As gardeners, we love our plants. So naturally, we are willing to try pretty much anything which might help our beloved ficus or dieffenbachia grow. Which brings us to the topic of music. No doubt you’ve heard the story about how some gardener, somewhere, swears his plants grow an extra six inches whenever he plays a Bach concerto or love ballad by Celine Dion.

Fact or myth?

Fact. We now have scientific evidence which proves music, or more specifically sound vibrations, do indeed encourage plant growth. But how did all this talk about plants and music start? During the 1960s, a few studies investigated music’s effect on plant growth. However, in 1973 amidst the frenzy of new-age thinking, a book written by Christopher Bird and Peter Tompkins, entitled The Secret Life of Plants, ignited a popular theory that physical, emotional, and spiritual relationships existed between plants and humans. Intrigued by this possibility, researchers began to conduct experiments which tested this supposition. While some early studies demonstrated plants grew faster with soft jazz but actually turned away from speakers which blasted heavy metal, other studies were inconclusive.

Fortunately, further research within the last few years have all demonstrated that certain types of sound waves do indeed stimulate plant growth. How? Through a process called cytoplasmic streaming. Plants have billions of microscopic pores on the surfaces of their leaves called stomata which function very similarly to our mouths. These stomata open and close as the plant takes in CO2 and releases O2. This process also supports the transport of nutrients, such as proteins and carbohydrates, in their journey through the plant’s cytoplasm. The vibration of certain sounds encourage the stomata to increase in size, thereby taking in more nutrients. More nutrients, more growth. Interestingly, scientists also found that similar stomata growth occurs with bird songs and strong breezes.

So, what kind of music do plants like best? A recent research study presented at the 5th International Conference on Agriculture, Environment, and Food Security by Prasetyo and Raju (2022) found stomata openings and increased chlorophyll production in mustard plants were maximized when they played the Canon in D major for violin by Johann Pachelbel at 80-85 dB. I always knew I loved this song.

Next week, I’ll be writing about whether or not plants respond to the sounds of human voices and touch. Until then, I will let you – and your plants – listen to the beautiful melody of Pachelbel.

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