Plant and music study: Does music help plants grow?

There’s no denying that we’re a nation of plant lovers. Over a year, Brits spend £6.8 billion¹ on plants and flowers, and it's not just because of the air quality benefits flowers provide. Previous studies have found that more than a quarter of Brits² who work from home have bought plants specifically for their workspace.

But it’s not just plants helping us get through the working day—music plays a big role too. Around 92% of people³ listen to music at some point during their work hours, with 60% of Brits saying they listen while working or studying from home. One in four adults (24%) even say that listening to music helps them get into “work mode”.⁴

Much like music is beneficial for humans, studies have shown that it can help plants grow too, thanks to the way sound vibrations stimulate their cells. But are plants as picky about the playlist as we are?

To find out, the team at Eflorist studied the UK’s most popular artists to reveal which songs Brits should be playing to help take care of their houseplants.

The relationship between plants and music has been a topic of conversation in the scientific community for quite some time. 

Plants obviously don’t have ears like humans do to hear the sounds of music, so how exactly do plants react to music? 

While they’re not exactly tapping their roots to the beat of a song, the sound waves from music do stimulate the plant's cells. Plants transport their nutrients, proteins, and organelles in their fluids (cytoplasm), and it’s said that the vibration of music may help stimulate this process. 

Believe it or not, various studies indicate that plants prefer some genres of music to others—just like humans do! While it’s not quite as simplistic as roses liking pop music and lilies liking rock, intriguingly plants respond better to certain frequencies of music (measured in Hertz, also known as Hz). 

For our study, we used the following scale: 

• 125Hz: Known to stimulate germination and root growth in plants. 
• 250Hz: Promotes the elongation of plant stems and leaves. 
• 500Hz: Encourages overall plant growth and development. 
• 1,000Hz: Stimulates plant photosynthesis and nutrient uptake. 
• 8,000Hz: Enhances flowering and fruiting in certain plant species.

If you find yourself wondering what artists or genres you should be playing to your houseplants to help them thrive, then look no further. 

Eflorist studied the UK’s top platinum-selling singles and calculated the exact Hz of each song to find out which are best for plant growth. We focused on artists whose tracks have sold more than 600,000 copies in the UK (double platinum or higher), based on official sales certifications from the BPI (British Phonographic Industry).

For those looking to generally improve the overall plant growth and development of their houseplants, we recommend playing songs that come in at around 500Hz. 

According to our research, the best song for plant growth in the UK is Bryan Adams’ ‘Summer of ’69’, which comes in at exactly 500Hz.

Bryan Adams is a Canadian singer-songwriter whose classic hit ‘Summer of ’69’ has become one of the UK’s most-loved rock anthems, charting in multiple decades since its release and achieving platinum status in the UK.

Following Bryan Adams is Eminem with ‘The Real Slim Shady’, coming in at around 497Hz. Eminem is one of the world’s best-selling music artists and has sold millions of records in the UK, with ‘The Real Slim Shady’ becoming an iconic hit since its release in 2000.

Next is Flo Rida’s ‘Wild Ones’ featuring Sia, which comes in at 493Hz. ‘Wild Ones’ is one of Flo Rida’s most successful tracks, hitting the top 10 in the UK charts and achieving multiple platinum certifications.

Also tied at 493Hz is ‘Low’ by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain, which became a global smash hit and one of the longest-running number-one singles in the US, while also achieving double platinum status in the UK.

Rounding out the top five is ‘Girls Like You’ by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B, with a frequency of 492Hz. The song spent 12 weeks in the Official Chart’s top 10.

For plant lovers who want to give their houseplants the best possible care, these tracks are a great place to start, each sitting in the optimal frequency range to promote healthy growth and development.

Check out the full top 10 below:

 

We also looked at which of the UK’s favourite artists consistently produce music that’s good for plants. Not just one track, but multiple songs that fall within the frequency range linked to healthy plant growth.

To do this, we analysed the UK’s double platinum (or higher) singles, checking how many of each artist’s top-performing songs hit the optimal frequency range for plant development. In this case, that’s music closest to 500Hz, the sweet spot for encouraging overall growth in houseplants.

At the top of the list is Calvin Harris, who has five multi-platinum tracks sitting within the plant growth range. From ‘Summer’ to ‘Feel So Close’, his back catalogue is packed with plant-friendly hits that are as good for your playlist as they are for your pothos.

Following Calvin Harris is Ed Sheeran, with four songs that meet the optimal plant growth frequency, including his hit single ‘Bloodstream’, which is one of the closest tracks to the 500Hz target.

Marshmello, Lewis Capaldi, Dua Lipa, Drake, and Ariana Grande all have three plant-friendly songs each, proving that a variety of genres—from pop to EDM to rap—can help your houseplants grow.

Check out the top 10 artists creating the most music for plant growth below:

 

Our analysis of the UK’s top multi-platinum singles found that the best genre of music for plant growth is pop.

While the top individual songs for plant development vary across genres, pop music consistently provides the most tracks within the optimal 500Hz range, which is linked to healthy plant growth and development.

Following pop is hip-hop, with a strong number of plant-friendly tracks, along with EDM and rock, both of which also produced multiple songs within the plant-growth range.

Other genres that featured include R&B, house music, and electronic, showing that no matter your taste in music, there’s likely something you can add to your plant-care playlist.

So, if you’re wondering what to play while watering your houseplants, starting with a pop-heavy playlist might give them the best chance to thrive!

 

For those looking to get a bit more out of their plants, such as increasing the oxygen levels in their home, there are certain frequencies of music you can play. 

To stimulate plant photosynthesis specifically, and encourage nutrient uptake in your plants, we recommend playing songs that come in at around 1,000Hz. 

According to our research, the best UK song to help plants release more oxygen is ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ by The Verve, with a frequency of 1,017Hz.

‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ is one of the most iconic Britpop anthems of the 90s, and despite its famously complex copyright history, it remains one of The Verve’s most-streamed songs. It was nominated for multiple awards and is certified multi-platinum in the UK.

Following The Verve is ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ by Electric Light Orchestra, coming in at 899Hz. The song is often described as one of the happiest pop songs ever recorded, and it’s now also one of the best for helping plants photosynthesise.

Next is ‘The Greatest Show’ by Hugh Jackman, Keala Settle, Zac Efron and Zendaya, from The Greatest Showman soundtrack, at 795Hz, followed by Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’ at 770Hz, and ‘This Is Me’ by Keala Settle and The Greatest Showman Ensemble, at 752Hz. 

Check out the full top 5 below: 

 

Houseplants are excellent additions to our home, and their many proven health and well-being benefits make them more than just a bit of pretty greenery for decoration. 

However, unlike our outdoor garden plants that go through a seasonal growth cycle, houseplants tend to come from tropical climates with different seasonal cycles than what we have here in the UK. 

Just like bouquets of cut flowers, houseplants require ongoing maintenance and care to keep them looking their best. 

Whether you’re a first-time houseplant owner or you’re practically a seasoned horticulturist, experimenting with music can be an excellent way to help your houseplants thrive. 

 

Methodology 

To calculate our Hz findings, we took our frequency data breakdown from QP Seedlings. 

We used Wikipedia to pull a list of the UK’s multi-platinum singles list (accurate as of 13th Jan 2025), and pulled each of their top-streamed songs from Spotify.

Once we had our final list of artists and top songs, we calculated the BPM of each song and converted it into Hz and multiplied by the total number of seconds in the song (Hz frequency is measured per second) to give us the total Hz frequency of each song.

Sources:

¹  https://www.statista.com/statistics/429805/quarterly-expenditure-plants-and-flowers-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/ 

² https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/uk-adults-houseplants-poll-gen-z-b1885308.html 

³ https://css-tricks.com/poll-results-do-you-listen-to-music-while-you-work/ 

⁴ https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/going-out/music/best-music-genres-working-studying-31883642