Can music really help plants grow?

Picture of Rhiannon Jepson

Can music really help plants grow?

You may have heard that music can benefit plant growth – but you may wonder if this is just another one of those ‘old wives’ tales’ or if there really is some truth behind it.

According to our survey, only 45% of people said that they were aware that music can help plants grow, leaving over half unsure of the benefits that playing music has to their gardening endeavours.1

To mark National Gardening Week, which is taking place from 28 April to 4 May 2025, we explore some of the ways using music can be of benefit to both your plants and overall gardening prowess.

Good vibrations

Plants respond to all kinds of stimuli – including music. When music is played, sound waves vibrate the plant leaves, mimicking the vibrations of insects, wind, and other natural vibrations of the wild.2 These waves stimulate plants and encourage nutrients to move through them, which promotes new growth and strengthens immune systems.

As Joël Sternheimer, a French physicist and musician, observed when he played music to tomato plants.  In the study, he found that vibrations from music that was played helped plants to grow ‘two and a half times better’ than the ones that had no music playing. He also found that ‘virus growth in tomato plants could be stopped by playing tunes that inhibited enzymes essential for it.’ 3

Sound waves have been found to help attract pollinators into gardens too. Songs which contain sounds that hit frequencies around 250- 500Hz, mimic the buzz that bees produce in the hive, enticing them into to gardens.4 Think low-mid range music often played on acoustic instruments such as brass, and woodwinds like alto saxophones and clarinets,5 or, as PPL PRS Music Therapist Marianne Rizkallah explains, “the middle range of most female voices, or high male voices.”

According to one of the UK’s leading tile specialists, Topps Tiles, who have created a bee-friendly playlist, this includes songs such as Michael Jackson’s Billy Jean, Another One Bites The Dust by Queen, and The Chain by Fleetwood Mac. 6

A list of songs that are 'Bee' Friendly

Queue up the classical

For plants, however, it seems that more traditional music is what usually provides the most benefit. In Sternheimer’s same study on tomato plants, it was found that the vegetables “growth rate in terms of height and biomass increased by 20% – 72%” when classical music was played. This may include Beethoven, which was found to increase growth in rice plants, as well as music played on instruments such as flutes, violins and harmonium. 3

Similarly, in a study by You-Ning Lai and How-Chiun Wu, 93% of lettuce seeds exposed to classical music germinated, while 95% germinated when exposed to Gregorian chants. 7

But what about flowers?  

Flower power

Research suggests that classical music can have a similar beneficial effect on flowers as it does on vegetables.

According to Vidya Chivukula and Shivaraman Ramaswamy, soothing vibrations in the form of Vedic chants and Indian classical music helped growth in rose plants, while petunias and marigolds were also found to flower two weeks before the scheduled time when exposed to the rhythm of Bharatnatyam, an ancient Indian classical dance style.3

Research has also found that duration of music played to plants can be important too. For roses the ideal is 1-hour of violin music a day,8 while for some other plants such as strawberries, 3-4 hours may be ideal.3

This may mean playing music to plants whilst working on gardening tasks yourself – as music can be beneficial for gardeners too. According to our survey, 37% of people said that playing music while they are gardening makes them feel happy, and 25% saying that it makes them feel calm.1

Cecilia Hall from award winning, Yorkshire-based Langlands Garden Centre adds:

“Mental wellbeing can be supported by both gardening and music. I think our visitors find their experience calming and soothing with the combination of the two senses, listening to music and looking at greenery and flowers.”

For more information about the ways that using music can benefit your plants and more music-related gardening top tips, see our related articles by Gardening Expert, Mr Plant Geek.

References:

      1. Survey performed by PPL PRS via Attest based on 1000 UK adults, October 2022
      2. https://scholar.cu.edu.eg/sites/default/files/redagreen/files/advances_in_effects_of_sound_waves_on_plants.pdf
      3. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291086163_Effect_of_Music_on_Plants_-_An_Overview
      4. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0019619#:~:text=We%20showed%20using%20single%20sound,frequency%2C%20honeybees%20preferred%20rhythmic%20sounds
      5. https://www.gear4music.com/blog/audio-frequency-range/#:~:text=The%20lower%20midrange%20spans%20from,like%20alto%20saxophones%20and%20clarinets.
      6. https://www.toppstiles.co.uk/blog/news/my-music-brings-all-the-bees-to-the-yard-new-research-reveals-how-to-attract-bees-to-your-garden
      7. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342471592_Effects_of_Different_Types_of_Music_on_the_Germination_and_Seedling_Growth_of_Alfalfa_and_Lettuce_Plants
      8. http://www.ijesd.org/papers/522-CD0162.pdf

 

 

Author

Picture of Rhiannon Jepson

Rhiannon Jepson

Rhiannon Jepson is a Member of The Chartered Institute of Public Relations and has worked in communication roles for around 7 years. She joined PPL PRS in November 2017, shortly after studying for a degree in English Literature, where she developed her love of writing and creativity. Since then, she has completed the CIPR Foundation course and enjoys bringing together her love of communications and music through her role as Senior PR & Communications Executive.
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