Every year, millions of houseplants die thanks to their owners doing something wrong. The good news is that nobody will ever need to accidentally kill one again.
SmartyPlants - bonus points for the name - has smart sensors designed just for houseplants that monitor light, humidity and temperature, as well as soil moisture and nutrients. It sends this information to an accompanying smartphone app, which takes all the guesswork out of keeping plants healthy.
"We want you to enjoy your plants stress-free, and with our technology, we can make sure they’re looked after," says Ben Beavers, Founder and CEO of SmartyPlants, who has a background in biology and tech, as well as a partner who he describes as a "serial plant-killer".
The new tech is essentially 'plug and play', with the sensor spiked into the soil of the plant - but this clever gizmo does much more than let you know if you're overwatering or there's not enough light. The sensor can even assess a room and recommend what types of plants are best suited to the space.
The app also lets you name your plants, so you'll be able to check on how Mike or Caroline is doing, instead of needing to remember species. And yes, you'll get notifications if "Caroline needs a drink," for example.
Once set up, SmartyPlants will send easy-to-understand insights and learnings, and you'll receive notifications if anything looks to be going awry, which makes any mistakes simple to fix before it's too late. It also doesn't just measure light intensity, but looks at the light spectrum to maximise photosynthesis.
The London startup launched SmartyPlants on Kickstarter - quickly raising more than 10 times its benchmark target. Within four days, the campaign had more than 500 backers, which suggests there are a whole lot of people desperate for happy plants - and that their app is now definitely on its way.
On Kickstarter (note: usual crowdfunding caveats apply), you can pick up a single sensor at an earlybird discount (£34, approximately $43) or a monster pack of 20 (£479, approximately $605), which is 40 percent off. Surely a very cost effective investment, given the cost of replacing houseplants. The future looks bright for a whole new world of happy houseplants and their owners.
Here's a short video explaining the app further...