You water every plant on Sunday, mean to do it again next week, and suddenly it's been three weeks and the fern looks tired. Or you can't remember if you watered yesterday, so you water again. This guide walks through why watering slips and a few habits that help, then how to keep a watering schedule for each plant with Plant Cat, our plant watering reminder for iPhone.
Why watering is easy to forget
Plants don't ask. Most of us forget for the same few reasons:
- There's no fixed day. One plant wants water more often than another, so a single "water day" doesn't fit them all.
- You can't remember the last time. Memory is good at "I should water" and bad at "I watered on Tuesday".
- Life moves the routine. A busy week, a trip or a change of season, and the habit breaks.
A few habits that help
None of these need an app, and they work better with one:
- Check before you pour. Push a finger into the soil. Many common houseplants like the top of the soil to dry a little between waterings, but not all of them do, so look up your own plant or ask where you bought it.
- Let the reminder start a check, not a pour. A schedule tells you when to look; the soil tells you whether to water.
- Expect it to change. Light, warmth, pot size and the time of year all change how fast soil dries. Many plants need less in the cooler, darker months.
- Write down when you did it. That's the part memory gets wrong, and it stops you watering twice.
Set up your plants in Plant Cat
- Add a plant. Tap Add your first plant, or Add plant (the +) at the top of the home screen.
- Name it. Type a name in Name, like Monstera, and a room if you like (Room (optional)). Tap the camera square to pick a photo, which makes plants easy to tell apart.
- Set your schedule. Under Your schedule, Water is already on, at Every 7 days. Use the − and + buttons to set your own number. Turn on Feed, Mist or Repot too if you want reminders for those.
- Tap Add. The schedule is counted from today, and you can change it any time.
Plant Cat doesn't suggest a schedule for your kind of plant, identify plants or give care advice. The numbers are yours.
Watered it a few days ago? Open the plant and tap the Water card under Schedule. Set Last done to the day you watered, and the screen shows when it's next due. Then tap Save.
Get one reminder in the morning
Tap Settings (the gear) on the home screen. Morning reminder is on, and At sets the hour, from 5 AM to noon. You get one notification on mornings when something's due, listing every plant. Nothing on the other days, and never one per plant.
Plant Cat asks to send notifications the first time there's a plant to remind about, not when you first open it. If notifications are off, Settings says Notifications are off for Plant Cat, so this reminder can't reach you. Tap Open Settings under it to turn them on. Each time you open the app, it sets reminders for up to 30 days ahead, so open it now and then.
Tick it off on Today
The home screen starts with Today: everything due or late, with how many days late it is. When you've watered, tap the round button at the end of the row. Tapped by mistake? Tap it again to undo. When nothing's left, Today says All done for today. Ticking a task off in the app also updates that morning's reminder.
You can also open a plant and tap Done today next to the task. Every tick goes into the plant's History, newest first and grouped by month, so "did I water this week?" has an answer. To take an entry back, press and hold it and tap Remove from history.
Keep finding the soil still wet when the reminder comes? Open the plant, tap its Water card and give it more days. Dry well before? Give it fewer. Each task can be set from every 1 day to every 730.
Going away? Leave a sitter sheet
On the home screen, tap the printer button (Sitter sheet). Pick the first day you're away (From), how many days (up to 14) and the Paper (Letter or A4). Then add a note, like where the watering can is and your number.
The sheet is one page with a row for each plant and a box to tick on each day something's due. It shows your plants' names and your note; when the rows have room, it adds each plant's photo, room and your own schedule. One page holds about 25 plants, and any more are counted at the foot of the page. Tap Print, or Share to send it as a PDF.
What it costs
Plant Cat is free, all of it: unlimited plants with photos, your own schedule and reminders, the care history and the plant-sitter sheet. There's nothing to buy, no ads and no account. More on the Plant Cat page.
Every plant, photo and log is kept on your device and in your own backups unless you share it.
Quick answers
How often should I water my houseplants?
It depends on the plant, its light, its pot and the season, so check the soil and look up your plant. Plant Cat doesn't give care advice; it keeps the schedule you set.
Can each plant have its own watering schedule?
Yes. Every plant has its own schedule, and you set how often each task comes round.
Will I get a notification for every plant?
No. You get one notification on a morning when something's due, listing every plant.
Can it remind me to feed or mist my plants too?
Yes. Turn on Feed, Mist or Repot when you add a plant, or open the plant later and tap Add a task.
Do I need an account?
No. There's no account and nothing to sign in to.
Try Plant Cat
Try Plant Cat: free, nothing to buy, no sign-up → iyio.com/apps/plant-cat