Wallisia cyanea

The flat pink part is an inflorescence made of overlapping bracts (modified leaves that enclose the flowers), not the flowers themselves. The flowers emerge one at a time from between the bracts and open three violet-blue petals. Each flower fades within a few days, but the bracts stay colored until the last flower is finished, so the display lasts around a month.

Once the bracts fade and turn brown after the last flower, cut the inflorescence off at its base with scissors. A rosette that has flowered will not produce another inflorescence.

After flowering the mother plant produces two to four pups from the leaf axils and gradually declines as they grow. The plant itself is not lost, because the pups carry on even after the mother fades.

Separate a pup once it is one third to one half the size of the mother and pot it in sphagnum moss or bark. May to June, when growth resumes, is a good time. If you leave the pups attached, several rosettes form a cluster around the mother plant.

Wallisia cyanea is a green-leaved epiphyte and, unlike silver-leaved Tillandsia, it also takes up water through its roots. So rather than mounting it or leaving it bare, grow it in a pot of sphagnum moss or bark chips. The leaves do not form a water-holding tank, so during the growing season water thoroughly when the surface of the mix begins to dry, and mist the leaves often.

A minimum of 7°C is the guideline for winter. Move the plant to a bright indoor windowsill before night temperatures drop below 10°C, and keep it out of the direct blast of heaters. Growth slows in winter, so keep the mix on the dry side and reduce misting to about twice a week. During cold spells avoid leaving water in the leaf bases, and if the room gets close to 5°C keep the pot drier still.

It is the same plant. The species was formerly placed in Tillandsia and was sold for many years as Tillandsia cyanea. In 2016 a revision based on DNA analysis revived the genus Wallisia, which had been proposed in the 19th century, and Wallisia cyanea became the accepted name. The epithet cyanea means "blue" and refers to the flower color.

Confusingly, the name Tillandsia cyanea is now applied to a different species, the plant long known as Tillandsia guatemalensis. In garden centers and books, "Tillandsia cyanea" almost always means this Wallisia cyanea.