Elho's Smart Pebble is the discreet houseplant monitor I use to help my plants thrive — it takes the guesswork out of watering and fertilising

Houseplant care can be tricky, especially with every species requiring a slightly different level of upkeep. So, when Elho released their new Smart Pebble houseplant monitor in January, I was excited to give it a try.

Elho’s Smart Pebble is a plant monitor which connects to an app on your phone and keeps you up-to-date with your plant’s light, fertiliser and watering needs. I let my Calathea makoyana plant play guinea pig and so far, looking after it has been a breeze — it really takes the guesswork out of caring for a prayer plant.

At £39.99, Elho's Smart Pebble won’t break the bank, but it’s worth bearing in mind that the monitor serves one plant at a time. Personally, I love it — but I thought I’d delve a little deeper into the features to help you decide whether you want to make the investment.

True to its name, Elho’s Smart Pebble is defined by its pebble-shaped topper — the part that sticks out of the soil. I have the earthy brown shade, which looks right at home nestled amongst the foliage.

The stick below it is simple, too, but it includes handy markers so you know exactly how deep you should insert the monitor into the soil.

Instructions in the box guide you through the process of connecting your monitor to the app (It’s called 'elho plant care'). The connection process itself was fairly straightforward, but what I did find tricky was actually removing the cover of the pebble in the first place. I got there in the end, but it was a little fiddly!

Once I’d managed to open the device, the app guided me through the connection process a few times, and I made myself an account. Next, I had to identify my plant, and there were two ways I could do this: either scan the plant with my camera, or enter the species name myself. As I knew my plant was a Calathea makoyana, I quickly found the plant I was looking for, named it (‘Mako’ — an ode to its botanical name and my childhood love of H2O: Just Add Water) and popped the monitor in the soil.

After about 20 minutes, the monitor flashed to let me know that care updates were available. Elho’s Smart Pebble only flashes once per hour, so it isn’t disruptive — in fact, I’ve only noticed it a handful of times in the weeks I’ve been using it.

The first thing my Smart Pebble picked up was that my plant needed watering, and sure enough, half an hour after I gave it some water, the app updated itself to let me know water levels were looking good ('perfect', actually). My Smart Pebble also identified that my plant needs fertilising, which I thought was really clever. It's a brilliant way to keep any houseplant problems at bay, in winter, summer, or any season between.

I really love the layout and design of the app. It’s easy to navigate, there are easy-to-digest facts and information about your plant species, and there’s even an AI chat section you can use to ask questions about your plant and receive answers in real-time. I actually asked it whether I could feed my houseplant in winter — just to be safe!

More clever features are the temperature and light level monitors. The temperature is continuously monitored by the Smart Pebble and the status is provided in the app, but to measure the light levels, you have to use your phone. The app guides this process, asking you to move your phone towards the lightest part of the room. Actually, my app told me that the room was a bit dark for my plant, so I’ve shuffled it to a lighter spot.

Overall, I really love Elho’s Smart Pebble houseplant monitor. It’s really taken the guesswork out of caring for my plant, and I feel at ease knowing I’m not over- or under-watering (no more searching for ways to save an overwatered plant for me!).

The price is a little steep if you have multiple houseplants you want to get a read on, so it’s probably a better option if you have one old-favourite or standalone plant you want to keep in pristine condition. That said, the features are on point, and the knowledge you can glean from the app itself makes you feel like a real pro in your plant’s field.