The best apps for plant parents

University accommodation, whether you are in a university residence or in a student residence, is not always the most luxurious. Plants are an instant way to add some decor and life. They can help brighten up or enhance any area, but can also be a lot of work and hassle.

Magna, my Monstera plant, which I have had since the start of my second year, is not having the best times. So, in a quest to save my gorgeous Magna, and to help all other plant lovers, this article will alert you to a few apps that might help you with your plants and their needs.

PLANT

Planta is an extremely useful app that allows you to add the plants you have in your home, specific to the room they are in and their light levels. The app uses a light meter mechanism to detect levels that are too high or too low.

On the app, you can add a profile picture and nickname for your plants, and receive a detailed method on how to water your plants based on their species. You can also opt for notifications to remind you of the right time to do it which is a necessity when you have 100 other things to remind you to do!

Flourishing

This application has some functions similar to Planta, it allows you to upload your plants and receive information about their origins. It educates you on the stages of appearance and growth to help identify problems and provide personalized care instructions.

A particularly cool feature of this app is a quiz you can take that then suggests the best plants to buy for certain spaces based on light intensity and distance from the nearest window. This could be great for helping you choose the right plant for you and your room, as well as opening your mind to plants you might never have even heard of.

Candid

If you want something more advanced, Candide may be a good choice. It’s a bit like social media for your plants, where you can share photos of your plants and see others’ photos. It’s a community app where you can ask questions and get help from other plant parents. There are also many articles on everything you want to know about plants.

Candide also has a market feature that allows you to buy, sell, and trade plants with other green thumbs. This can be useful for anyone looking for a specific plant or for those on a budget but still want botanical friends.

Bonus app: Forest

Forest is an app for anyone who struggles with procrastination and needs an incentive to avoid using their phone when they should be working. It plants a tree after a certain time of your choice, then if you stay on the app during that time, a virtual tree is planted in your forest. You also earn coins by adding trees that can be used to plant trees in real life – a way to help the world as well as help yourself.

One downside is that Forest is not free, but Flora is also an alternate option if that is a problem for you.

I hope some of these apps can be useful in caring for your botanical babies and most of all I hope they will help my sweet Magna recover and return to her normal state.

By Liliana Newsam-Smith