Specimen #1 was given Vim all purpose household cleaner. Although this plant started off with less foliage than any of the other plants used, by the second dose of Vim, most of this plant had turned a sickly yellowish green, and leaves at the bottom of this plant were starting to die. Also, at every dose, we noticed that the vim seemed to partially become foam, and needed a bit of water to help the vim be absorbed by the plant. After the fifth dose, specimen #1 has begun to die, all leaves have turned yellow, and many have fallen off, or are currently hanging on barely. After the seventh and final dose, this plant is nearly dead. All but four leaves have withered and died, and the stalks are barren. The remaining leaves are not looking very healthy, and may die if treatment continues. The soil itself also appears to have become less healthy, and has turned a light brown, instead of its usual rich dark chocolate brown.
Specimen #2 was given Mr. Clean all purpose cleaner. By the third dose this plant was beginning to become lighter than usual, and the stems seemed to be less healthy than the control. They became a greenish brown, which has begun to slowly spread up the plant, but has not affected any leaves yet. Also, certain leaves at the base of this plant are dryer than those of others. After the fifth dose, the leaves at the center base of this plant have turned brown and many have fallen off. After the seventh and final dose, this plant has shown death of many leaves, and one stalk is completely deserted of living leaves. Also, there are several bright and pale yellow leaves along the top and middle of several stalks on this plant. The stalks have turned brown and dark brown respectively at the middle and bottom.
Specimen #3 was given Hertel all purpose household cleaner. This plant showed the same results as Specimen #2, only these results are less intense, and the plant seems to be healthier, also, certain leaves at the top a white, Styrofoam-like substance. After the fifth dose, the leaves at the base of this plant have turned brown, and several are dying, also, some of the leaves have become lighter than normal. After the seventh and final dose, most of the leaves of this plant have died. The inner stalks are devoid of leaves, except for a few dead and withered grayish-brown leaves. Although the outside stalks appear healthy, quite a few leaves are starting to whither and droop.
Specimen #4 was given Fantastik all purpose household cleaner. After the fourth dose, this plant exhibited even darker, less healthy stems than those of Specimen #2, also, on certain branches; there were hanging, dead leaves at the tips, extremely pale leaves and dry, pasty leaves. After the seventh and final dose, this plant appears to be the healthiest of the plants other than the control. There are certain leaves that are dead and drooping, but the plant as a whole is extremely healthy, and has grown a bit.
Specimen #5 was given Pine-Sol all purpose cleaner. Apart from its appearance seeming to have shrunken, this plant showed no negative signs, and seemed extremely healthy, nearly more so than the control. After the seventh and final dose, this plant has taken a turn for the worse. There were seven or eight leaves that seemed less healthy than the others, they have died and a dark brown color has spread up the stalks. Also, the plant has continued to shrink to the naked eye.
Specimen #6 was given Bright n’ Easy all purpose household cleaner. This plant shows nearly no negative effects of testing, except for the fact that some of its leaves became miss-shaped, and off-colored, and several showed very small patches of brown decayed plant. After the seventh and final dose, this plant appears to be healthy, despite the fact that the leaves at the bottom of the plant have turned a very dark green, and three dead leaves can be seen on the soil surrounding the plant, and it appears that they have fallen off.
Specimen #7 was given only water and showed normal growth and reactions throughout the experiment.
The fichus plant that we are using is a very strong, durable plant. Its scientific name is fichus benjamina, and it has so far exceeded our expectations. We hypothesized that most, if not all of the plants except for the control, would be dead or dying at this point, the fact that several are still alive and relatively healthy has shocked us. After the seventh dose, our hypothesis has been proven correct, as we have seen that every plant except for the control has suffered negative effects from being given household cleaners. The results range from death of nearly all leaves, leaving stalks decayed and barren, to a few dead leaves, or miss-colorings, and minor shrinkage.