Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to own a PlantSmart Plant Sensor to use the website?
How much does the fertilizer subscription cost?
What operating systems does the PlantSmart Plant Sensor support?
I would love to grow my own fruits and vegetables. Will the PlantSmart Plant Sensor help me out?
What do I get when I purchase the PlantSmart Plant Sensor?
What features do I get with and without the PlantSmart Plant Sensor?
Why did you make the PlantSmart Plant Sensor white?
I'm interested in the PlantSmart Plant Sensor, but live outside of the United States. Can I purchase a sensor?
How did EasyBloom acquire its Plant Library?
Does the PlantSmart Plant Sensor work with grow lights?
Can I use my PlantSmart Plant Sensor in the rain?
Is there any limit to how many times I can use my PlantSmart Plant Sensor?
Does PlantSmart require a high-speed internet connection?
How much does the PlantSmart Plant Sensor cost and where can I buy it?
What are the hours for PlantSmart's telephone support?
Does the PlantSmart Plant Sensor measure soil acidity (pH)?
Does the sensor measure fertilizer? How about NPK?
What kind of warranty does the PlantSmart Plant Sensor come with?
I'd like to buy multiple PlantSmart Plant Sensor for use around my home and garden. Do I need to create multiple user accounts?
How It Works
How does the PlantSmart Plant Sensor deal with the changing weather throughout the year/seasons?How does PlantSmart recommend plants?
How do zones affect my readings?
What are the technical specifications of the PlantSmart Plant Sensor?
What's Recommend mode?
What's Monitor mode?
What's Water mode?
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Why would I want a PlantSmart Plant Sensor?
The PlantSmart Plant Sensor was designed with the beginner gardener in mind, to choose the most suitable plants for a given spot and tackle the most common causes of plant death (improper watering, inadequate light, incompatible temperatures, and under- or overfertilization).
The PlantSmart product includes:
1. The website, full of information about plants and gardening. The website shows you your sensor readings, recommendations, and diagnostic information; it also helps you keep track of all the plants you have, want, or didn't like.
2. The PlantSmart Plant Sensor, which collects sunlight, temperature, and soil data for a plant's-eye view of any location.
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Do I need to own a PlantSmart Plant Sensor to use the website?
No! We encourage you to browse the EasyBloom Plant Library, read plant care information, and even save your own plants in your My Plants area.
To get started, click Register on the upper-right of the website. The PlantSmart website is available for your use, free of charge, as a valuable plant and garden reference tool. -
How much does the fertilizer subscription cost?
The introductory price for activating soil fertility advice for the PlantSmart Plant Sensor is $3/month (cancellable at any time) or $25 for annual use.
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What operating systems does the PlantSmart Plant Sensor support?
We currently support
- Windows XP
- Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit versions)
- Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit versions)
- Mac OS X (v10.5 and later, Intel processors only)
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I would love to grow my own fruits and vegetables. Will the PlantSmart Plant Sensor help me out?
Absolutely! The PlantSmart Plant Sensor will help you out with any plant available in the EasyBloom Plant Library. The library includes hundreds of vegetable, fruit, and herb varieties.
You can take a look at what plants are available by browsing the Plant Library. Once you're signed up, you can save your favorite varieties to your own online area. If you own a sensor, you’ll learn which veggies and fruits to plant in your garden, and with the optional fertilizer subscription, you’ll know exactly when to fertilize. -
What do I get when I purchase the PlantSmart Plant Sensor?
The PlantSmart Plant Sensor ships in a recyclable cardboard box with the following:
- One (1) PlantSmart Plant Sensor
- One (1) USB cable
- One (1) AAA battery
- A Quick Start Card
- One (1) orange petal
- One (1) storage pouch
- One (1) PlantSmart Plant Sensor
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What features do I get with and without the PlantSmart Plant Sensor?
Feature No SensorWith SensorAccess EasyBloom Plant Library, including ability to save and organize your own plants √√Order plants √√Interact with other users on the website's Forum √√Receive plant alerts tailored for the plants that I've saved √√Get specific plant recommendations based on environmental conditions in a given spot √Monitor a plant and get specific advice on how to make it healthier √ -
Why did you make the PlantSmart Plant Sensor white?
Contrary to popular belief, we did not make the sensor white so that you will buy a new sensor when yours gets dirty!
The light color of the PlantSmart Plant Sensor decreases the amount of light that is absorbed as heat. Plants absorb light from the sun, but they only use specific parts of the light spectrum for photosynthesis. The rest of the spectrum is either reflected or transformed into heat. To prevent overheating, plants lose water from their leaves in a process called transpiration. Similarly to how we sweat to cool off, this evaporating water causes the leaves to cool.
Studies have shown that the white color of the sensor closely mimics the energy balance of leaves. This ensures your sensor can take the most accurate temperature measurements possible.
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I'm interested in the PlantSmart Plant Sensor, but live outside of the United States. Can I purchase a sensor?
PlantSmart will NOT work outside of the United States. PlantSmart uses much more than the raw sensor data to give the best possible plant advice. Local growing zones, climate, hourly weather and instantaneous solar position are all taken into account. Currently this information is all tied to US zip codes. The sensor will NOT work in APO/FPO (military) zip codes, but will work in the US territories of Guam and Puerto Rico. Sorry for any inconvenience!
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How did EasyBloom acquire its Plant Library?
EasyBloom has tapped multiple resources for their Plant Library, including data from the National Gardening Association, W. Atlee Burpee, Ball Horticulture, as well as other plant growers with an interest in seeing gardeners succeed in growing their favorite plants. EasyBloom also collaborates with botanists from various universities to continually expand and enrich our plant database. They've added over 1,000 plants this year and are constantly growing their Plant Library.
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Does the PlantSmart Plant Sensor work with grow lights?
The PlantSmart Plant Sensor measures natural light (sunlight) only. It cannot accurately record the light spectrum of grow lights.
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Can I use my PlantSmart Plant Sensor in the rain?
The PlantSmart Plant Sensor was designed to withstand exposure to typical weather conditions in the United States and will withstand exposure to rain and dew when the USB connector is securely attached to the soil sensor, with the following caveats:
- Do NOT submerge the sensor in water.
- Do NOT expose it directly to strong jets of water (oscillating sprinklers, for example).
- Do NOT allow product to freeze if wet, or get covered with snow or ice.
- Do NOT expose air intake to soapy water, as this may cause permanent damage to the protective membrane.
- Do NOT submerge the sensor in water.
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Is there any limit to how many times I can use my PlantSmart Plant Sensor?
No, you can reuse your sensor as many times as you'd like!
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Does PlantSmart require a high-speed internet connection?
Due to the graphic-intensive nature of our website, we recommend using a high-speed Internet connection (e.g. DSL or Cable) for a smooth experience.
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How much does the PlantSmart Plant Sensor cost and where can I buy it?
See our Buy page for details.
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What are the hours for PlantSmart's telephone support?
To speak to a Black & Decker customer support agent, please call 1-800-544-6986 (available Monday through Friday, 8am – 5pm EST).
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Does the PlantSmart Plant Sensor measure soil acidity (pH)?
The PlantSmart Plant Sensor does not measure pH. For plants known to require acidic or alkaline soil (as noted in our plant library's plant care instructions), we advise you to check pH using traditional pH/soil tests. If you know your soil is acidic or alkaline, you can use this information to refine your Plant Recommendations.
Please note that while some plants will not thrive if your soil is too acidic or too alkaline, the overwhelming majority of plant failures are actually due to unsuitable light conditions, inhospitable hardiness zone, and under- or over-watering. PlantSmart accounts for all of these factors to make sure your plant will thrive.
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Does the sensor measure fertilizer? How about NPK?
The PlantSmart Plant Sensor measures overall soil fertility and recommends fertilizers for specific plants. Store-bought soil fertility tests, which measure NPK (named after the three elemental components of fertilizers - nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), are typically chemical-based and can be cumbersome to use.
The PlantSmart Plant Sensor measures soil electronically, which is far more practical for most gardeners. Our sensor measures bulk salts, providing a good indication of the amount of fertilizer in the soil. Our website recommends specific fertilizers according to the plant's horticultural needs, accounting for NPK requirements in your garden. Over time, the NPK ratio in the soil will approach the ideal levels for your plant.
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What kind of warranty does the PlantSmart Plant Sensor come with?
The PlantSmart Plant Sensor comes with a one-year limited warranty against manufacturing defects in materials and workmanship.
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I'd like to buy multiple PlantSmart Plant Sensor for use around my home and garden. Do I need to create multiple user accounts?
Yes, you may use multiple sensors in your garden and only have one online account.
How It Works
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How does the PlantSmart Plant Sensor deal with the changing weather throughout the year/seasons?
How it works:
You place your sensor in the location in question, and it will assess both macroclimate conditions based on your heat and hardiness zones, and your relevant microclimate conditions: soil moisture, light and temperature. Armed with this data, the sensor will provide you two kinds of information depending on which mode you’ve set your sensor in:
Recommend Mode:
If you’re trying to determine which plant will thrive in a particular location, the sensor will recommend appropriate plants based on the information described above. This is called the Recommend mode. Our algorithms take several kinds of information in to account make their recommendations:
1) Based on your macroclimate information, our algorithms are able to determine the kinds of plants that are appropriate for the year-long weather conditions.
2) Based on your microclimate conditions mentioned above, our recommendation algorithm refines the recommendation list.
Because outdoor conditions change significantly throughout the year (a shady spot in winter can be full sun in summer) you’ll want to take your recommendation reading when you are ready to plant (growing seasons vary per plant and should always be considered). For indoor plants, conditions vary much less and any time can be planting time.
Monitor Mode:
For established plants you’re trying to assess health and determine care for, the Plant Doctor will assess the aforementioned relevant conditions, (again: soil moisture, light and temperature - and fertilizer for $3/month) and tell you what modifications you should make for your particular plant to thrive. And - it will alert you to when it needs water. This is called the Monitor mode.
Year round monitoring is suggested for indoor plants, those outdoor plants with growing seasons all year around, and all your outdoor plants if you live in Hawaii or the sunbelt (hardiness zone 10 and up). For those outdoor plants that are dormant part of the year, there’s less of a need to monitor during their dormant state.
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How does PlantSmart recommend plants?
The PlantSmart Plant Sensor takes multiple readings of three different measurements over a period of at least 24 hours:
- Temperature
- Light
- Soil Moisture
When you plug the sensor into your USB port, it uploads the data collected. Then, PlantSmart uses an algorithm that takes into consideration the following items to develop a list of plants recommended for your specific location:
- The environmental data from your reading at a specific location in your yard or home ensures plants can thrive given the temperature, light, and humidity in that specific location or microclimate
- Local weather conditions from our weather database
- For outdoor readings, USDA Zone (cold hardiness) and AHS Zone (heat zone) are considered in recommending plants.
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How do zones affect my readings?
Hardiness and heat zones are used to help determine which plants will survive in your area based on their ability to survive various cold and hot extremes. We use this in conjunction with the exact environmental temperature readings for your desired plant locations to ensure the plant can survive and thrive in the specific location.
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What are the technical specifications of the PlantSmart Plant Sensor?
Min Max Additional Information Measurements Light 25 ft-c 12,000 ft-c Measures Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) Temperature (Air and Soil) 32 °F 120 °F Measures ambient air temperature + solar-radiated heat (like a leaf) Soil moisture 0% 35% Measurement Duration All sensors 24 hours 2 weeks These specifications do not apply to Water mode, as Water mode is based on instantaneous measurements Battery Life* AAA Alkaline 4 months 6 months The sensor is compatible with rechargeable batteries, but cannot recharge them
*Battery life will vary according to use
Operating/Storage Conditions Temperature, Battery Installed 10 °F 120 °F Humidity 0% RH 95% RH -
What's Recommend mode?
In Recommend mode the sensor takes snapshots of temperature, sunlight and humidity in 15-minute increments at the location you choose. After 24 hours, you plug your sensor into your computer’s USB port, to discover which plants will thrive where your other plants have shriveled up and died. Our online interface then allows you to filter these recommendations by name, by type of plant, special features, colors and more.
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What's Monitor mode?
For those struggling plants you already own, the PlantSmart Plant Sensor works as a Plant Doctor, on call to diagnose what might be stressing your frail-looking Coleus or why your Hydrangea never seems to take off.
In Monitor mode the sensor not only measures sunlight and temperature, but also provides plant-specific feedback when your plant needs to be watered and fed (fertilizer subscription required). When you plug your sensor in after a reading, the PlantSmart Plant Doctor provides fine-tuned charts and feedback on whether your plant’s basic needs are being met, along with specific instructions for resolving whatever it is that's ailing it.
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What's Water mode?
Right out of the box, the PlantSmart Plant Sensor is set to Water mode. This quick tool provides instantaneous soil-moisture feedback, so you can figure out, on the fly, which of your plants need to be watered - without getting your fingers dirty.
Still have questions? Please write to us at info@easybloom.com. We'd love to hear from you!