Green Profit: A New Plant Platform Powered by AI

Colleague Jen Polanz recently chatted with someone hoping to help you solve your plant photo and description issues using the power of AI. Here’s what she gathered from her conversation.

As we’re all taking a closer look at AI and how it can streamline processes and make us more efficient, I’m always open to talking with people who are actively working with the technology for these purposes. That’s how I got to talking with Open Plant Data

Edwin, based in the Netherlands, is the co-creator of OpenPlantData.com, where he and two other owners offer a platform for plant photos and descriptions using AI. These images, created using AI, are cultivar specific with descriptions that are automatically adjusted based on hardiness zone. And lest you think of neon-blue hostas or other misleading images consumers see all the time on the web, they have worked hard to create accurate representations of cultivars.

I questioned the use of AI-generated images, and he said his company worked with a team of legal experts at Stanford University to make sure it adhered to U.S. law. The platform solves the issue of finding appropriate plant images for growers and retailers who want to put plants online or print bench cards for signage, and he said it is being used by retailers, wholesale growers and even breeders looking for the right images. “Both customers and store members are lacking plant knowledge nowadays,” Edwin said. “Proper photos and information on your site, shop and bench cards helps a lot. It’s your silent sales force.”

For the descriptions, there are multiple fields with some differing based on zone, so something that reads as an annual up north can change to a perennial in the south, for example. The photos can have different styles, too, showing a variety of home types or indoor versus outdoor.

The technology is being used in multiple European growers and garden centers, and he’s working with a Texas-based garden center to go live soon.

“It can be a really powerful tool, but it’s not a magic tool,” he said, noting the goal is to solve problems facing growers and retailers in pulling together images and descriptions. “I’ve been working with independents for 25 years, and they all have more or less the same challenges. We want to help them.”