Wi-fi Routers can kill plants Wow...???

[SassyLife]

I just read a newsletter with an article containing information about some highschool students who tested growing plants near their wi-fi router. Their main experiment was with sprouting seeds. In the room without the router the seeds sprouted and were healthy and green and in the room with the router the seeds were brown and shriveled.

The writer of the article is sure to mention that of course this study was done by highschool students and not 'professional'.

BUT and at any rate...

Who really grows plants next to their router?

Most routers are in the home office and I can understand wanting a plant or two in there, but if it doesn't grow it's not the end of the world to me!

My FAVORITE place for houseplants in my house is above my kitchen area under the skylight. I have Ivy's, Mother in Law Tongues and Aloe Vera there.

...and my wireless router is in my bedroom!

 

[Gardener]

Wow, I wasn't aware of this. There are some variables though. I really haven't seen a plant placed right next to a wifi router. Some of my plants are in my woking room, where there is also a wifi router. I am guessing that it could possibly happen as a result of the radio waves sent from the router, or it could also be the heat released by the router. I personally have never seen anything bad happen to my plants whenever they are near electronics (unless you have a plant near a stove or fireplace!), but this is a fascinating topic. Also, it gets you thinking… if it stuns growth for plants, and it is in your bedroom, what could it possibly do to human?

 

[claudine]

My mother grows a Spathiphyllum right next to our wifi router. The plant is enormous and it looks very healthy, it produce flowers often. So I wouldn't worry In my opinion those students were wrong. But I'd like to read the article anyway, it may be interesting to read.

 

[SassyLife]

@claudine I wasnt sure if I could post links as some forums are sticky with that, but it can be found at The Daily Dot, article is titled:
Your wireless router could be murdering your houseplants

@Gardener Ha, I know right? But then I'm one that tends not to live in fear as I think that causes us more harm than sleeping next to our alarm clock or cell phone, ya know?

 

[claudine]

@claudine I wasnt sure if I could post links as some forums are sticky with that, but it can be found at The Daily Dot, article is titled:
Your wireless router could be murdering your houseplants

Thank you, I'll find it The title sounds scary!
I'm starting to think that maybe some plants don't grow well near wifi routers, while others are less delicate. Every plant is a little different, so who knows.

 

[Trellum]

What worried me about this... is something a doctor told me a long time ago about all the devices we have at home, specially the routers! I mean, I know this was done by high school students, but it really gets you thinking. If the router could do that to the sprouts... can imagine what it does to our cells? After all sprouts are made of living cells as well. We are living in a world where radiation thrives. Scary!

 

[claudine]

I heard of people who moved to caves far away from civilisation, because they're so scared of wireless internet. In my opinion it's a little crazy. As long as you don't sleep with your head right next to a router, nothing bad should happen. Also, like I said, my mother's Spathiphyllum grows beautifully

 

[Trellum]

Yeah, I've heard of people like that, but if I ever did that... I think I'd go crazy with no internet access I really can't imagine my life with no internet or TV A well, most things we have at home emit some radiation, I say whatever is supposed to happen will happen anyway

 

[gata montes]

I always wondered who was responsible for killing my houseplants, I'd always thought that they met their demise due a lack of light and an extreme variation if temperature - but it was in fact my internet connection which was probably assisted by my microwave and mobile phone plus any other appliance in my home that could be regarded as dangerous.

I think you have to put these things into perspective and in all honesty, think that - if we all took the things that are reported to be bad for us too seriously, we would all by now - be living in a little glass dome and eating a very limited diet due to the fact, that we would all be too scared to venture out - for fear of contaminated by one thing or another

 

[claudine]

Yeah, I've heard of people like that, but if I ever did that... I think I'd go crazy with no internet access I really can't imagine my life with no internet or TV A well, most things we have at home emit some radiation, I say whatever is supposed to happen will happen anyway

Same here. I couldn't live without internet, lol! It makes everything easier. Not to mention that it made me a better gardener. Whenever I have a problem with my miniature roses, I turn on my computer and I start looking for tips. This forum is my favorite, because it has always been very helpful

 

[EmberxDoll]

I don't think, personally, you should place anything you are going to be eating next to something electronic. Anything else though, should be okay. For example, look at youtube videos where the water has been microwaved and used on plants vs non-microwaved water. Electronics and radio waves and such do have an effect. Though, like someone else said, as long as you're not sleeping with it next to you(or edible plants) then I wouldn't worry.

 

[ACSAPA]

That is really bizarre. I didn't know that my router could kill indoor plants. My plants usually sit outside in pots, but I was thinking of getting indoor plants. I guess I'll have to be careful about where I put them. I guess Gata Montes is right, almost everything is dangerous in one way or another and a lot of everyday things cause cancer. We can't live our lives in fear.

 

[Meowmie]

Very interesting. I'll be starting my next sets of sprouts in a few days, I'm going to put one sprouter in the room with the router and one in a room far away, and try to keep everything else the same. If I notice a difference I'm going to rethink where I keep my router and booster!

 

[Nahum]

Out of curiosity, what was the mechanism by which it killed plants? The typical home wifi router throws off very low powered RF energy, so I am surprised it would have any impact on plant life.

 

[Lostvalleyguy]

I have have actually seen the article and dug a little deeper into the data. None of the data was collected in a proper scientific manner. That doesn't mean it is necessarily wrong, but it does mean it isn't reliable. Meowmie: you might be able to produce reliable results if you are able to keep other things like light and temperatures the same. I could conduct the test, but my router is in a warmer darker room and therefore, I cant exclude those reasons if the results are different.

The data looks genuine, but because the other variables weren't strictly controlled, the experimenters were honest in their results but may have attributed the wrong cause.