. These are also the same type of owners that go to lengths to know the names of their plants). Many years later, and it's still with us, in a spectrum of horticultural cultivars and hybrids involving other species. The plant featured here is one of the more well known of the cultivars, T. ionantha 'Fuego', the cultivar name of course is Spanish and translates to 'fire', an allusion to the leaves that turn a bright red prior to, and during flowering. A rosette needs to mature for a year before it is ready for flowering.

Despite the species name, flower color is actually more blue than violet.

Tillandsia ionantha is a widespread species from Central and South America, and a number of forms are known, although most are just horticultural names and have no taxonomic significance. Out of the many names hovering around, only two varieties are recognized by science, the nominate var. ionantha and var. stricta from Oaxaca in Mexico, which is distinguished by its straighter leaves (the varietal name came from the Latin word strictus, which means 'straight'); the species name was derived from two Greek words: ionos violet, and anthos flower. A third variety, var. vanhyningii, is not on the International Plant Names Index and thus appears to be a nomen nudum*. Most of the horticultural varieties are distinguished by their varying leaf colorations before and during flowering. The parents were originally collected from the wild and the desirable traits have been expressed more fully through selective breeding. Hybrids originating from this species can be particularly interesting, but personal preferences dictate that species hold more attraction that do hybrids.

Tillandsia ionantha, as with many others from the genus, are very easy to cultivate in tropical conditions, requiring plenty of light and heat. Watering is carried out once or twice a week during the drier months, usually in the form of morning or afternoon misting. During the rainy period these plants get drenched for up to a full day, up to five days at a stretch. Because most of my tillandsias are attached on a large piece of driftwood and placed out in the open without any overhead protection, risks of rot are practically nil, due to the beneficial effects of continuous air movement. In more temperate climates where such plants are kept under a greenhouse, continuously moist conditions are practically a death sentence for tillandsias and other epiphytic plants, even with the installation of fans. These plants thrive on benign neglect but preferably under hard conditions, and reward their gardeners with vigorous growth even with very little care.

The silvery scales on tillandsias serve to protect them from intense lighting and also allow the plants to utilize nutrients out of thin air.

*A nomen nudum ('naked name') is a name that is not validly published and therefore untenable for use. Many of such names were only coined by plant collectors who do not know the nuances of proper name description and publication. Horticulture is rife with such names.