Can't keep a houseplant alive? This is the secret weapon you need to keep your succulents and spider plants thriving
All you need is a smartphone or tablet
If you find yourself drowning your cacti, starving your spider plants and simply baffled over how to keep your new orchid alive, you need to try the SmartPlant app.
Related: Houseplant trends 2019 – we reveal the foliage that's growing popular this year
Plants are big business in the UK, with over 600 million being sold a year. However,50 per cent of plant buyers admitted to accidentally killing their leafy friends. It's safe to say we need this app in our lives, correction our houseplants need it.
SmartPlant app
The handy little app contains all the information you need to keep your houseplants alive. Experts are on hand to help answer any of your plant woes, saving you wading through gardening books and websites.
The SmartPlant app currently works best with plants purchased at Homebase and Dobbies. When you buy a new plant, check to see if it has a SmartPlant barcode.
If it does, simply scan the barcode in the app and you'll receive free, personalised, monthly plant care instructions. It will even collate all your plant care into a handy calendar on your phone and send you reminder notifications.
You can add up to six plants to your app for free. However, to save the care tips for more plants you will need to pay a small subscription fee.
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The entire plant range at Homebase was added to the SmartPlant app in February.
'We've been helping customers bring plants into their homes and gardens for over 35 years, and along with our in-store experts, customers can now have the confidence to buy the plants they want to grow,' says David Gillespie, plant buyer at Homebase. 'They will also have better information as to how to care and look after them to make them look better for longer.'
However, the app will work just as well with plants from your local garden centre. Simply snap a photo of your plant and you can get advice from an expert within 24 hours
The app is also fully integrated with Amazon Alexa. So if you already know what your plant is called, simply ask your Alexa.
Related: Jungle bathrooms are the latest trend taking over Instagram
Now you have no excuse for drowning your spider plant.
Rebecca Knight has been the Deputy Editor on the Ideal Home Website since 2022. She graduated with a Masters degree in magazine journalism from City, University of London in 2018, before starting her journalism career as a staff writer on women's weekly magazines. She fell into the world of homes and interiors after joining the Ideal Home website team in 2019 as a Digital Writer. In 2020 she moved into position of Homes News Editor working across Homes & Gardens, LivingEtc, Real Homes, Gardeningetc and Ideal Home covering everything from the latest viral cleaning hack to the next big interior trend.
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