How the guided checks work

Why there is no fixed schedule

Too much water kills more house plants than too little. Light, season, pot size and soil change how fast the soil dries. A rule such as "water every Sunday" is wrong for most homes. So the app asks you to check the soil, and it learns from your answers.

How the dates work

• Each plant starts with a guess: the middle of its usual days between checks. In winter the guess is 1.5 times as long.
• A new plant has its first soil check due today. Your first answer teaches the app.
• You test the soil and tap Dry, Damp or Wet. For a plant that likes dry soil, you test near the bottom of the pot with a skewer. For a plant that likes moist soil, you test the surface.
• Dry: you water. If the soil was already dry on the day the check was due, or before it, the interval becomes 15 percent shorter. The next check is one interval from today.
• Damp: you wait. The next check is soon, at 35 percent of the interval (1 day at least). The interval becomes 15 percent longer.
• Wet: you do not water. The next check is at half the interval (2 days at least). The page shows a warning and a link to the drainage guide.
• The interval never goes below half of the shortest usual time, and never above twice the longest usual time. It never passes 45 days.

Seasons, feeding and health checks

• You choose your hemisphere on the start page. Winter is November to February in the north and May to August in the south.
• The growing season is March to September in the north and September to March in the south. The app asks you to feed a plant only in the growing season.
• The feeding date depends on the plant. It is every 2 weeks, every month, every 2 months, or rarely.
• Every 30 days the app asks for a health check. You answer questions about leaves, stems, pests and drainage. The app shows what to do for each problem.

What the app cannot do

• It cannot see your plant. It has no photo recognition.
• It gives general advice. The label of your plant and a local plant shop know more about your plant.
• The dates are a help, not a rule. If the plant looks dry, check the soil at once.
• It cannot tell if a plant is safe for your pet. Ask a vet if your pet eats a plant. Keep toxic plants away from pets and children.

Where the facts come from

The text is our own. Each fact has a source on its page: university extension services, botanic gardens, plant societies and the ASPCA for pet safety. These are the sites we use.

• plants.ces.ncsu.edu: 99 pages
• aspca.org: 65 pages
• hgic.clemson.edu: 3 pages
• extension.umn.edu: 2 pages
• yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu: 2 pages
• agsci.colostate.edu: 1 page
• extension.psu.edu: 1 page
• extension.unh.edu: 1 page
• extension.usu.edu: 1 page
• puyallup.wsu.edu: 1 page

Read the plant care pages and the guides. Read what happens to your data on the privacy page.