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Does Talking To Plants Help Them Grow? : Short Wave Environmental scientist Heidi Appel explains how plants detect sound — and whether talking to yours could help them grow big and strong.

Plus, a bit of listener mail from you! Which you can always send by emailing shortwave@npr.org.

Short Wave

Micro Wave: Does Talking To Plants Help Them Grow?

Micro Wave: Does Talking To Plants Help Them Grow?

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It probably doesn't hurt. DeAgostini/Getty Images hide caption

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DeAgostini/Getty Images

It probably doesn't hurt.

DeAgostini/Getty Images

Environmental scientist Heidi Appel explains how plants detect sound — and whether talking to yours could help them grow big and strong.

Plus, a bit of listener mail from you! Which you can always send by emailing shortwave@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Brent Baughman and Emily Kwong, fact-checked by Ariela Zebede, and edited by Viet Le.

Clarification Oct. 10, 2020

An earlier version of this episode stated that Heidi Appel considers plants "sentient beings." Appel's view is that while plants have the capacity for sensations, they are not necessarily capable of self-awareness.