Just read that some plants can actually 'hear' running water and grow roots toward it

I was looking up info on my peace lily (the one in the corner that always droops) and fell down a rabbit hole. Ended up on a university plant science page that said studies show pea plant roots can sense water vibrations through the soil, even if the water itself isn't there yet. They set up speakers playing recorded water sounds and the roots grew toward the noise. That blew my mind a bit, because I always figured plants just grew toward moisture they could feel. It makes me wonder if my quiet house is throwing them off (maybe they need a little background noise?). But then I think, maybe that's reading too much into one lab test with peas. Has anyone else come across this and tried playing water sounds for their plants, or is it just a neat lab fact?

3 comments

3 Comments

theajohnson24d agoMost Upvoted

But what if they're just growing toward the speaker itself? That lab setup sounds weird.

stella_scott9624d ago

Didn't they use a control group for that?

tessaperry24d ago

My neighbor swears her fiddle leaf fig perked up after she started leaving the bathroom fan on for white noise. She read some blog about it and now runs it on a timer, which seems a bit much to me. I guess the constant hum could mimic something, but I'm not sold on playing actual water sounds.