Customer Reviews

EasyBloom 1000 Plant Sensor

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

When I received the EasyBloom Plant Sensor, I was excited because I had been struggling to grow plants on my new property despite years of gardening experience. This product promised to recommend and monitor my plants to determine what was going wrong. Unfortunately, it measures nothing more than I could tell by sticking my own finger in the soil and watching the shadows for a day: moisture and light. Yes, it measures temperature and relative humidity, but those vary both daily and seasonally and can be figured out by walking out the door. It does not analyze the soil -- probably the most crucial information that cannot be intuitively known -- for type, fertility, toxicity, and acidity. You must discover and enter this yourself on the web site.

The monitor setting does basically the same thing, only over a longer time so you can see the moisture and light fluctuations over a longer period of time; again, it cannot diagnose over- or under-fertilization, incorrect acidity, compacted or too sandy soil, diseases, or pests, the most common reasons a plant dies. The EasyBloom can take a snapshot of the location for future reference.

Probably the best part of the device is the web interface that provides detailed information on recommended plants. Yes, this information can be found online or in a good plant book, but the site shows thumbnail photos of the plants that can then lead the user to a more detailed description, including care, known pests, height, growing zones, attractiveness to birds, shape, etc. I really would have liked a "deer resistant" option; maybe they will add that in the future. Strangely enough, the site does not recommend the plants that *are* thriving in my landscape.

Beginning gardeners will find this device much more useful than experienced ones since they may not yet know how to use light conditions (shade, partial shade, afternoon sun, etc.) and soil moisture content to select the proper plants for an area. Unfortunately, they are also the ones who might over-fertilize or select the wrong plant for the soil type.

Although the EasyBloom is not comprehensive enough for advanced help, it would make a good housewarming gift for someone's first home. I'll be the first in line when they upgrade the device to include soil testing and fertility.

UPDATE: I purposefully mistreated a houseplant to see what the EasyBloom device would say -- and it was spot on. It identified low light and improper watering, making a suggestion to repot it (to get a more absorbent soil) and place it in a better lit location.

Also, as of December 15, 2008, Easy Bloom supports Macs with its online software. I've used it -- and it works well. Please read the comments attached to this review to see the response of an EasyBloom rep who lists some changes since I wrote the above.

-- Debbie Lee Wesselmann

I'm a landscape architect specializing in design, construction and planning. I am not an expert in plant materials like a botanist. The `easy Bloom' was a real eye opener for me. It has a library of thousands of plants with detailed descriptions of anything a botanist or ordinary `garden-variety' gardener would want to know. It is virtually an on-line encyclopedia and more expansive than the Western Garden Book.

Some of the options were: Plant recommendations, Environmental Conditions, Edit (later info) and Notes (personal). Searching for a certain plant, you can choose: Bloom Color, Bloom Season, Foliage, Characteristics, Special features, Height, Plant Type, Shape/Form and Soil Type.

There are SO MANY options. I decided to try it on indoor and outdoor plants, but finally decided to share just one problem spot I have. On my deck I have a large potted barrel about two feet high by three feet in diameter with good loamy soil. Oddly, nothing seems to really do well there. So I planted the `easy Bloom' in the dirt for 24 hours. Then I placed the USB stick into my computer and was asked to refine my plant choices by: Bloom Color, Bloom Season, Foliage characteristics, Special features, Height, Plant Type, Shape/Form and Soil Type.

I picked through all the options of what I wanted and within a few seconds, the `best' plants choices for my barrel were for:
Height: fern (American Maidenhair), Hyacinth, Tulip, Carpet Bugle, Lily, Coleus.

Bloom (of nine colors I chose red): Coleus, Tulip, Geranium.

Environmental Conditions told me for that 24 hour period: Average temp was (51-55 degrees) with mostly midday sun and moderate to fairly high humidity.

The final plant choices for my outside deck barrel for all options were: Coleus, Geranium and Friendship Plant. Now that I know what will look best year round for my barrel, I can just move to each pot, garden area or indoor pot and get several great choices.

Next I plan on choosing why my indoor `Climbing Onion' that is going through dormancy, will need to survive and thrive. I'll be ready for the spring!

I have never seen a plant monitor like this that is so extensive or thorough with thousands of plants and analysis. This is a must for any serious gardener - especially those who think they know it all (and I know quite a few of those). Just be prepared - after owning one of these, they WILL know it all!

I can't tell you how embarrassing it is to be given a houseplant as a gift and watch it die right when your friend makes his way back for a visit. Not fun. The easybloom plant sensor is really easy to use right out of the box (just plug it into your usb port on you pc, install the software, and create an easybloom user account - all within 5 minutes). I used it in water mode first to check my potted plants, and it promptly beeped at me telling me I needed to water some plants. Now I'm using it in monitor mode which should give me feedback on my poor freesia to figure out what's wrong with it. I think the sensor works well with the easybloom.com website and I'm excited to get this sensor to work in my garden!

Finally someone invented this product! I cannot tell you how many plants I have killed in my lifetime. I never know if they die because I watered them too much, too little, or if it wasn't getting enough light, etc. Now there is actually a device that can tell me the answer! Thank you thank you. No more throwing dead plants and $$ down the drain. Love it!

This product offers very little as far as what plants need. No nutritional analysis (NPK), PH of soil, only light and moisture. Using your better judgement would be more effective and allow you to learn as a gardener. In order to access the plant database the company offers, you have to agree to allow the company to view your viewing history (last viewed website). Also the company allows itself to sell your info to companies it deems appropriate (see agreement). Why this is neccessary to find a good spot for a plant, I am at a loss. This is the cutest package of spyware ever. Unfortunate that a good idea fell extremely short of potentials. What else should I expecting in our times :(

So far, very pleased. Working my way around the yard. Plant recommendations are right on. Easy to use, just have to wait 24 hours to get results. Especially liked the reports on status of current plants. Now know why they are not doing well.
Marvin

The PlantSense EasyBloom Plant Sensor requires a paid subscription to use the soil analysis feature. I did not see any notice of this until I received the product and was installing the software. Even then, the cost of the subscription was not provided. I also wasn't able to adequately understand how the other features were accessed. The product was purchased from X-treme Geek. I called about returning it. The representative was friendly and helpful, and I quickly obtained a refund from Amazon. Thank you, X-treme Geek!

Got this as a Christmas gift. I remember seeing this somewhere before and just thought it was gimicy. It is not. I've placed it in areas where I already thought I knew the conditions and it's reports were spot-on. Very cool. Most useful for me on one of my bananas was the moisture sensing feature. I've used moisture probes, my finger, and visual to check the moisture around my bananas and all showed me the moisture content was good. But, the banana was showing signs of not enough moisture. The EasyBloom probe showed the moisture content for bananas (Musa Bajoo) was NOT adequate. I increased watering on one plant a bit and viola! The banana responded very nicely. I've since modified the soil to retain more moisture so I won't need supplement the natural rain fall.
I love this EasyBloom tool now. If it could only analys soil chemicals (i.e. N-P-K, calcium, mg, etc.) then I would give it 5 (or even 6 if I could :) stars!!
Very simple tool to use. It is actually fun...how many tools are FUN to use?

I highly recommend it as a supplement to existing tools and knowledge.

Dirt Diver

I was eager to see this product when I came across related news about a month ago, and I must say, I have not been disappointed. What an easy to use, intuitive gift this product is -- finally, I'm not playing hit or miss with my backyard and garden. Works great, and gives cogent advice for those of us who weren't born with what seems like the mystical ability to make plants grow. Thanks. Rest assured, several of my extended family will be receiving this for a (much welcome) holiday gift.

I got this product with excitement & placed it at the corner right near the window in our living room for 24 hours. No data from the sensor appeared. I reinstalled the software & placed the product at the same place for another 24 hours. No data was seen when the sensor was plugged to my laptop! I checked the battery & light signal, tried it another 24 hours. It still didn't work! My husband helped me by reinstalling the software & placed the sensor at another corner of our living room for another 24 hours. Nothing changed! I called the company & was said that the sensor works only at the window where the sunlight can shine on the sensor! I don't intend to plant flowers on the windows! I planned to plant flowers or plants in my office, in the living room & some in the rest-room. So I bought this product. I read carefully their the words on their product that I can "put the sensor in the stand & place it where you want to plant."! I asked the representative on phone to explain. She said I should only plant flowers/plants at the windows! How frustrating! Luckily, Amazon allowed me to return this product & refunded me! What a good service- Amazon.com! After I returned the product to Amazon, Easybloom company emailed me: "the EasyBloom sensor requires some degree of natural light in order to recommend plants that are sure to thrive. That said, we do *NOT* require the sensor to be on a windowsill or directly next to a window. I apologize if this was unclear.". But it's too late! Besides, I already placed it right under the window but it didn't work. I'm tired to give it another try!