Despite the variety of hearty houseplants advertised as “unkillable,” sometimes a busy life or tricky environment can be the nail in the coffin for even the most beloved succulents.
But there is more you can do than pay special attention and set watering times. These apps and gadgets will help your houseplants live better, longer lives.
Houseplant apps
Happy Plant (Free)
The Happy Plant reminds users to water their plants with notifications and keeps track of missed waterings. Multiple houseplants can be tracked, and there is an option to create time-lapses as well, which show how much a plant is growing (or not growing) over time.
PlantSnap (Free or $4.99 for PlantSnap Pro)
Through the power of machine learning, PlantSnap can help nurture your houseplants by figuring out exactly what plant it is you’re trying to keep alive. While it may not offer specific advice, identifying a plant accurately is the first step to taking care of it correctly.
SmartPlant (Free or starting at $3.99/month for SmartPlant Pro)
The SmartPlant app uses plant experts who can help identify plants, give you care advice, and possibly even tell you if you’re dealing with a pest problem. The app creates a virtual library of your houseplants by scanning the barcodes on their original planters, which then prompts monthly advice.
Florish (Free)
Florish aims to help users find houseplants that fit their specific spaces. For example, if you’re in an apartment with low daylight, Florish will recommend plants that can survive in that kind of environment.
Planta (Free or $7.99/month for Planta Premium)
Planta is the jack-of-all-trades for plant care. You can set watering and cleaning reminders, get recommendations for houseplants based on skill level, identify plants, and have plants recommended for different spaces in the home based on available light. The only free features of the app are its plethora of reminders.
Houseplant gear
While apps can remind you to water your plants, there are a handful of houseplant gadgets that will do it for you–and beyond. There are also sensors that can help determine whether the soil is too dry or damp, as well as monitor the light they are exposed to. There are hundreds of options to suit your style, whether you’re looking for something affordable or something on the bougie side.
Click and Grow Smart Garden, 3-Pod ($99.95)
This smart planter from Click and Grow keeps tabs on the water content of the soil, nutrients absorbed by the plant, and sun exposure. It holds enough water for three weeks of automatic watering, and the plant capsules from Click and Grow are biodegradable.
Lua ($110)
The Lua pot mixes digital plant tending with classic Tomagatchi pet-sitting by displaying faces on an LED screen that correlate to conditions it may be experiencing, such as needing to be watered or placed in a sunnier spot. As the Lua pot is an Indiegogo campaign, a minimum of $110 is necessary to purchase the item. If you order it in August, it will ship in December.
FYTA Beam Smart Plant Sensor (€30)
A lipstick tube-shaped sensor that can be placed in a pot to monitor the status of your houseplant, the FYTA Beam has a corresponding app that allows your plant to “tell” you what it needs, whether that is more or less water or sun, or some plant food or fertilizer. For the FYTA Beam campaign, the smallest spend to receive a sensor is €30, and it also comes with a soil pH test kit. If ordered in August, it will ship in December.
ĒDN SmallGarden ($199)
Another smart planter, the ĒDN Smallgarden is designed to allow users to grow herbs, flowers, and small vegetables indoors. It’s WiFi-enabled and keeps track of what you’ve planted, as well as using an LED light system to improve your houseplants’ growth.
Light Meter ($29.99)
Too much or too little light can spell death for any houseplant. Luckily enough, a light meter can measure the amount of light in the space you keep your plants and which direction it is coming from. This can be crucial knowledge, as some plants are finicky and only want low light, and vice versa.
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