If I could save time in a bottle…

Can a plant live without irrigation? If so, for how long?

David has been watering his own for more than 40 years and is green and leafy, thanks to photosynthesis and the amazing ability of vegetables to recycle and reuse nutrients.

David Latimer planted a trasdecantia in 1960 in a large bottle, watered it and closed the glass container. In 1972 it watered it for the last time, from that moment the minijardín self feeds through the photosynthesis in the sealed bottle. The terrarium - cut off from the outside world - has created its own life cycle and is able to recycle nutrients. The plant has grown to occupy the entire space. The process is simple: water is absorbed by the roots and released into the air during perspiration, condenses and returns to the bottom of the glass to serve the roots as food again. During the night, trasdecantia cells breathe and take advantage of stored nutrients, use this cellular respiration to decompose the released material and their bacteria recycle O2 and CO2, reusing everything again and again, as an ecosystem. It seems that the cycle runs out every 50 years.