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10 best plant apps and flower identification apps for Android
Nature fans don’t have a ton of uses for mobile. After all, mobile phones can’t plant crops, weed gardens, or go on hikes for you. They can be very useful, though. Namely, they’re helpful for identifying plants, tips and tricks on how to grow stuff better, and general information about plants, flowers, food, and other stuff. There are a ton of apps that deal with the plant side of nature. Here are the best plant apps and flower identification apps for Android.
We’d also like to give an honorable mention to Google Assistant and Google Search. Both are good tools for finding the answers to some of the more basic questions without the need of a dedicated app.
The best plant apps and flower identification apps for Android
Agrobase
Price: Free
Agrobase is a serious app for farmers and the like. It has an extensive database of plants, weeds, pests, and plant diseases. It’s extremely useful for identifying all kinds of plant life. In addition, the app features a web app, consistent updates, detailed descriptions, good photos, and more. It may be a bit of overkill for the casual gardener, but good information is good information. It’s definitely among the best plant apps.
FlowerChecker
Price: Free / $1.99 with in-app purchases
FlowerChecker is among the most popular flower identification apps. It works as a service. You send in a picture of a flower and an expert tells you what it is. Unfortunately, the process isn’t free. Each identification will cost you about $1. They claim it’s because humans identify the plans and not a computer algorithm. Thus, the money goes to paying those people. It worked well in our testing. The app is also probably most useful for those flowers that you just can’t find on a Google Search.
Google Play Books (or your favorite e-reader platform)
Price: Free / Book prices vary
Growing plants is one of mankind’s oldest activities. There is a virtually endless supply of written information on the subject. That includes history, plant and flower identification, how to grow stuff, and tons of other information. Frankly, there are more book options than there are app options for this topic. Google Play Books is nice because it syncs with your Google account on your Android device. Other options include Amazon Kindle and Nook by Barnes&Noble. They all have books about plants, gardening, bugs, plant identification, and other such material.
See also: The best eBook reader apps for Android
PictureThis
Price: Free / Up to $19.99
PictureThis is one of the newer plant apps. It works a bit like Google Goggles and similar apps. You snap a picture of a flower, plant, berry, whatever. The app then uses the photo to identify it for you. Unlike FlowerChecker, this one uses computer algorithms instead of human hands. Thus, there are a few errors here and there. However, in general, the app actually seems to work pretty well. It features a database of thousands of plants, advice columns, and more. It does have the occasional bug, but usually nothing too serious. There is a premium version that unlocks all of the features, but you do get some stuff for free.
See also: The best hiking apps for Android
Plantex
Price: Free
Plantix is a plants app for growing things. It offers a bunch of information on growing various crops and other plants. The app also helps with diagnosing problems, including various diseases and other potential problems. The app has a global reach with tons of people helping with regional plant information and even local in some cases. Thus, it somewhat functions as a social media or forum space for growers as well. The app is free to download with no ads or in-app purchases.
PlantNet
Price: Free
PlantNet is one of the most popular plant apps. It works a lot like PictureThis. You take a picture of a plant. The app uploads the photo to the service and tries to identify the plant. It features a bunch of plants, flowers, bushes, fruit plants, and the like. It worked well for us. The app developers do say that the app has trouble with ornamental plants. It’s something to be aware of. It’s completely free to download and use with no ads or in-app purchases.
See also: The best camping apps for Android
Wateria
Price: Free
Wateria is a water reminder app and a plant tracker. The app lets you input your plant collection and then add stuff like watering times. The app reminds you to water your plants based on your input. It’s a relatively simple app and it worked well in our testing. You can even name your plants and view gardening tips. The app is free with no ads or in-app purchases. It’s an overall great app for this sort of thing.
What’s That Flower
Price: Free / $3.29
What’s That Flower is one of the more popular flower identification apps. It doesn’t rely on things like photo uploads. Instead, it starts with a basic questionnaire. You tell it the color, what kind of pedals it has, its environment, etc. The app then tells you what it could possibly be. This is excellent for recalling flowers you didn’t get a photo for. The app supports over 600 different types of flowers. The free version contains ads with online-only support. The pro version is offline-capable, removes ads, and adds some other criteria to search for.
YouTube
Price: Free / $12.99 per month
YouTube has just about everything and it’s a bit of a lame pick for a list like this. However, there are tons of videos about plants. You can choose between purely informational content, tips and tricks for growing and maintaining plants, gardening tutorials, plant identification tutorials, recipes for stuff that you grow, and a lot more. It’s not great for everything. However, there is simply a wealth of information here if you don’t mind searching around a little bit. YouTube is free to use with advertising. You can pay $12.99 per month to remove the ads, enable background play, and more.
Various retailers
Price: Free / Items costs vary
Various online retailers are extremely useful for gardeners. They are quick, easy access to various tools, including basic gardening equipment. Online retailers can also offer quick access to weed killers, lawn bags, and even seeds. You can even get books and other reference materials for educational purposes. Most of them, like Home Depot or Lowe’s, have physical locations where you can get living plants to transplant into your garden. The apps are free so there’s no harm in shopping around to see what you can find.
See also: The best shopping apps for Android
If we missed any great plant apps or flower identification apps, tell us about them in the comments! You can also click here to check out our latest Android app and game lists!
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