NEWS – When I was first approached by a PR person about the ePlant, I had to check my calendar to make sure that I hadn’t traveled back in time to April 1st. Although it sounds like a joke, the ePlant TreeTag is a real product that can help track the health of the trees in your yard using AI.
The weatherproof and solar-powered ePlant TreeTag easily installs on a tree and then pairs with an app on your mobile device to wirelessly relay real-time health measurements like growth, contraction, irrigation, lean, stress, temperature, light, carbon capture, and humidity. This sensor helps your tree “tell” you what it needs to keep it healthy.
We all have the best intentions when planting and maintaining trees, but most don’t have a green thumb. We water too much or too little, plant with too much sun or not enough, and never know when to fertilize or prune it. Nothing we do ever seems quite right, which is why up to 50% of urban and household trees can die by age 7. That’s a loss for the tree, our property values, and the planet. Keeping trees alive can feel like a full-time job, and it shouldn’t – it should be a joy to help them and interact with them. Now it is, with ePlant.
For a limited time, you can lock in the early access price of $149 which is $100 off the full price of $249. ePlant’s TreeTags will ship beginning in November 2023. Visit eplant.com for more information and to order.
What do you think? Are sensors like this silly or important? As a self-defined tree hugger, I’m definitely curious. They promise to send me one to review when they become available. My problem will be picking which of the hundreds of trees that are on my property to test with the ePlant sensor, Hey, shouldn’t it be called the eTree? 🙂
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The Companys website has this on the front.
“Trees are important to the planet. Trees are important to ePlant (and should be to you too!). We are deeply passionate about trees and the environment and we strive to promote sustainable practices that benefit both people and the planet. ePlant is leading the charge for a greener and more sustainable future. Join us as we work towards a world where trees thrive.”
They Marketing is leading you to think this is a wonderful “Green” product, that will lead to solving the environmental problems we are facing today.
I’m entirely dubious of the marketing that it’s Saving the Planet, helping to clean the air, reduce carbon footprints, etc etc etc. I like smart things. I’m a gadget nerd. I have some opinions/thoughts on this.
A. You need The sensor AND the Bridge, Both of these are going to have a significant impact on the environment to manufacture. Package, Ship, and market. I also seriously doubt they will last for the lifetime of the tree.
B. These devices need electricity to run, both the sensor and the bridge. This electricity generation also has an impact on the environment. Yes the sensor itself has a solar panel, but based on the pictures, these are just the cheap off the shell solar cells that are manufactured in mass. These are not good for the environment to manufacture and I’ve yet to see one last more than 2-3 years outdoors.
C. This is driven by a cloud service. These Cost lots of money to run, either you are paying a fee to have this, or you are paying by having your data mined, and sold. Remember if you aren’t paying for the service, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT.
D. Trees have lives spanning decades or 100’s of years. What guarantee that this company will last longer than the average 3.5 years of most cloud based “smart products”? As soon as the company decides to stop servicing, maintaining, paying for a cloud server every single one of these sensors, and bridges are literal TRASH, e-waste that will no longer be functional, and end up in a landfill, further negatively impacting the environment.
I can’t really buy into any of the implied “benefits” this product has to the environment. Assuming one sensor DOES actually save the life of a tree, I can’t see how any of the math works out to even break even on total net carbon output needed for the manufacture, operation and support of the device let alone SAVE or REDUCE. Just my too cents.
I totally agree with your points. It’s not clear what other fees are involved as far as some type of monthly subscription. And yes, it’s always doubtful how long these new companies will last. Some don’t even make it the 3.5 yrs that you mention! I’m still interested in what the sensor can tell me about a specific tree in my yard. I’d like to know (and hope to find out) if the info is really useful.