Talking To Plants

Should you talk to your houseplants?

By: Frisella Nursery

Did you know that talking to plants can increase their growth? That’s right, so next time you come to Frisella and see us having conversations with the plants, just mind your own business… 

The practice of talking to plants sounds like an urban legend or old wives tale, don’t you think? However, some gardeners swear by it while others say it’s a hoax. The real question here is, do plants respond to voices? There are many compelling studies that seem to point to the answer “yes”. Continue reading to find out if you too should talk to your plants or just leave the craziness to us.

Many of us had a grandmother or other crazy family member that always seemed to have a very close relationship with their plants… you know who I’m talking about. They would carry on conversations with the plants as they watered, trimmed or fed their little companions as if they were talking to a real person. But don’t be so quick to judge, there is actually a science behind it, sort of. 

There are many studies that verify that plant growth is influenced by sound. Many found that at the average human conversational tone (70 decibels) there was increased production in plants. Not only will your plants benefit from your conversations but you may get a psychological boost as well. Spending time with and around plants is calming and promotes good mental and physical health. 

Talking to Plants: The Science

The Royal Horticultural Society did a study that was a month long where 10 gardeners read to a tomato plant daily. All of the tomato plants that were read to grew larger than the plants in the control group. The tomato plants that were read to by female voices were at least an inch taller than those with the deeper male voices. While this isn’t strictly science, it does start to point the way to the potential benefits of talking to plants. 

The theory goes all the way back to 1848 when a German professor published a book called “The Soul Life of Plants,” which indicated that plants benefited from human conversation. The popular TV show, MythBusters, also conducted an experiment to determine if plant growth was influenced by sound and the results were also promising. 

Plants are influenced by all of the environmental changes around them. Plants respond to the vibrations of nearby sound which turns on two key genes inside of them that influence their growth. Plants also increase photosynthesis production in response to carbon dioxide, which is a by-product of human speech. 

So even if the idea does technically lack the science to back it up, talking to your plants is really a win-win for the both of you. Your plants will grow and you will have a great outlet to destress and spill all of your juicy gossip or vent. The best part is that you don’t have to worry about word getting out and coming back to haunt you for what you said about what your crazy coworker did in the lunchroom this week.