If having a pet is a precursor to having children, I would add that caring for a plant is not far behind. While picking out a plant among other vibrant greenery has always been a therapeutic process for me—and it’s an instant dopamine booster—understanding, nurturing, and maintaining plants can be challenging.
I can recall various occasions when my lack of a green thumb, coupled with neuroticism, killed my plants (and other people’s too). I’ll also admit to impulsively ordering plants online without taking the time to understand their needs, only to be disappointed (though not surprised) when a plant’s lifespan turned out to be shorter than the time it took for the plant to be handed over to me. house.
So when my friend, an interior plant designer, shared with me how artificial intelligence could improve her business with the client, the software company came up with AI PlantIn: Plant Identifier Care.
PlantIn was founded in Nicosia, the capital of the island nation of Cyprus, in 2020 with the aim of bringing “people in touch with nature”. PlantIn membership costs between $7 and $50, with a three-day free trial subscription option. The app has over 22 million users and a reported accuracy rating of 95.8% on 16,000 plant species.
As an educational company, PlantIn aims to cover all aspects of the plant care process in its app, with navigation to plant identification, plant diagnosis, Botanical Consultancy, care tools, Common problems and a blog.
How to use PlantIn to care for your plant
Step 1: Although you can navigate PlantIn through its desktop version, I recommend downloading the mobile app to fully engage with the software, especially for Plant identifier. Once you’ve created a free account, you’ll have access to this very powerful feature, covering everything from houseplants and herbs to mushrooms and shrubs.
PlantIn will help you identify your plants in order to advise you on plant care.
Step 2: To add a plant to your profile, search by photo or name. If you search by photo, you’ll have the option to take one on the fly or upload one from your phone’s library. If you take a picture in place, PlantIn will generate Photo tips to guide the process.
Step 3: AI-powered diagnosis scan begins. Your results are uploaded to a personal Plant Care Plan. The plan includes suggestions for water and fog; frequency of pruning, fertilization and restocking; and plant-specific data on its origin. (I was surprised to find that my houseplant is toxic to pets AND people!) The Plant Care Plan also includes short video tips and space to take notes.
Step 4: Now that your first plant has been uploaded to your profile, you can analyze your results, search the community resource for other plant care tips and photos, or add more plants to your profile.
Should you use PlantIn to support your plants?
Considering the not-so-positive ways AI is used (and even abused), seeing AI used in a simple and concise format is refreshing. If you are not a plant person, you may find the usual process of searching for answers excruciating. If you’re a plant person, you may find the anxiety created by self-diagnosing your plants excruciating. In either case, PlantIn can serve as a solution.
That said, PlantIn is one of many AI-powered tools for plants. So is it possible that one of PlantIn’s competitors, like Plant.id or Google Play’s Plant Identifier AI Plant Care app, might work better for you? Absolutely. Also, plant subscription services are turning to AI-powered “plant doctors,” and even iPhones running iOS 15 or later can identify plants with Apple’s Live Text feature.
Not to mention the various plant identification apps launched over the last decade that use the same product model, just without AI. So yes, it comes down to personal preference, but when considering my non-negotiables – 1) UX design, 2) concise copy, and 3) speed and accuracy – PlantIn effectively does all three.