Amazon just upgraded Alexa with a new plant-care expertise skill and smart home routine. These additions can do everything from explaining how to care for your specific potted pals to automatically adjusting your smart lights or smart thermostat to help them grow. Simply start by saying, “Alexa, be my plant whisperer” to have your Echo device quietly share positive affirmations to your house plants.
Starting today (May 22), you can now ask Alexa more than 35 new questions ranging from "How much light does my Aloe Vera need?" to "how often should I repot my peace lily?" Amazon worked with TV botanist James Wong (best known for the series "Secrets of Your Food" for the non-Brits like myself) to curate answers for the most frequently asked questions and create a new routine.
An Alexa routine can automate most of the plant care; it's especially handy if you don't have a green thumb. Just enter the Routines section of the Alexa app to find the new plant-based routine in the Featured category.
The new routine will remind you to water your plants, automatically turn your smart lights on and off on a schedule, adjust your temperature, talk to your plant, and then play a plant-friendly music playlist to encourage growth. The update also deeply expands Alexa's knowledge of plant types and ways to care for them.
Here's the full list of plant care questions Alexa can answer at launch:
| 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 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 need? | 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? | Row 18 - Cell 1 |
Plant Whisperer is accessible from any Alexa device. This new feature looks to be super helpful as we head into summer, and it's got the potential to be one of the best Alexa skills. Extending Alexa's help to create a greener environment can definitely help it achieve that in our book.
More from Tom's Guide
