Wasted $85 on a 'pro' plant watering app that just guessed when to water

I got suckered by an ad for a smart plant app that claimed to use your phone camera to measure soil moisture and tell you exactly when to water. Paid $85 for a year subscription because I have like 30 houseplants and killed two ferns last winter from overwatering. Turns out the app just takes a photo and then randomly tells you something generic like 'needs water in 2-3 days' with zero actual data behind it. After three weeks my peace lily was drooping so bad I thought it was dead, and the app still said 'all good!' I went back to just sticking my finger in the dirt like a normal person and now everything is fine. Has anyone else found a plant tracking system that actually works or is it all just junk?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamie7701mo ago

Funny you say that because I actually had the opposite experience with a different app. I tried a free trial of one that used your local weather data plus plant type to build a watering schedule, and my spider plant has never looked better. @craig.mila is right that a cheap moisture meter works fine for most people, but when you have 30 plants like you do, manually checking each one gets old fast. The key is finding an app that actually syncs with your local climate instead of just guessing from a photo. Your peace lily dying was definitely a bust, but I'd argue some of those subscriptions can save you time if you pick the right one. Just don't blame the whole category because one developer was lazy.

ray_campbell461mo ago

You're better off with a cheap moisture meter from the garden center... those little probes actually tell you wet or dry. I've got a bunch of plants in my classroom and just learned to read the leaves instead of trusting any app. Stick with what works and save your money for actual potting soil.

craig.mila1mo ago

$85 for an app that turns your phone into a fake psychic for plants. You could have bought a $10 moisture meter from a hardware store and gotten better results. The peace lily drooping while the app gave you a thumbs up is all you need to know about that scam. Sometimes the old methods win.