Tillandsia Imbroglio Click thumbnails for full size, scaled to a new window.
Tillandsia Imbroglio
cv. of duratii? X stricta?, by M.Dimmit?, registered by D.Cathcart.
Same cross also done by Margaret Patterson.
See also reverse cross T. Goomong.
Bob Hudson 01/10.
Chris Larson 05/14.
Bob Hudson: ... "The flowers have just opened and have a slight perfume (as do all duratii) but the flower is plain blue with no white centre." Len Colgan: ... "I obtained T. duratii x stricta from Mark Dimmitt many years ago, and I am pretty sure he personally made the hybrid. With fertiliser in the watering system at Mark's place, you would not be surprised to hear that his clump (from where my offset was removed) was humungous, to use a hackneyed modern word.
It flowered in a hanging pot about 4 or 5 years ago, and I was pleasantly surprised. The inflorescence was about 45cm high, and had 16 branches coming off the main stem. The colouration was very similar to the photos of T. 'Imbroglio' that Derek (from Chris Larson) has placed on fcbs, and it had a faint perfume. My plant and inflorescence, however, looked more like the fcbs photo from Dennis Cathcart (Tropiflora #5215). According to Derek, Dennis was unsure from where he got his plant, and not many crosses travelled from Arizona to Florida. Whether or not my plant from Mark Dimmit has the same derivation as either of those shown on fcbs as T. 'Imbroglio' is unknown." Derek Butcher: ... "You will notice on the record that Cathcart has an asterisk which means he named it. He grandfathered it into the system because he had this unnamed hybrid which he wanted to market. He guessed its parentage was possibly duratii x stricta. (Reverse cross would have been equally valid guess.)
It now appears that it could be a Dimmitt hybrid according to Len, so anything coming from overseas could well be this and anything on the home front could well link to 'Goomong' an alleged reverse cross." Chris Larson: ... "The plant that we had was growing in the tree at the shop for a number of years anonymously. I had passed it around as a hybrid when people wanted one. I posted it on Till Nuts & Brent said it looked like a duratii hybrid. I searched the fcbs data base, and Derek & I figured this was it.
Collectors Corner imported a lot of Dimmitt stuff in the early 90s so this was a logical conclusion. This plant can be quite poor if not fed properly. Good food & conditions gives a large plant with a flower worth growing. We have distibuted a good number around the traps."
