If having a pet is a precursor to having children, I'd add that caring for a plant isn't far behind. While choosing a plant amid other vibrant greenery has always been a therapeutic process for me — and is an immediate dopamine booster — understanding, nurturing and maintaining plants can be challenging.
I can recall various occasions where my lack of a green thumb, matched 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 delivered to my home.
So when my friend, an interior plant designer, shared with me how artificial intelligence could enhance her client-facing business, the AI-powered software company PlantIn: Plant Identifier Care came up.
PlantIn was founded in Nicosia, the capital of the island nation Cyprus, in 2020, with the goal of getting "humans in touch with nature." Membership to PlantIn costs between $7 and $50, with a free three-day trial subscription option. The app has over 22 million users and a reported 95.8% accuracy rating across 16,000 plant species.
As an edutainment company, PlantIn aims to cover all aspects of the plant care process in its app, with navigation to Plant Identification, Plant Diagnosis, Botanist Consulting, Care Tools, Common Problems and a blog.
How to use PlantIn to care for your plant
Step 1: Though you can navigate PlantIn via its desktop version, I recommend downloading the mobile app to fully engage with the software, specifically for its Plant Identifier. Once you've created a free account, you'll have access to this very robust feature, covering everything from houseplants and herbs to mushrooms and shrubs.
PlantIn will help you identify your plants so it can advise you on plant care.
Screenshot by Carly Quellman/CNETStep 2: To add a plant to your profile, search by photo or name. If you search by photo, you'll have the opportunity to take one in the moment or upload one from your phone's library. If you snap a photo on the spot, PlantIn will generate Picture Tips to guide the process.
Step 3: The AI-powered diagnosis scan begins. Your results are uploaded into a personal Plant Care Plan. The plan includes water and mist suggestions; pruning, fertilizing and repotting frequency; and plant-specific data about its origins. (I was surprised to find that my houseplant is toxic to pets and humans!) The Plant Care Plan also includes short video tips and space for taking notes.
Step 4: Now that your first plant is uploaded to your profile, you can analyze your results, search in the community feed 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 artificial intelligence has been used (and even abused), seeing AI used in a simple, concise format is refreshing. If you aren't a plant person, you may find the mundane process of researching answers excruciating. If you are a plant person, you may find the worry 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 one of PlantIn's competitors, like Plant.id or Google Play's Plant Identifier AI Plant Care App, may work better for you? Absolutely. Also, plant subscription services are turning to AI-powered "plant doctors," and even iPhones running on system iOS 15 or later can identify plants with Apple's Live Text feature.
Not to mention the various plant-identifying apps launched within the last decade that use the same product model, just without artificial intelligence. So, yes, it does come down to personal preferences, but when considering my nonnegotiables — 1) UX design, 2) succinct copy and 3) speed and accuracy — PlantIn effectively does all three.