Resonant voices may turn on plants

The Royal Horticultural Society says it is taking a leaf from Britain’s Prince Charles, conducting a study of how the human voice affects tomato plants.

The Times of London reports the experiment will involve plants listening to different recordings via MP3 players attached at root level. Control plants will not be required to listen to anything.

Charles has been promoting the importance of talking to plants for two decades.

The society’s garden in Surrey will hold auditions for voices to record Shakespeare and a piece about bloodthirsty monster plants apparently selected to buoy up the plants’ spirits.

Colin Crosbie, a gardens superintendent who came up with the idea, speaks encouragingly to plants, but also threatens them.

Sometimes it’s gentle encouragement, but there are times with a plant when you say, ‘If you don’t do something, this is the end. You are not producing flowers. I’m very sorry, it’s going to be the compost heap.’ It’s amazing how they respond, he said. People say I’m slightly mad, but I do believe in it, I really do.

The experiment will determine what type of voice plants like best. Trevor Cox, professor at the University of Salford, told The Times low-frequency sound might vibrate the plant to positive effect. My recommendation would be to impersonate Barry White, or some Buddhist chanting at low frequency.