Since the 1800s, scientists have been studying the effect of the human voice on plants and how they thrive. Plants are by nature highly adaptable to their environment. This means that they are truly aware of what’s going on around them. However, the way plants listen and react is slightly different from how humans react.
Do plants respond to human voices?
A study by the Royal Horticultural Society has shown that plants do respond to human voices. This study featured 10 tomato plants, 8 of which had earphones placed around their pots. Over the course of a month, the plants were exposed to daily scientific and literary texts read by male and female voices. Research at the end of the month showed that the plants that were read to grew faster. The results also showed that the female voice had a slightly better effect on their development than the male voice.
What sounds to choose?
To make your flowers grow faster and better, you don’t have to put headphones on every pot. Talking to or around your plants will be plenty. Research by South Korea’s National Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology has shown that plants start to respond to sound at as little as 70 decibels. Luckily for us, 70 decibels is the sound level of an average human conversation. The more and louder you talk or play music around your plants, the faster and better they grow. Research conducted by evolutionary biologist Monica Gagliano illustrates how pea seedlings responded to the sounds of their environment. One of the important sound sensations was flowing water, the direction in which plants planted in dry soil and immediately next to a stream of water were drawn.
Without sounds, flowers don’t sleep
Speaking, playing music and natural sounds can affect plant development. Rich Marini of the Pennsylvania Department of Horticulture even suggests that plants respond to vibrations from sound waves because they are similar to how a plant is stimulated by wind. If you’re not providing these stimuli to your plants, don’t despair. Plants lack a cerebral system, which is why they don’t overflow with emotion. They won’t really suffer emotionally without music or your voice. Plants do not have the complex brain system that is necessary to feel loneliness or be aware of the world around them in an emotional way.