Here’s a look at some popular gadgets that claim to make watering houseplants easier:
Aqua Globes: These decorative glass balls are advertised all over TV as a worry free way to water houseplants. Just fill and insert into the soil and they will slowly water your soil as it dries out for 2 weeks. How does it do it? As soil dries it releases oxygen, which enters the globe, displacing some of the water as it does so. But does it really work? The reviews are mixed at best. The 2 week estimate is assuming the plant is not in full sun, bright light or high temps, all of which will dry the soil out faster and shorten the Aqua Globe’s effectiveness. Also, despite its claims you only need one per plant, larger plants will actually need two or more. Overall they do seem to work, but bear in mind since they are glass they are quite fragile and break easily, and do have to be refilled regularly.
Botanicalls: This is a very interesting gadget, which actually allows a plant to send a message to its owner via Twitter when it needs watering. Developed by researchers at New York University, it consists of soil moisture sensors connected to a circuit board. The included software lets the user set the type of plant and soil being used. When moisture levels are detected to be too low or too high, a wireless signal is sent to Twitter alerting the owner. The message the plant sends via the software can also be customized from the standard “I’m thirsty, please water me.” One of the developers, Kate Hartman, has her Pothos plant hooked up to the device and its Twitter account has over 2,000 followers.
Yes, it does work, but at $99 each, it would get quite expensive to hook up an entire houseplant collection, and it needs to be assembled by the user, something that may be intimidating to the less technologically inclined houseplant lover. Still, it’s a fun novelty and may even be ideal for the particularly absentminded plant person.
Moisture Meters: These aren’t new, but retailing for around $5-$20 they are inexpensive and effective. They consist of a metal probe attached to a meter than can sense the amount of moisture in the soil. While some will provide very detailed status, the most popular ones simply show “Dry” “Moist” “Wet” and “Saturated” or a scale of 1-10 with the middle numbers most desirable. Just insert it in the soil and read. Very simple to use and they are durable too. They can be found at most home centers, nurseries, and box stores. If they are not available, an ordinary pencil can do the job too. Insert it in the soil and see where the moisture line is. This gives a very accurate idea of how dry the soil is. If the mark is lower than an inch or two, it’s time to water.
Watering plants doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. Sometimes the simplest methods are the best.
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