ARE you an aspiring green-thumb or a well-intended but accidental plant murderer?
In the age of 'plant mums and dads', many are aching to avoid the small dose of heartbreak that comes with watching a beloved (and probably pricey) plant turn orange and crinkly in the sun.
Fortunately, plant-loving Amazon Alexa owners have received a major free upgrade that will help stop them killing their plants.
The tech giant has partnered with botanist James Wong to bring some new plant expertise to its Alexa voice assistant.
Alexa can now answer more than 35 questions about plants, from how much light your Aloe Vera needs to how much your need to water your cheese plant.
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“It is easy to be deterred when a plant discolours or dies," said Wong.
"That's why I've loved collaborating with Amazon to upskill Alexa on plant knowledge and develop a plant care routine to help Brits gain more confidence in caring for house plants".
A new routine is also available through the Alexa app, that will note down the optimum growing conditions for whichever potted plant you have.
The new green routine that Alexa can enact goes like this:
- Reminder to check on and/or water your plants
- Turn lights on, and set to go off with a timer
- Turn on heating and set to 20-25-degrees, and set to go off with a timer
- Whisper a positive plant affirmation
- Play plant-friendly music playlist
- Turn off heating
- Turn off lights
Alexa might not be skilled enough yet to tackle the more rare species.
But it will have much of the know-how for keeping the likes of an aloe vera, spider plant, Chinese money plant, moth orchid, peace lily, cheese plant, rubber plant, and herbs like the fickle basil, alive.
Meryem Tom, Amazon Alexa’s UK’s Managing Director said: “Alexa’s knowledge meets our love for plant care.
"And with the summer coming up, it’s the perfect time for our customers to have a play around with the new Alexa routine and level-up their plant care skills in the process!”
New questions to ask Alexa
Here is the full list of plant care questions Alexa can now answer:
How much light does my aloe vera need?
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What kind of compost does my aloe vera need?
How often should I water my aloe vera?
How often do I need to 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?
Why is my spider plant not producing any babies?
Why does my spider plant have brown leaves?
What is wrong with my Chinese money plant?
How do I propagate my spider plant?
How much light does my moth orchid need?
How much light does my peace lily need?
How often do I need to water my moth orchid?
How often do I repot my peace lily?
Will my moth orchid flower again?
Why does my peace lily have brown leaves?
Why is my moth orchid not flowering?
How often should I water my peace lily?
Should I cut off the flowers of my moth orchid?
Why is my peace lily not flowering?
How much light does my cheese plant need?
How much light does my rubber plant?
How much water does my cheese plant need?
How often should I water my rubber plant?
Why does my cheese plant not have any holes in its leaves?
How often do I repot my rubber plant?
Why does my cheese plant look unhappy?
Why is my rubber plant losing its leaves?
Why are my cheese plant leaves turning brown?
How do I clean the leaves of my rubber plant?
What are the best plants to clean the air?
How much light does my Chinese money plant need?
What is the secret to a green thumb?
How often should I water my Chinese money plant?
Why did my basil plant die?
How do I propagate my Chinese money plant?
