This is a bit of a sad post for me. This plant was a gift last summer from my dear friend Gary Krause, one of the owners of The Little Greenhouse in Baltimore MD.
Gary and I were generations apart but shared the same birthday, and something clicked between us. We chatted nearly every day by text or phone sharing info on plants and jokes. He was a bright spot and a pillar in my life during the pandemic. Gary passed away on June 20th, only a few days after being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. The whole thing was so sudden, I’m still in shock and disbelief. It’s been difficult for me to get through my watering routines. Hopefully time will help the heart.
After repotting this plant in December (which one should probably never do), it shot out two sheaths. So I believe the flower quality is limited this round by the move, but the plant persisted and threw spikes.
Gary mentioned this was jungle collected decades ago by an importer. Purpuratas in my neck of the woods bloom around June, so this will be a nice reminder of our friendship.



Gary and I were generations apart but shared the same birthday, and something clicked between us. We chatted nearly every day by text or phone sharing info on plants and jokes. He was a bright spot and a pillar in my life during the pandemic. Gary passed away on June 20th, only a few days after being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. The whole thing was so sudden, I’m still in shock and disbelief. It’s been difficult for me to get through my watering routines. Hopefully time will help the heart.
After repotting this plant in December (which one should probably never do), it shot out two sheaths. So I believe the flower quality is limited this round by the move, but the plant persisted and threw spikes.
Gary mentioned this was jungle collected decades ago by an importer. Purpuratas in my neck of the woods bloom around June, so this will be a nice reminder of our friendship.


