[crimsonknight3 (OP)]

Hi there,

The reason i ask this is simple. Since i found out my partner is pregnant i've started leaning right out the window to smoke (roll ups). We live at a homeless hostel for young families and about 1 month ago the council had a lot of gardeners in to tidy up the bushes/grass etc etc. Now from our window we are at the inside corner of an L shaped part of the building and although the bushes were all cut back at the same height i noticed that the bush next to my window where i smoke has grown substantially faster than the rest, i wondered whether this was due to my cigarette smoke, so i wondered around to the 2 outside smoking areas of the building, which also have the same bushes near them that were cut back to the same height and i noticed that the bushes near to the smoking areas had also grown faster than the rest where people don't smoke.

Thanks for your time

[RD]

carbon dioxide (CO₂) is produced when something is burned and does promote plant growth ...

Plants require carbon dioxide to conduct photosynthesis. Greenhouses may (if of large size, must) enrich their atmospheres with additional CO2 to sustain and increase plant growth

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide#Agricultural_and_biological_applications

But I doubt one person smoking next to a bush would be sufficient to make a noticeable difference in its growth rate,
 ( if the bush appears to grow before your eyes your "roll up" may contain more than tobacco :¬) .

[cheryl j]

I think I read that nicotine is a bug repellent which is why tobacco plants have it. On the other hand, a green house owner once told me that cigarette smoke hurts tomato plants. That is the only cigarette/plant related information I have.

[Bored chemist]

Could it be that (like the smokers) the plants benefit from the shelter?

[crimsonknight3 (OP)]

Could it be that (like the smokers) the plants benefit from the shelter?

I would've thought that but none of the smoking areas are sheltered lol they are simply designated as a smoking area due to a bin on the wall for cigarette butts.

carbon dioxide (CO₂) is produced when something is burned and does promote plant growth ...

Plants require carbon dioxide to conduct photosynthesis. Greenhouses may (if of large size, must) enrich their atmospheres with additional CO2 to sustain and increase plant growth

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide#Agricultural_and_biological_applications

But I doubt one person smoking next to a bush would be sufficient to make a noticeable difference in its growth rate,
 ( if the bush appears to grow before your eyes your "roll up" may contain more than tobacco :¬) .

I thought that at first but if the cigarette smoke was say around 15 times a day over a period of 1-2 months would it make a difference? I'd really like to do a controlled experiment but i don't have the space lol I've always liked the fact that  a lot of bugs tend to move away from cigarette smoke but there isnt too much difference with bees (the bush ive been talking about flowered for about 2 weeks in which time a little bee was at the flowers every time i went to smoke and he didnt seem bothered by it) I'll have to give this more thought but i may try to do a controlled experiment, one exposed to smoke daily and one not... At the minute our bamboo isn't growing and our bonsai tree is growing too quickly  due to a little feeding solution we gave it, so it's now sprouted around a foot long bright green branch lol

[SeanB]

I would guess the ash from the cigarettes is adding minerals and nutrients to the soil and promoting the growth.

[Don_1]

It could be nothing more than coincidence.

There can be a whole bunch of reasons why one plant will do better than another.

Take for example the 3 cuttings I have from a Hibiscus. All 3 were taken at the same time, put in the same size pot with the same compost and kept in the same conditions. All were taken from the same plant and were roughly the same thickness and length.

In the spring, all started to show equal signs of growth. Today one has shot way ahead of the other 2 despite all 3 continuing to be treated exactly the same.

The fact is that two identical plants just a metre or two apart can show different growth rates and flowering. Sometimes there is just no rhym or reason for horticultural differences.

I have to agree with RD, in that it is unlikely that the extra CO₂ is enough to make any real difference, even if it is 15 or so times a day. And I rather think that the smoke would not be an effective insect repelent.

Differences in the plants performance can be affected by the soil drainage, nutrients and other surrounding plants. There could be an unseen underground blockage causing the soil to drain slow, leaving the plant roots in too much water. Or there could be a nearby tree depriving a plant of sufficient water. Clover growing near one plant would have the effect of replacing nitrogen in the soil. Great for some leafy plants, not so good for some flowering plants.

There are so many factors to consider. A tree or shrub growing 10 or 20 metres away may have an effect, but an extra 5 metres might be all the difference it takes to change the soil conditions.