There is a lot to track when trying to keep houseplants alive and kicking, much more than can be observed by simply checking the leaves and dipping a finger into the soil. Greensens are houseplant sensors that take the guesswork out of indoor flora maintenance, by monitoring the conditions and alerting the user’s smartphone when things aren’t quite right.
The solar-powered Greensens sensors are shaped like nail files and can be inserted into the soil of a houseplant. There they gather data on soil moisture, ambient temperature and light conditions.
Over bluetooth, the sensors then relay this information to a central hub, which is essentially a USB dongle that can be plugged into any USB port with a continuous power supply. This Wi-Fi-enabled hub can accommodate data from up to 10 different sensors, and channel it all into the highly intuitive Greensens smartphone app, compatible with Android and iPhone.
The phone app then processes the data to present a picture of the plant’s wellbeing. The home screen is populated with all the connected houseplants, along with an indicator of their general health. But users can dig into the details by clicking through to each plant’s profile to see real-time readings of temperature, water and light readings.
Users can even bring up historical charts of each metric plotted over the preceding weeks, months or years. But the idea is that things never get too dire. When conditions are looking less than ideal, such as a lack of moisture or too little light, the user receives a notification on their phone advising them to take action.
Find out how to keep your greenery happy with Greensens here.