Can't Remember to Water Your Plants? There's an App for That

Looking to go high-tech in your gardening endeavors? Tools are evolving to incorporate technology—including artificial intelligence—to help us keep plants healthier, avoid unpleasant tasks, and even grow crops indoors over the winter. Here, a quick look at some of these gardening innovations from the AP:

• Mowing: If you don't enjoy mowing the lawn, you can buy a robot to do it for you. Many self-guided mowers, like the Segway Navimow, Husqvarna Automower, and Sunseeker X7, will handle the task on a schedule, run quietly, then return to a charging station without human intervention, beyond the setup. Plus, many can be controlled with a mobile app. Some autonomous lawn mowers use AI technology to adapt to your grass growth. Sensors reroute them around pets, children, patio tables, and garden decor.

• Plant care: Unsure about whether your plants need watering or are getting sufficient sunlight? There are apps for that. If you're a busy type who could use watering, fertilizing, pruning, and repotting reminders, apps like Planta or Plant Parent can help keep you on track. Provide info on an individual plant or create an inventory of all of your green friends, and these apps will tailor a schedule for each, then notify you when it's time to provide those maintenance tasks.
• Plant care II: Physical monitoring devices can take things a step further. A gadget like Flora Pod, for example, when plunged into soil—indoors or out—will send your phone real-time details about moisture levels, humidity, temperature, and light exposure, plus care recommendations for thousands of plant species.
• Hydroponics and more: So-called smart gardens are self-watering, self-fertilizing, and self-lighting units that enable users to grow herbs and vegetables indoors year-round. They're available in a variety of sizes to accommodate a single plant, or even dozens. Some, like Gardyn and AeroGarden, rely on soil-less hydroponic systems. Others, like the Click & Grow system, use pods filled with traditional growing media.