Gadget review: Koubachi Wi-Fi Plant Sensor

I’VE just received an email from Gerald, my potted palm tree. He has a list of complaints – it’s a bit too cold next to the window, he wants a drink and ideally a little less light. Fussy ferns, picky palm trees and howling hydrangeas now have an outlet for their frustrations with the Koubachi Wi-Fi Plant Sensor

About the same height as a bottle of Coke and resembling a mini golf putter, the Wi-Fi Plant Sensor has taken gadgetry to another level of OCD encouragement. In all honesty, I held the perhaps mistaken belief that sticking my thumb in soil was good enough. After taking the Koubachi out of its packaging, the instructions first linked the plant sensor with my Wi-Fi network. Second step was to select just what kind of indoor plant Gerald really was, with a rather useful system of leaf, stem and shape identification which pegged him as Ficus binnendijkii or Long Leaf Ficus. Gerald then appeared in 3D form on the my.koubachi.com portal and clicking him informed me that he wanted misting in six days and to be fertilised in four weeks. I told you he was demanding. Another button on the portal showed me his ideal moisture level (42 per cent), temperature and ambient light measurement. These factors are emailed whenever they reach critical thresholds for your particular potted pal.

Things would get expensive if you had to sink £89 per plant, but thankfully you can rotate the plant sensor between plants via the portal. The instructions say to leave the sensor for a fortnight before rotating. For some this gadget could represent TLC in the extreme but it would be the ideal birthday present for green-fingered friends.

Koubachi Wi-Fi Plant Sensor

£89.99 from no1gadgetstore.co.uk; for more 
information see www.koubachi.com