That appearance lasted for years, but even the moss has since died back. Sinningia pusilla is a tiny plant, but flowers wonderfully in a small terrarium: here, a wine glass. Obviously, there had been moss spores either in the potting mix or the air when he assembled the terrarium. And moss began to grow everywhere: on the soil, on the sides of the glass. Over time, various plants petered out one by one, starting with the cactus: they only lasted a few weeks. Mathieu ought to have left it open for a week or so to bring the humidity down before sealing it forever. And it was really very humid: condensation covered the sides of the bottle most of the time. Most of the plants he had chosen weren’t “terrarium plants.” For example, he’d included some cactus in his mini-garden and they don’t like high humidity. When he presented me with the finished terrarium, I knew the experiment wasn’t going to work perfectly.
Gradual Evolution Mathieu’s experimental terrarium 29 years later.
That’s a far cry from 47 years, but still, I’ve not heard of any other terrarium older. He is now 40 years old and his terrarium is still alive, making it 30 years old. So, we put it under my plant lights and waited. He wanted to see how long plants could live in a bottle with no added air or water. He didn’t ask my permission nor my advice, but presented me one day with a large bottle with a miniature landscape inside, composed of cuttings he had taken from among my houseplants. My son Mathieu started “my” terrarium when he was 10 years old. David has certainly aged since then, but the appearance of the terrarium probably hasn’t changed. The same photo has been circulating on the Internet for at least a decade. That means it has been growing inside its bottle with no additional air, water or fertilizer for 47 years. The oldest one is claimed to be one grown by David Latimer of England, started in 1960, when he planted a single tradescantia cutting inside, and last opened in 1972, when he added a bit of water, then sealed again, never to be reopened. I am the proud owner of what I believe may be the world’s second-oldest sealed terrarium.
David Latimer’s terrarium hasn’t been watered in 47 years.
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