Yes, I use a plant app...
Before you judge me, hear me out. The plant app I've been using, Planta, has been nothing but good to me. It is a great resource and the best plant investment I've made. I pay for the yearly subscription which is a whopping ... $35.99 a year! In my opinion, $3 a month for an app that has been a key role in helping me take care of my plant babies is so worth it! Especially for a novice plant parent. Firstly, I'm a Libra, so I'm naturally spacey af sometimes. When I first got into plants, I was working full time and dealing with a health crisis, so it was real easy for me to lose track of who I watered when.
Making it make sense for me
Once my collection began to grow (because I was buying every plant in sight) it became even more difficult. I tried a wall calendar and listing it in a journal and tracking it in my phone calendar and notes -- but I failed every time. Once I started searching the app store for something free, just like anything else -- you get what you pay for. Every app had something I liked but was missing the other 5 things I needed. So, for me paying for an app made sense.
Planta Light feature
A guide and daily reminder
The beauty of the app is that it's more of a guide for all things plant care and a well of knowledge. It reminds me to water, fertilize, repot, and do monthly progress reports. My favorite part about the app is I can skip any task or even set the app to allow me to create my own schedule. I recently bought premium soil from a Black woman CreativePlantMama and her soil mixture has slow release fertilizer in it already. So, I changed the settings on my app to allow me to choose when to fertilize. I will probably reevaluate in 6 months. The app is very extensive -- it allows me to choose the location in my home, plant size, pot type, pot size, soil type, fertilizer type, distance from window, misting reminders (I have this setting turned off, but in the beginning I was HEAVY on the misting), and drainage holes. These are just some of the extensive features the app offers.
The app has been a great resource for learning about plants and researching wish list plants ;). I can be in Home Depot and the label doesn't actually identify the plant (iykyk) and within seconds Planta will tell me the name, what it is, level of difficulty/care, and if it's recommended for my home. This app has taught me so much. I definitely do my research when it comes to the app, sometimes the information isn't exactly right. For example, I just repotted a zz plant - when I took a picture of it the app really couldn't recognize it because of how tiny it is. And as far as extensive care or extensive issues, I still have to do research sometimes, no plant resource is a one-size-fits-all. Why? Because every enviornment is different, so sometimes it may take furthere research to figure out why that calathea is suffering in your home but thriving in your homegirl's home.
Report card for houseplants
Planta also acts as a diary, allowing me to add photos and detailed progress reports. The app will recommend locations for plants, recommendations for your home, and it will even identify a plant irl or an image of a plant. I'm the go to person when my friends are trying to identify a plant.
The app also offers "Dr. Planta" -- she will allow you to take pictures of the issue and diagnose through a series of questions and feedback.
The plant app Planta has been the most helpful tool in keeping up with my plants and documenting our journey together. 5/5 Stars -- def recommend.
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