Top 10 Christmas songs that help your plants thrive
Keep you houseplants happy with calm Christmas tunes.
Image: Julia Larson / Pexels
If your Christmas playlist is on repeat and your houseplants are looking a little unimpressed, the music might be the reason.
According to new analysis, some festive favourites are far more plant-friendly than others, and yes, your Delicious Monster may have strong opinions.
Music experts at Fanatix analysed 90 iconic Christmas hits to find out which songs are most likely to help plants flourish and which ones could be holding them back.
The secret lies in sound. Smooth, acoustic and classical style music has been shown to support plant growth, while loud, high-energy and heavily electronic tracks can have the opposite effect.
The top 10 most plant-friendly Christmas songs
- Carol of the Bells (From Home Alone Soundtrack) – John Williams
- Christmas Time Is Here – Vince Guaraldi Trio
- Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) – Elvis Presley
- The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) – Nat King Cole
- Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Frank Sinatra
- It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas – Michael Bublé
- Blue Christmas – Elvis Presley
- Santa Baby – Eartha Kitt, Henri René and His Orchestra
- Joy To The World – Nat King Cole
- Ave Maria – Celine Dion
There are Christmas songs that cap help your plants flourish.
Image: Huy Phan / Pexels
Multiple studies support these findings, showing that plants exposed to classical-style music grew taller than those left in silence or played rock music.
Backing this up, Charles Spence, co-author and professor of experimental psychology at the University of Oxford, said: “Playing music to plants is not as crazy as it may sound at first. Classical music may affect plant growth because plants are attuned to vibrations, such as the vibrations of running water in soil, and they react to them biologically.
“Meanwhile, the different frequencies in rock music may fall outside the sonic range which boosts plant growth.”
The Christmas songs that could be stressing out your plants
These tracks ranked furthest from acoustic or classical music and feature higher pitches, electronic effects and louder volumes, which studies suggest can stunt plant growth.
- Underneath the Tree – Kelly Clarkson
- Holiday Road – Kesha
- I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day – Wizzard
- Christmas In Hollis – RUN D.M.C.
- Santa, Can’t You Hear Me – Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande
- Where Are You Christmas? – The Pretty Reckless
- A Nonsense Christmas – Sabrina Carpenter
- It Feels Like Christmas – Fall Out Boy
- You Make It Feel Like Christmas – Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton
- Like It's Christmas – Jonas Brothers
Does this mean you need to ban your favourite Christmas bangers from the house entirely? Not necessarily.
But if you are hosting a festive lunch, wrapping gifts, or just relaxing at home, it might be worth switching to a smoother playlist now and then.
Your houseplants may not be able to sing along, but according to science, they are definitely listening.