Are you an aspiring green-thumb or a well-intended but accidental plant murderer?
In the era of ‘plant mums and dads’, many are eager to avoid the slight heartbreak that comes with watching a beloved (and likely expensive) plant wilt and turn orange under the sun. Fortunately, plant-loving Amazon Alexa owners have received a major free upgrade that will help prevent them from inadvertently killing their plants. The tech giant has collaborated with botanist James Wong to provide new plant expertise to its Alexa voice assistant. Alexa can now answer over 35 questions about plants, from the amount of light required by your Aloe Vera to the watering schedule for your cheese plant.
New Plant Care Routine by Alexa
A new routine is now accessible through the Alexa app, which records the ideal growing conditions for your potted plants. The new green routine that Alexa can perform includes reminders to check on and water your plants, adjust lighting with a timer, regulate heating with a timer, offer positive plant affirmations, play a plant-friendly music playlist, and finally, turn off heating and lights.
###What’s an Alexa routine?
Routines serve as shortcuts for Alexa, grouping a series of actions into one routine to save users time. Users can activate routines through voice commands to Alexa or via the Alexa app. To access the routine, users can follow these steps:
- Open the Alexa mobile app
- Select ‘more’ from the bottom navigation menu
- Choose ‘routines’ from the options
- Tap ‘featured’ from the sliding top menu
- Select ‘Plant Whisperer’
- Choose the devices for the routine
- Save the routine
- Initiate the routine by saying ‘Alexa, mind my plants!’
Alexa is equipped with adequate knowledge to care for common plants like aloe vera, spider plant, Chinese money plant, moth orchid, peace lily, cheese plant, rubber plant, and basil. While Alexa may not be proficient with rare species, it can help users maintain popular indoor plants.
###New Questions to Ask Alexa
Here is the complete list of new plant care questions that Alexa can respond to:
- How much light does my aloe vera need?
- What kind of compost does my aloe vera need?
- How often should I water my aloe vera?
- How often should I repot my aloe vera?
- Why is my aloe vera unhappy?
- How much light does my spider plant need?
- How often should I water my spider plant?
…And many more questions related to plant care are answered by Alexa.
###What is Alexa?
If you’re unfamiliar with Alexa, here’s a brief overview:
- Alexa is an “intelligent” personal assistant developed by Amazon.
- She can be found on various devices, including Amazon’s Echo speakers.
- Alexa responds to voice commands and can perform a multitude of tasks.
- From providing news updates to ordering groceries, Alexa can handle complex tasks.
- By saying “Alexa” to an Echo speaker, users can activate the assistant.
- Powered by artificial intelligence, Alexa continuously improves her capabilities and understanding of user needs.
With this latest upgrade, Amazon Alexa users can enhance their plant care skills and enjoy a greener, healthier living space with the help of their favorite voice assistant.