How Are We Taking Care of Our plants?

Research shows plants respond to music when humans talk them or play music. According to semanticscholar.org, music can have an influence on plants to help them grow.

Merna Aziz, a 28-year-old from Windsor said she takes care of her plants.

Merna takes care of her plants by putting them in the right place. She recommends a plant be placed in a bowl according to its size. She also said she water the plants according to their needs.

“I love plants because they give me strength, psychological comfort, calmness, and peace,” Aziz said.

Ivy plants and Kentia Palms are her favourites because she said they are beautiful and give her joy. If a friend who is not a plant person asks her for a good beginner plant, she recommends Ivy plants because they are easy to take care of. If she is going away for a week, she recommends putting the plant in plastic or glass cans. If the leaves of one of her plants are turning yellow, her first instinct is to quickly process them until they return to being green. Taking care of plants has taught her to be active, happy, calm and peaceful when she looks at them.

“For a long time, there has been a strong relationship between plant and music because many plants use their wood and materials to make musical instruments. Plants do not hear but respond with vibrations of sound waves, plants grow faster if the music is calm and gives more output, but if the music is loud and high, it does not grow quickly and does not give good output,” said Aziz.

Gemima Pedro, 24, waters her plants regularly and makes sure they are around a window to get enough sunlight. She said taking care of plants helps her by giving her something to do.

“Some plants need different types of care. Some can grow on their own and others need assistance, so they vary depending on what’s necessary,” said Pedro. “A plant can be a sign of life, and when you see your plant sustaining that life and growing, it’s nice to feel that you’ve been a huge part of it. We’re also in a time when plants are key to mental health and keeping the planet green and in some ways, it feels like I am able to get in touch with nature when around them and feel healthier, but I also know that I’m doing something for the planet.”

She has a small variety. She has roses but they are not growing. She has trees in her garden, which for her are self-sufficient. She also has apple trees. She grows food plants like lettuces and tomatoes. But her parents take care of those. She would recommend a terrarium plant for people who are not plant people but want to start taking care of plants. Because with terrariums,they only need two hours without the lid each week. They don’t need watering and they should not be near the light for a long period of time but they take very little to maintain, and you can’t go wrong. They are easy for beginners.

“If I am honest, the plants I have usually survive on their own if I’m away. But if I’m concerned, I will leave instructions for a friend. I’ll check the weather to see if there’s rain while away. If so, then I won’t need to water them as much, but if not, then I will probably need to provide enough water for them to survive,” said Pedro

Her favourite type of plant is a rose.

“It’s also extra pretty because they bloom in the summer, so the transition of summer comes with the start of the roses blossoming, and it’s a wonderful sight.”

In her opinion, check if it’s in season to start going yellow. Some plants don’t survive all year, so she will know if they are at the end of their season. If it’s not at the end, then she will ask her parents if it needs more watering or food. She would check the soil quality to see if it’s causing weakness before taking the next steps.

“Show them love, and they will love you back, how can I be responsible for something other than myself? Plants are a good start to responsibility.” Said Pedro

Pedro also believes that music helps plants respond. She was not aware of this until she did some research but it looks like that plants respond to specific types of music too. But rock seems to be one that they don’t respond to, or if they do, they don’t respond to it well.

“It’s been found that plant cells are affected by sound waves and the vibrations that occur because of them, which help them develop and grow. Cytoplasmic streaming is the process when the nutrients transfer through the plants system with fluids which is encouraged by the music. The use of music has been found to improve growth and improve the plants immune system,” said Pedro.“The vibrations are much harsher than other genres of music, which means that the process can be interrupted with the non-fluid vibrations or they’re too overpowering.”

Not everyone agrees that plants respond to music.

Jan Dugdale is the Public Relations Officer and President for the LaSalle Ambassador Horticultural Society. She said she thinks the plants affect the moods of people, not the other way around.

“The only things that affect the moods of plants are the sun, water and nutrients. Plants like to grow in areas that have the light needed for their growth. Some need more direct sunlight and others need indirect sunlight. Most like southwest light,” said Dugdale.

She added that there are house plants and outside plants such as annuals and perennials. In her opinion, if people don’t like to visit gardens outside, they mostly have indoor plants.

“There are many plants that are lovely but poisonous to pets and children alike. These include both indoor and outdoor plants. Fragrant flowering plants are popular, like spring lily of the valley and summer roses,” said Dugdale. “There are so many plants that can be used in medicine and this practice dates back to caveman times.”

John Lein, a coordinator of the landscape horticulture program at St. Clair College said plants grow based off elements like their exposure to sunlight, oxygen, fertilizer, climate – not the mood of their caretakers.

“The sun loves plants that love to grow in the sun, and the shade loves plants that grow in the shade,” said Lein. “Plants that love humidity and that love to grow in high humidity. They do not have hearing receptors. If you hear otherwise, that is science fiction, Usually, plants grown for a home environment are tropical plants and of course, vegetable plants.”

In his opinion, there are plants that are poisonous, not because we touch them but because we may eat the seed or lick it Some pets have been known to become very sick because they have eaten a plant and because of their small bodies, toxicity can set in much quicker than a large human.

He also thinks that when you talk about plants that smell nice, that may or may not work for everyone. One person loves the fragrance, another may hate the same fragrance. For example, you may love the smell of lavender, others hate the smell of lavender, so it really is an individual preference.

“Other plants that are fragrant include Viburnums, Honeysuckle, Lavender, Rose, Gardenia, Sweat Pea, Daphne, Lilac, and Mock Orange,” said Lein.

He agrees that they are plants that they put in medicine, and they put in vitamins. He thinks the best plants for factories would be those that shade and love tropical.