PLANTSIO Smart Pet Planter

Most desk plants have one social skill: quietly becoming a crime scene beside the monitor. The PLANTSIO Smart Pet Planter attempts a more involved arrangement, offering plant-care guidance through emojis and gesture interaction. This is either a useful nudge for an absent-minded plant owner or the moment civilisation decided a pothos needed customer service. We are broadly in favour of both possibilities.

The appeal is not subtle. A conventional planter asks you to remember it exists; this one is framed as an adorable plant companion, bringing a little character to the part of a desk normally occupied by receipts, cable ends and the mug that has been “soaking” since Tuesday. For a small flat or a work desk that needs less beige adulthood, that is a genuinely specific proposition.

We picked it as the pleasingly odd option because its central idea is memorable: care reminders delivered by a miniature robotic pet rather than a stern app notification. There is, however, an important administrative cloud over the cute bit. The supplied UK listing confirms emojis and gestures, but does not spell out exactly what care information is monitored or how the guidance works. Admirably whimsical, then; slightly mysterious, also.

That makes this a choice for someone who enjoys the premise first and requires the spec sheet second. A plant pot with a personality is not a necessity. Neither is a desk with a sense of humour, yet here we all are.