A global survey conducted this year found that more than one-fifth or 23 percent of respondents from the Philippines bought more houseplants within the past 12 months.
The amount of time people spend indoors seems directly proportional to their interest in being plant parents. Forty-three percent of those surveyed believe they have gotten better at caring for houseplants in the past year, while almost half (49 percent) of them are interested in learning more about caring for their potted friends.
One of the ways people are tending to plants nowadays is by playing plant-friendly music. During the past 12 months, streams of Spotify’s “Music for Plants” playlist grew nearly 1,400 percent.
The theory that the vibrations of audio content can stimulate growth in plants has been around since the ‘70s. Spotify’s Music for Plants playlists offers mellow vibrations from 100 tracks, including those by Philip Norman Watson, Green-House, Bob Boilen, Christopher Stracey, Hiroshi Yoshimura, and more.
The music and soundscapes, Spotify said, were carefully handpicked to help encourage growth.
Listening data showed that morning is the most popular time for Spotify users to play audio to their plants from the playlist, and the audience data found one in 10 of people worldwide has tried using audio content (music or podcasts) to care for their plants in the past year, while one in five has been talking to their houseplants more.
Many users of the music streaming platform also created their own plant playlists (over 2.9 million to date), with the most popular houseplant that saw playlists created for it worldwide being Jasmine, followed by Ivy and Vanda.
Popular song picks for plant playlists include “Ivy” by Frank Ocean, “Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine, “BUTTERFLY EFFECT” by Travis Scott, “Mr. Brightside“ by The Killers, “Garden (Say It Like Dat)” by SZA, “Here Comes the Sun – Remastered 2009” by The Beatles, “Secret Garden” by Bruce Springsteen, “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley and The Wailers, “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran, “Rose Garden” by Lynn Anderson, and “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac.