A 14-year-old from Auckland, New Zealand, asked if music can influence how plants grow. This question has been around for almost 70 years, with one of the most well-known examples being the 1976 album Plantasia by Mother Earth, which was specifically created to help plants grow. In 1973, Dorothy Retallack, a music student with no formal scientific training, conducted experiments that suggested rock music harmed plants, while classical music helped them grow. However, her work was never reviewed by other scientists, and many experts have criticized her methods. A book titled The Secret Life of Plants, published the same year, and a 1979 documentary of the same name, explored the idea that plants might have some form of intelligence. These included claims, like a cactus that could understand Japanese, which are now seen as lacking scientific support. In more recent years, scientists have revisited the idea of music's effect on plant growth. Some studies have been criticized for poor quality, such as incorrect statistical methods or a lack of detailed descriptions of how the experiments were conducted. Other research has looked into how religious music or chants might affect plants, sometimes using strong religious language, which could introduce bias. However, some studies have used more reliable methods, comparing music with other types of sounds and analyzing the effects of sound wave vibrations. Despite this, there is no evidence that plants can tell the difference between different types of music. Plants have not evolved to enjoy music like humans do, but they have lived in a world full of sound. Sound waves are pressure waves that can interact with the environment and plant structures like leaf hairs. Some research suggests that plants can respond to sound in ways that are not the same as human hearing. For example, some plants grow toward the sound of running water when it's played through speakers, and others react better to insect sounds by improving their defenses. However, some human-made sounds have been shown to harm plants. Music might influence plant growth if it has similar wavelengths and rhythms to the natural sounds plants have evolved with, like the sound of flowing water. But since plants come from many different environments and species, what helps one type of plant may not help another. The young scientist who asked the question will continue playing music in the lab, without worrying if their plants are judging their musical taste.