If something's missing here, ask directly — we'd rather answer than have you guess.
We can't speak for other apps, so here's what PlantAdvocate does. It starts from a catalog whose researched care values are cited to the extension service or botanical garden that published them, then adds your plant's own history. And it schedules checks, not chores: it tells you when to look at a plant, not when to water it.
Each care value in the researched catalog carries a citation to the page that published it. Older catalog values that aren't cited yet are labelled that way, and the check schedules, which PlantAdvocate wrote for 129 common plants, are not cited. The sources are extension services and botanical gardens: NC State Extension, the Royal Horticultural Society, Missouri Botanical Garden, and the Clemson, UF/IFAS, UGA, Penn State and University of Maryland extension services. PlantAdvocate is independent. The organizations it cites have not reviewed or endorsed it. Every researched species page shows its sources. When a value comes from the plant's genus rather than the species itself, the app labels it as borrowed. Advice can still be wrong, so never rely on it to decide whether a plant is safe to eat or touch.
It shows what the cited sources say about toxicity, and it states serious hazards plainly. When the catalog has no record, it says so: no record never means safe. Edible plants are shown as edible only with the conditions the source gives, or not at all. These notes repeat what the sources publish. They are not medical or veterinary advice. The app is not a substitute for a vet, a doctor or poison control.
The catalog keeps growing, from houseplants to shrubs, bulbs and vegetables, and it never fills a gap with a guess. If your plant isn't there yet, email us the species name at support@plantadvocate.ai to help us prioritize.
Your plants, growing areas and care history are yours. We don't sell them or share them with advertisers, and the app has no ads or tracking. The community census is off unless you turn it on. Full details are in our privacy policy.
Both. Describe each place you grow — a windowsill, a balcony, a raised bed, a back border — as a growing area. PlantAdvocate checks each plant against that spot's space and soil, and outdoors against its hours of sun. It folds the local forecast into advice for outdoor plants. Indoors it can't tell how bright a room is yet, and it says so.
It's really free. PlantAdvocate has no subscription, no in-app purchases and no ads.
PlantAdvocate is in beta on iPhone. Email support@plantadvocate.ai and we'll tell you when you can download it.