Reiki Plant Update: The Zinnias at Day 47

I did not know what to expect when I started my (somewhat) scientific, second round of the Reiki Plant Experiments. I sowed the "Envy" zinnias on July 7.

July 7, 2014, Non-Reiki on L, Reiki on R, MR

 Five seeds were planted per pot. Each pot has received identical care except for daily Reiki treatments for the Reiki pot (R), and no treatments for the Non-Reiki (NR) pot. During early growth, the Reiki pot had plants that were growing closer together than the NR plants:

NR pot above, R pot below, MR

Here they are at Day 44:

Non-Reiki pot on L, Reiki pot on R. Aug 23, 2014, MR

Here are the stats: Non-Reiki Zinnias-- 4 healthy plants total, one dying. Tallest plant is 10cm from soil base to apical meristem, and 7cm across widest leaf pair. Reiki Zinnias, 7 healthy plants, tallest plant is 10cm from soil base to apical meristem, 8cm across for widest leaf pair.

Seven plants? That's just plain darned weird. When the sixth plant showed up, I assumed I had miscounted the seeds and sown an extra. I am still assuming this. But a week later, when the seventh showed up, I was pretty dumbfounded. Zinnia seeds are large, and I had counted and sown carefully. I really don't think I could have goofed up that badly. During the next round, I will have two people carefully count the seeds and observe the sowing to avoid any confusion. I will probably grow peas or beans, which have seeds far too large to miscount. So we'll work this little mystery out on the next round!

(And, as a note, the pots in the above photo are not in their normal places, they are posing on a box. They get identical sunshine time on a special shelf in the house.)

I hope any other gardeners doing this Reiki Plant Experiment will chime in with their results!

Reiki Plant Notes and Two Final Flower Portraits

Another week has gone by for the Reiki/non-Reiki zinnias, and there is a peculiar difference:

Reiki Zinnias, below: July 22, 2014, MR

Both sets of plants are growing well, and are about the same size. The Reiki zinnias sprouted a full 24 hours before the non-Reiki, but now they are growing apace. However, the non-Reiki zinnias are growing further apart, while the Reiki zinnias have grown closer together. In addition, they are given the same amount of sunlight, yet the non-Reiki zinnias have longer stems and show stronger positive phototropism, whereas the Reiki plants are growing straight, and their stems are shorter. Is this because the non-Reiki plants need more light than the Reiki plants? I don't know. What do you think? The experiment continues....

And now for something completely different-- my two final "flower portraits" (really, I know I said that before) from my spring garden, one for Mexican tuberose, the other for sunflower:

Mexican Tuberose Portrait, MR, 2014

Sunflower Portrait, MR, 2014

Reiki For Plants: Let's Grow Zinnias!

Zinnia elegans var. "Envy" is engaged in a Reiki For Plants experiment. It began on July 8, 2014:

Zinnia elegans "Envy", photo courtesy Indianapolis Museum of Art

Each pot has had 5 Zinnia seeds sown. One pot is receiving daily Reiki from two practioners (I'm one of them).  The other pot is kept in identical conditions except for the Reiki- it gets none. The zinnia seeds were sown on July 8, 2014. Today, July 13, 2014, the Reiki pot (in the photo below, it's on the left) has 3 sprouts, and primary leaves are visible on one of the three. The non-Reiki plant (in photo below, on right) has one seed just beginning to sprout, though it is not easy to see yet.

Reiki Zinnias left, non-Reiki Zinnias, right, July 13, 2014

I'll keep you all updated!

A Postscript on Reiki For Plants

"Reiki For Plants" is one of my all-time most popular posts. Are there any Reiki practitioners out there who would like to try Round 2 and grow some plants from seed with and without Reiki? I am planning to start a number of seedlings, with and without Reiki, following a simple protocol. I'd love to have others participate to see what we can find out. My first trial was intriguing. The Reiki-free pot of nasturtiums germinated incompletely, and had one plant dominate the others...the Reiki pot had 100% germination and all plants grew at an equal rate. They bloomed a little later, but all together. Fascinating, but needs to be tried with lots of different species in lots of places. Who wants a go??

"Black Bamboo" Morikami Gardens, MR, 2013

"Sarasota Mermaid" MR 2014