AI-Powered Plant Identification and Health Analysis

Identify Any Plant and Get a Full Health Assessment

Upload any plant photo and get the species ID, health assessment, issue detection such as pests or nutrient deficiencies, and a tailored care guide with action steps.

Scan a Plant

A healthy green houseplant in a ceramic pot on a bright windowsill with natural light

AI Plant Scanner

Upload any plant photo and get a complete scan: species identification, visual health assessment, potential issue detection, full care guide, and prioritised action steps. Works for houseplants, garden plants, vegetables, herbs, succulents, and more.

🌿

Upload a plant photo

Works best with a clear well-lit photo showing the full plant including leaves, stems, and any areas of concern. Include close-ups of damaged or unusual areas for the most accurate health assessment.

or drag and drop an image here

Cost per analysis

Results

AI Plant Scanner

🌿

AI Plant Scanner

Upload a photo on the left and click analyse to see the results.

Plant species identification: common name, scientific name, family, and native region
Visual health assessment: leaf colour, texture, stem condition, growth pattern, and overall vigour
Potential issues detected: overwatering, pests, disease, nutrient deficiencies, and light stress
Complete care guide: light, watering, soil, humidity, temperature, fertilising, and repotting
Prioritised action steps: specific things to do right now based on what the scan finds
Toxicity, propagation methods, popular cultivars, and an interesting plant fact

Close-up of a monstera deliciosa leaf showing the distinctive split and fenestrated pattern in bright natural light

Identify Any Plant with Species-Level Detail

Identify a Plant

Identify Any Plant with Species-Level Detail

Upload any clear photo of a plant and the AI identifies the species by common name and scientific name, places it in its botanical family, notes its native region, and classifies it by type (houseplant, succulent, tropical, herb, vegetable, tree, vine, etc.). Every result includes an identification confidence rating with a note on the specific visible features used, and badge tags for key traits like pet-safe, air-purifying, edible, flowering, or drought-tolerant.

Identify a Plant

Side-by-side comparison of a healthy plant leaf and a yellowing leaf showing early signs of overwatering

Visual Health Assessment Across Every Indicator

See Health Assessment

Visual Health Assessment Across Every Indicator

Every scan includes a thorough visual health assessment covering leaf colour (detecting yellowing, browning, pale green, purple tints, or spots that signal specific problems), leaf texture and surface (spotting powdery residue, sticky deposits, webbing, or unusual markings), stem condition, root signs, growth pattern (leggy, stunted, lopsided, or vigorous), and an overall vigour rating. Each indicator is colour-coded healthy, needs attention, or struggling so you can see at a glance what needs addressing.

See Health Assessment

Plant owner examining leaves closely with a magnifying glass looking for pests or disease signs

Issue Detection, Care Guide, and Prioritised Action Steps

See Issue Detection

Issue Detection, Care Guide, and Prioritised Action Steps

When issues are detected, each one is named, explained with the visible symptoms, the likely cause, and a specific recommended action. The care guide section then covers all seven key care parameters for the identified species: light requirements, watering frequency and the specific test to use, ideal soil mix, humidity range, temperature tolerance, fertilising schedule, and repotting timing. The recommended actions section closes with a prioritised list of 3 to 6 specific things to do right now, ordered from most urgent to least.

See Issue Detection

How It Works

How to Scan a Plant with AI

Upload a Plant Photo

Upload any clear well-lit photo of your plant. Include the full plant plus close-ups of any areas of concern: discoloured leaves, spots, wilting stems, or unusual growth. More visual information gives a more accurate health assessment.

AI Identifies and Scans

The AI identifies the species and then reads every visible health indicator: leaf colour, texture, spotting, stem condition, growth pattern, and overall vigour, colour-coding each as healthy, needs attention, or struggling.

Get the Full Report and Action Steps

Receive the complete scan: species ID, visual health assessment, detected issues with causes and fixes, tailored care guide, and a prioritised list of specific actions to take right now.

Scan a Plant

Who Uses It

A collection of houseplants on a shelf being examined by a plant owner looking for signs of stress

Use Case

Houseplant Owners

Your plant is looking off but you cannot figure out why. Is it overwatered? Under-lit? Has something been eating it? Upload a photo and get a visual health assessment that reads every visible indicator across leaves, stems, and growth pattern, names any issues it finds, explains the likely cause, and tells you exactly what to do. No more guessing whether to water more or less, move it to a different window, or treat for pests.

A raised vegetable garden bed with leafy plants showing mixed health conditions in bright outdoor light

Use Case

Gardeners and Growers

Found an unfamiliar plant in the garden, or noticing your vegetable patch or flower bed showing signs of stress? Upload a photo and get the species identification alongside the full health assessment. The care guide is tailored to what you have planted and the recommended actions are prioritised by urgency, so you know exactly what to address first when you have a row of plants showing different levels of distress.

A small potted plant on a desk beside a notebook with plant care notes being written

Use Case

New Plant Parents

Just got your first plant and not sure what it is or how to care for it? Upload a photo and get the complete care guide for the exact species you have: how much light it needs, how often to water it and the specific test to use, what soil it likes, whether it needs humidity, when to fertilise it, and when to repot. The toxicity section tells you whether it is safe for your pets or children, and the propagation section tells you how to make more plants when you are ready.

Rows of potted plants in a plant nursery with varied species and sizes on wooden display tables

Use Case

Plant Nursery Staff and Retailers

Received a delivery of unlabelled plants, or a customer brings in a struggling specimen for advice? Upload a photo and get a quick species identification and health scan. The identification gives you the common and scientific name, the plant family, and key care traits to communicate to customers. The health assessment gives you a structured report to share with a customer bringing in a sick plant, covering what you can see and what they should do.

Scan a Plant

Deep Dive

Common Plant Problems and What They Look Like

Plants communicate their health through visible changes in their leaves, stems, and growth. Learning to read these visual signals is the foundation of good plant care, and every AI Plant Scanner result colour-codes each indicator so you can see at a glance what is healthy, what needs attention, and what is struggling.

Wide photo collage of six common plant health conditions showing healthy leaves alongside yellowing, browning, spotting, and wilting examples

Yellowing Leaves: Multiple Possible Causes

Yellowing leaves (chlorosis) is the most common plant complaint and one of the most important to diagnose correctly because it has multiple possible causes that require completely different responses. Overwatering is the most frequent culprit: when roots sit in waterlogged soil they cannot uptake oxygen and begin to rot, and the plant responds by yellowing older leaves first. The fix is to let the soil dry out completely and improve drainage. Underwatering causes yellowing too, but it is typically accompanied by dry, crispy edges and a generally wilted appearance rather than soft yellowing. Nitrogen deficiency causes uniform yellowing that starts in the oldest leaves and progresses upward, and the fix is a balanced nitrogen fertiliser. Iron deficiency causes yellowing between the leaf veins (interveinal chlorosis) while the veins stay green, and is common in alkaline soils. Low light causes generalised paleness and yellowing, especially in lower leaves. Root-bound plants that have outgrown their pot may yellow as nutrient reserves deplete. The AI health assessment reads the pattern and distribution of yellowing alongside other visible indicators to identify the most likely cause.

Most common causesOverwatering, nitrogen deficiency, iron deficiency, low light, root rot, natural ageing of older leaves

Key diagnosticWhere yellowing starts (older leaves = nutrients; newer leaves = iron or pH issue), whether soil is wet or dry, and the pattern (uniform or interveinal)

Brown Tips and Edges: Humidity and Watering Issues

Brown tips and brown edges on otherwise healthy-looking green leaves are one of the clearest signals of specific care problems. Brown leaf tips are almost always caused by low humidity, fluoride in tap water, or salt build-up from excess fertiliser. Tropical plants (calatheas, fittonias, peace lilies, spider plants) are particularly prone to browning tips in dry heated indoor air. The fix is to increase humidity through misting, a pebble water tray, or a humidifier, and to flush the soil periodically with plain water to remove salt build-up. Brown leaf edges, especially when the tissue between the edge and the green interior looks yellow or tan rather than crispy, often indicate underwatering and the plant drawing water from the leaf margins to supply the core. Wind damage from air conditioning or heating vents directly blowing on a plant causes similar brown edge patterns. Sunscorch from direct intense sun causes brown patches or bleached areas on the parts of the leaf most exposed to light, often with a clear demarcation between scorched and healthy tissue. Root rot in late stages can also cause browning that progresses from the tips inward rapidly.

Brown tips causesLow humidity, fluoride in water, salt/fertiliser build-up, root bound conditions

Brown edges causesUnderwatering, wind and air conditioning damage, sunscorch, late-stage root rot

Spots and Lesions: Pests and Fungal Disease

Spots and lesions on leaves are typically caused by fungal disease, bacterial infection, or pest activity, and the appearance of the spot helps distinguish between them. Circular brown or tan spots with a yellow halo are characteristic of fungal leaf spot diseases (Septoria, Cercospora, etc.) and spread from infected leaf litter in humid conditions with poor air circulation. Dark water-soaked spots that expand and may have a foul smell are typically bacterial leaf spot or crown rot and spread in wet conditions with overhead watering. White or grey powdery coating on the leaf surface (never underneath) is powdery mildew, a very common fungal disease in dry warm conditions with poor airflow. Rust-coloured dusty spots on the underside of leaves with yellow upper surface spots indicate rust fungus. Tiny white, yellow, or brown stippling across the leaf surface with or without fine webbing on the undersides is spider mite damage. Small sticky, waxy or cottony white masses in leaf axils and stem joints are mealybugs. Brown or tan raised oval bumps on stems and leaves that scrape off cleanly are scale insects.

Fungal disease signsCircular spots with yellow halos, powdery white coating, rust-coloured patches, grey fuzzy patches (Botrytis)

Pest damage signsStippling with webbing (spider mites), sticky white masses (mealybugs), brown bumps on stems (scale), sticky honeydew residue (aphids)

Leggy and Etiolated Growth: Not Enough Light

Leggy or etiolated growth describes a plant that has long, stretched, weak stems with widely spaced leaves, often leaning toward the light source. This is the clearest possible signal that the plant is not receiving enough light to sustain normal compact growth. The plant is essentially stretching toward whatever light it can find, and the energy it should be putting into leaf production is going into stem elongation. The fix is always to move the plant to a brighter location. For low-light tolerant species like pothos, snake plants, and ZZ plants, a bright indirect light spot (near a window but out of direct sun) is usually sufficient. For sun-lovers like succulents, cacti, herbs, and most fruiting vegetables, actual direct sun hours are needed and grow lights may be required if window light is insufficient. Note that etiolation cannot be reversed: the stretched stem stays stretched. The solution is to provide better light going forward and to prune back the leggy growth to encourage compact new growth from lower nodes. Etiolation is particularly common in succulents placed on windowsills that receive less sun than the succulent actually requires.

Most affected plantsSucculents, cacti, herbs (basil, mint, rosemary), tomatoes, fruiting vegetables, and any "full sun" plant grown indoors without a grow light

FixMove to a significantly brighter location, add a grow light, or prune back the leggy growth and propagate the healthy growing tip

Wilting: Watering Imbalance or Root Problems

Wilting is a dramatic visual signal but one that must be interpreted carefully because both overwatering and underwatering cause wilting, and treating one as the other makes the situation worse. Underwatering wilting typically presents with dry, pulling-away-from-pot-edges soil, dry crispy lower leaves, and a general drooping that responds rapidly (within hours) to a thorough watering. Overwatering wilting presents with soft, mushy stems at the base, yellowing leaves, wet or persistently damp soil that smells sour or musty, and in severe cases, root rot where the roots have become dark brown and mushy rather than white and firm. Root bound plants (severely pot-bound) may wilt despite adequate watering because there is so little soil volume that water runs through immediately and roots cannot uptake water efficiently. Heat stress and direct afternoon sun can cause temporary afternoon wilting in plants that fully recover in the cooler evening. Persistent wilting that does not respond to watering in a plant that previously recovered normally is a sign of serious root damage and should be investigated by removing the plant from its pot.

Underwatering wilting signsDry soil, crispy lower leaves, rapid recovery after watering, pot feels very light

Overwatering wilting signsWet soil, soft mushy stems, sour smell, yellow lower leaves, no recovery after watering

Nutrient Deficiencies: Reading the Colour Patterns

Plants show specific colour patterns that correspond to specific nutrient deficiencies, making visual diagnosis possible with some practice. Nitrogen deficiency (the most common) causes uniform yellowing that starts in the oldest lowest leaves and progresses upward as the plant redistributes nitrogen from older to newer growth. Phosphorus deficiency causes purple or reddish coloration, especially on the undersides of leaves, and is common in cold conditions that restrict root uptake even when phosphorus is present in the soil. Potassium deficiency causes brown scorched edges on older leaves that progress inward, and is sometimes confused with salt damage or underwatering. Iron deficiency causes yellowing between the leaf veins (interveinal chlorosis) while the veins remain distinctly green, and appears first in youngest leaves (unlike nitrogen which starts with oldest). Magnesium deficiency also causes interveinal chlorosis but starts in older leaves. Calcium deficiency causes distorted new growth, curling leaf tips, and blossom end rot in fruiting plants like tomatoes and peppers. The AI reads the pattern, distribution, and which leaves are affected (oldest or newest) to identify the most likely nutrient issue.

Quick diagnosis chartYellow starting in old leaves = nitrogen; purple/red underside = phosphorus; yellow between veins in new leaves = iron; yellow between veins in old leaves = magnesium

Fix approachA balanced liquid fertiliser addresses most deficiencies; pH testing is important as nutrient lock-out from incorrect pH is common in container plants

Note: plant health issues often appear together. Overwatered plants develop root rot, which reduces nutrient uptake, which then shows as nutrient deficiency symptoms even though the soil has adequate nutrients. The AI Plant Scanner reads the full picture and identifies the most likely primary cause rather than treating each symptom in isolation.

Benefits

Why Use It

🌿

Species Identification

Identify any plant by common and scientific name, botanical family, native region, and plant type, with confidence rating and key trait badges (pet-safe, air-purifying, edible, drought-tolerant).

🔬

Visual Health Assessment

Every visible health indicator is assessed and colour-coded: leaf colour, texture, spotting, stem condition, root signs, growth pattern, and overall vigour. See at a glance what is healthy and what needs attention.

⚠️

Issue Detection

Overwatering, underwatering, pests, fungal disease, nutrient deficiencies, sunscorch, and low humidity are all detected from visual evidence, with the likely cause and specific recommended action for each.

📋

Tailored Care Guide and Actions

Get the full care guide for the identified species (light, watering, soil, humidity, temperature, fertilising, repotting) plus a prioritised list of specific action steps based on exactly what the scan finds.

Related Tools

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the AI Plant Scanner work?

You upload any photo of a plant and the AI analyses every visible health indicator: leaf colour and pattern, texture and surface condition, stem firmness and colour, growth pattern, and overall vigour. It identifies the species, assesses the health of each indicator (colour-coded as healthy, needs attention, or struggling), detects potential issues, and provides a tailored care guide with prioritised action steps. Results are based on visual analysis of the photograph.

What types of plants can it scan?

The scanner covers all major plant categories: houseplants (tropical, succulent, cacti, ferns, orchids), garden plants (flowering perennials, annuals, shrubs, climbers), vegetables and edibles (tomatoes, peppers, herbs, leafy greens), fruit trees and bushes, indoor herbs, and outdoor trees. It works for both common species and many rarer or exotic varieties.

Can it detect pests and diseases?

Yes. The scanner identifies visible signs of common pest infestations (spider mites, mealybugs, scale, aphids, fungus gnats) and fungal or bacterial diseases (powdery mildew, leaf spot, rust, root rot, Botrytis) where they are visible in the image. For pest and disease detection, close-up photos of the affected areas alongside the full plant photo give the most accurate results. The assessment is visual and qualitative, not a laboratory analysis.

What photo gives the best scan result?

A clear well-lit photo showing the full plant is the starting point. For health issues, add close-up photos of any affected leaves, stems, or areas of concern: discolouration, spots, wilting, unusual growth, or anything that looks different from how the plant normally looks. Natural daylight or bright indoor light gives more accurate colour readings than yellow artificial light, which can make yellowing leaves look more severe than they are.

Can it tell if my plant is overwatered or underwatered?

Yes. Overwatering and underwatering produce different visual patterns that the AI reads to distinguish between them: overwatering causes soft yellowing from older leaves upward, mushy stems, and soil that looks wet and compacted; underwatering causes dry crispy edges, drooping, pulling-away-from-pot-edges soil, and a lightweight pot. When the visual signals are present, the scanner identifies the most likely cause and gives you the specific corrective action.

Is this a replacement for professional plant care advice?

The scanner is a powerful visual diagnostic tool for everyday plant care decisions and is accurate for the vast majority of common plant health issues. For serious disease outbreaks, suspected toxic plant exposure, or commercial crop health management, the results should be used as a starting point and supplemented with advice from a qualified horticulturist, plant pathologist, or plant specialist.

Does it provide care guides even for healthy plants?

Yes. If the plant appears healthy, the recommended actions section provides optimisation steps rather than fixes: moving to ideal light conditions, adjusting a watering schedule to the most appropriate frequency, fertilising at the right time of year, and when to repot. Every scan includes the full species care guide regardless of health status.

Get Started Free

Scan Any Plant Instantly

Sign up free and get 100 credits instantly. Upload any plant photo and get the full identification and health scan in seconds.

Disclaimer: This tool uses generative AI technology which may produce content that resembles copyrighted materials or that is inaccurate, incomplete, or out-of-date. It is provided for general information and educational purposes only and is not intended for illegal activities or to replace professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users are solely responsible for how they use the generated content. If you plan to use AI-generated content commercially or publicly, we strongly recommend reviewing it for potential copyright issues and obtaining proper permissions where necessary. We accept no liability for copyright infringement or any other consequences resulting from the use of content generated by this tool.