Gardening & Outdoors
Time-lapse shows fascinating growth of dragon fruit from seed to cactus
The video shows 4 months of time passing in a mesmerizing two minutes.
Eduardo Gaskell
10.29.21

With all the easy to digest content on social media nowadays, we often overlook the stunning wonders of nature. The science behind flora and fauna have captivated scientists for generations and that continues today.

Thanks to the ease with which anyone can upload their choice of content, some have chosen to share really cool videos like this dragon fruit seed that grows to a cactus in 113 days.

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Time lapse magic.

In a little over 2 months, this fascinating time lapse video has garnered 3,302,004 views and will probably rake in so much more in the following months. Science!

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It’s got a cool name but it’s just that – a fruit. Dracarys!

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It’s actually really good for your health. Grown primarily in Asia, Mexico, Central America, and South America, some historians actually think it originated in Central America.

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But the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation has a different origin story.

“Ancient Chinese legends say that the dragon fruit was created thousands of years ago by a dragon in battle who blew a burst of fire containing the fruit.”

So there was a mother of dragons…

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The time-lapse is a total of four months. That long and it only grew that much. Still, it’s a fast-growing crop, and the plants are able to produce for more than 20 years once established and well cared for.

Boxlapse cuts open a dragon fruit, taking a few seeds from it before setting them down in a Petri dish with water. You can see the difference as the days go by. Small, but really important changes.

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After a week, he takes them out of the Petri dish then plants them in the dirt. The growth in time-lapse is truly breathtaking, starting from a little green bud to a more noticeable cactus in 80 days.

“Absolutely stunning and hypnotizing. Nature is outstandingly breathtaking. I’m in love.”

Says a viewer.

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In 113 days, it stands erect, a cactus ready to keep growing as they only grow stronger from there. Around six hours of sunlight is required for these beautifully colored plants to grow.

They look strange but are really nice to have around.

The dragon part of the name refers to the leathery skin and scaly spikes. Any person with common sense would think twice before eating it but you can. The fruit is mildly sweet with tiny black crunchy kiwi-like seeds. It’s highly nutritious.

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Dragon fruit contains high levels of vitamin C and carotene. It has anti-cancer properties and being a tropical plant, it needs to be in temperatures of about 40 degrees F, with an ideal temperature range between 60 and 80 degrees F.

You’ll want a larger pot for these plants.

Dragon fruit likes soil a bit moist. It’s a vining cactus so it will climb. If you choose to keep them indoors, make sure they’re in a nice warm, sunny spot. They will take awhile to produce fruit.

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Try to grow some yourself and if you have the means, record and film each step. It took 113 days to see it grow from seed to cactus. Another 113 would do wonders.

Hit play below for this amazing look at how dragon fruit grows in 113 days!

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