Does speaking to plants encourage them to grow

Many people maintain that talking to plants, and exposing them to melodious sounds generally, encourages them to grow and promotes health. Indeed, albums have been recorded specifically for the purpose of invigorating plant growth.

A number of scientific studies have been conducted in an attempt to prove this. One study found that ultrasonic vibrations stimulated the production of hormones in plants and encourage growth, while others have also discovered that sounds that fall within the range of human hearing also led to increased growth.

There have also been studies carried out to determine which type of music produces the best results, suggesting that classical music made plants healthier while loud rock music was detrimental to their health. One such study indicated that extremely loud noises increased germination in some plants.

It was suggested as early as the nineteenth century that plants were capable of emotions and were likely to be healthier if they received a lot of attention. It has also been claimed that, while they evidently can't understand the spoken word, plants are capable of understanding the meaning behind speech. Charles Darwin even compared certain characteristics of primates with those of plants.

Proponents of the theory that talking to plants encourages growth argue that such action involves respiration, providing the plants with extra carbon dioxide, which they need in order to grow. In addition, if the plant's owner speaks to it on a regular basis, he or she may notice things wrong with it - such as pest infestation - and can then deal with them before they cause a serious problem.

Despite the many studies and theories on the topic, there is thought to be no scientific evidence to suggest that playing music or talking to plants will increase their growth rate or make them healthier.

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