Notorious Plant Killer?: Dallas-based startup OrchidBox develops terrariums for the lackluster green thumb
If you don’t have a green thumb, growing plants can be an absolute nightmare. The day has come where anyone, anywhere (yes, this includes the person who overwatered their grandmother’s African violet) can grow a variety of plants, thanks to Dallas startup OrchidBox.
“It’s sad, I don’t think young people understand just how diverse our wildlife is, and we are losing more and more plant species every day,” Hollis said in an interview.
OrchidBox was developed by Nathan Hollis, who has a background in computer science and a love for plants. Hollis’ creation, an acrylic box that has high-power LED lights, a water indicator level, and a water level viewing window, promises that any user will never kill a plant again.
The OrchidBox comes with built-in intelligence and is Wi-Fi enabled. This allows the box to coordinate with sunrise and sunset times, and send watering alerts straight to a smartphone. The case will also let you know when to water the plant (if you see a red light on the case, you should really water the plant). According to the company website, the OrchidBox uses over 400 lumens over a 4” x 4” x 7” area that includes light flux levels that are approximately 50% of the sun’s intensity on a sunny summer day—a design feature that cannot be found within any other growing device. The sensing technology has been designed to last, so users can grow plants over the years to come.
“While most people think of the stereotypical store-bought orchids, there are actually 50,000 species of orchids, some that are very, very bizarre. Most people don’t know that, and some don’t even know what an orchid is, so we wanted to take the opportunity to teach people,” Hollis said.
The terrarium box comes with: the OrchidBox, a power adapter, base substrate, soil of choice, watering cup, a pipette, and a fertilizer sample. The application supports Facebook and Google logins. Users can add terrariums to an account. It also allows users to view the water level remotely.
OrchidBox’s mission is to increase conservation and conservation awareness by developing microclimate-controlled devices for plants. The OrchidBox is still in its development phase.
More information about the innovative startup can be found by clicking here.
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