Our Favorite Gadgets for Plant Parents

 You don’t need a degree in horticulture to help your indoor garden grow, just a few key pieces of gear.

HOW was I, a trained gardener, unable to maintain her houseplants? My peace flower drooped, my begonia turned brown, and my African violets sighed as bugs circled their leaves like vultures there in the mirror's reflection. My houseplants hated me even though they were in a warm room beside a bright window. I was a neglectful plant mother who neglected to spend enough time with my own children because I was too busy tending to other, more significant plants. And it manifested.

However, I wasn't going to quit my day job or the backyard garden I enjoyed working in on the weekends. I complained to my husband, "If only I had a houseplant nanny." I'd like someone who is knowledgeable about horticulture to visit and take care of my houseplants.

He was right. It was a touch absurd to hire someone to do the very thing I knew how to do best. Then again, with a job, three kids, four pets, and a life in general, I had little time to water, remember when I’d watered, kill bug eggs with alcohol, figure out lighting problems, and on and on. Just thinking about it overwhelmed me. Ten more things for me to do. Well, maybe four, but hey, it felt like ten.

Finally, after months of anxiety-inducing, half-assed houseplant care, I figured out a key piece of the puzzle. I didn’t need a human plant nanny. I needed an artificial one. So I started experimenting with tech for houseplant maintenance. To say the least, life changed. For the way better.

I eventually found six items that serve as a sort of houseplant nanny kit after a few failed starts. They now maintain my plants alive as well as healthy and content. Of course, that also means that I'm in good health and am content.

Create Your Own Rain, Sun, and Humidity

Automatic Watering System

You'll need the equipment to meet those needs if you are aware of the type of plant you are growing and its requirements. Although there are many indoor irrigation systems, programming them can get challenging very quickly. If you're good with plants, you could set up a schedule for a plant to receive three minutes of watering once a week, ten minutes once every two weeks, and one minute once a month. However, if your brown thumb is just beginning to become green, you should probably get this Yitika unit. Straightforward and simple to use.

Unlike my irrigation guy who fixes my outdoor lines with a tube cutter, hole punch tool, and friendly smile, you need only a hardy pair of scissors to work the magic here. Don’t be overwhelmed by the math involved in creating an array of lines. Simply subdivide one main line into two and then those into two and two more, and so on until your entire cluster of houseplants is covered. Friendly smile? Optional.

Though the Yikita’s rubber tubing wiggles easily enough over the emitters, adjusting the output flow is trickier. The twisty knobs can shoot too much or drip too little water. I’d put a tray under a test set of pots for a couple of weeks and check for overflow, then tweak. Also, place the filter, which pulls up the water, in a tall cylindrical container, like a 2-liter soda bottle. If put in a shallow bowl, it’ll rise to the surface and suck air, rendering the system useless.

Grow Lights

Grow lights are easy enough to source but are oftentimes designed for small indoor herb gardens or low-growing succulents. Or worse, a nonexistent philodendron that never grows higher than 10 inches. You have a choice to go larger with a professional grower setup that needs scaffolding, or gooseneck LED lights that never seem to reach far enough when clipped to a shelf. For years, I used a metal desk lamp with a swing arm and grow bulb until the springs gave way. I wanted light 16 inches above my plant and that was the only solution.

That was until I found these Potey lights. They’re designed so the light-emitting area is flat and parallel to a container’s surface. They cast full-spectrum light in a wide round swath, similar to how a mounding plant naturally grows, ensuring good coverage of foliage. The best part is the telescoping feature. As the plant grows upward, you can raise the lamp’s height so your green baby doesn’t get scorched.

Smart Cool Mist Humidifier

You'll need a humidifier to keep your plant happy if you live in an area with enough sunlight but not enough humidity or in a house that is continuously heated in the winter. Although it may be tempting to choose the first humidifier you see on the store, you should perhaps think about a smart humidifier like this one. I prefer one that is in the range of a small bedroom and a desktop.

Handle Unwelcome Visitors

While my favorite use for mint is cocktails, I’ve also used it to repel everything from ants to moles. And this spray from Pure Origin, unlike heavier synthetic products and insect repellants, is safe for plants, pets, and people alike. While in a low-tech applicator, it contains a high-tech mix of mint, oils, and soap to deter bugs. Either way, your leaves will look awesome and the ambient air will smell fresh.

One note: Because mint repels insects and rodents, it may also repel your dog or cat. When mine notice the smell, they literally rear back and avoid the whole area. That means if you want to watch TV with your pup in the same room as your plants, you might want to move the plants for a couple of days or allow time for the scent to dissipate, usually 16 to 24 hours. But overall, for a nontoxic solution, mint spray can’t be beat.

So for all the brown thumbs out there, hopefully, you now know enough to at least embark on being a plant parent. I’ve found this kit has saved me not only from stress and hassle but money. I no longer need to toss the African violets I often impulse-buy. Instead, I enlist the help of my houseplant nanny kit to mind my green kids before heading out the door to tend to their outside cousins. The funny thing is they don’t seem to miss me.

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