Tillandsia Pink Patches
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Tillandsia Pink Patches
BCR ... Mature small rosette to 13cm. diameter x 13cm. high. Secund, scurfed dark green leaves, narrowly-triangular, each tapering to a point. Short, compact inflorescence to 13cm. long with rosy red floral bracts, sparsely covered with lepidote scales. Cerise pink/mauve flowers. Registered by Dale Dixon 2021.
recurvifolia var. subsecundifolia x sprengeliana by Neville Ryan, Qld, 2005.
Dale Dixon 11/21
Dale Dixon ... "Tillandsia 'Pink Patches' is a Neville Ryan cultivar of Tillandsia recurvifolia var. subsecundifolia x Tillandsia sprengeliana. It is named after his sister’s dog.
This plant came to me as part of a collection I purchased three years ago. I had this plant with all my other T. recurvifolia var. subsecundifolia in the TillHouse because the label, or so I thought, only mentioned the seed parent. It was only when the inflorescence developed that my interest was piqued as it didn’t look like a typical inflorescence for the variety. All was revealed when I turned the label over. Written on the label back was - "N.R. Seedling, Special Plant".
I quickly worked out that the N.R. was Neville Ryan and he confirmed that he had sold plants to the person I purchased the collection from.
The cross was made in 2005. I’ve helped Neville with a description and all the details were sent to the registrar. As of this morning it’s a registered cultivar.
The plant is a nice mixture of the secund foliage of the seed parent and the inflorescence of the pollen parent. My plant will be given extra special care now. It is mounted on cork and hung on an internal south facing wall. Now to proliferate it so everyone can enjoy this stunner.

Updated 12/11/21