Houseplant Watering Schedule Planner

---
name: houseplant-watering-schedule-planner
description: Builds a houseplant watering check calendar from a list of plants with pot size and material, light, drainage and last watering date. Adjusts each interval for pot, light, humidity and season (by hemisphere, stretching into winter), fits checks onto chosen weekdays, says what 'needs water' means and how much to give, and flags risks like pots with no drainage. Includes a stdlib Python planner with .ics export and --self-test.
---

# Houseplant Watering Schedule Planner

You help people keep houseplants alive without watering by the calendar alone. The plan tells them when to **check** each plant and what to look for; they water only when the plant's rule says so. You adapt to the real conditions (pot, light, heating, season), keep the routine simple (two fixed check days a week if they want), and point out the setups that cause most deaths: no drainage hole, succulents in dark corners, ferns drying out in terracotta.

## Files in this skill

- `scripts/watering_planner.py` - reads a plants CSV, assigns each plant a watering type, computes a check interval per season, builds the calendar (optionally snapped to weekdays), estimates water per plant, flags risky setups, and can export an .ics file (Python 3.8+ standard library only)
- `references/plant-water-profiles.md` - the six watering types, common plants in each, the "needs water" test and signs of over- and under-watering
- `references/adjustment-factors.md` - how pot size, pot material, light, humidity, season and drainage change the interval, with the multipliers the script uses and how to tune them after a few weeks
- `templates/watering-plan.md` - the one-page plan to hand back (weekly routine, per-plant cheat sheet, warnings, review date)
- `examples/plants.csv` - ten plants in a heated flat at the end of October
- `examples/plan-output.md` - the real output of the planner for that list

## Workflow

### 1. Collect the plant list
For each plant: a name, what it is (species or "looks like a succulent"), pot diameter in cm, pot material (plastic, glazed, terracotta, fabric, self-watering), light where it stands (low = far from a window, medium, bright = bright indirect, direct = sun on the leaves for hours), whether the pot has a drainage hole, and when it was last watered. Also ask the hemisphere, whether the heating is on (dry air), and which days suit a quick check. If the plant is unknown, ask for a photo description or treat it as "top_dry" and say so.

### 2. Run the planner
```
python3 scripts/watering_planner.py examples/plants.csv --start 2026-10-30 --weeks 6 --check-days Mon,Thu --humidity low
python3 scripts/watering_planner.py plants.csv --hemisphere south --weeks 8 --ics plants.ics
python3 scripts/watering_planner.py plants.csv --json
python3 scripts/watering_planner.py --self-test
```
Exit 0 = plan written, 1 = plan written but a HIGH warning needs action (e.g. no drainage), 2 = bad input (unknown material or light, pot size in mm, bad date). Without code, use the type table and multipliers in the references by hand.

### 3. Check the result before handing it over
- Each plant has a check interval now and, if the plan crosses a season, the new interval (e.g. "7 d (winter: 9 d)").
- Plants that want to stay moist (ferns, calathea, peace lily, basil) may need more check days than the routine allows; the planner says so. Suggest a third check day, a plastic pot, or self-watering only for these.
- "Overdue" means the last watering plus the interval is already past: check that plant first.
- Read the warnings and turn HIGH ones into the first action of the plan.

### 4. Deliver
Fill `templates/watering-plan.md`: the weekly routine (which plants on which day), a per-plant cheat sheet with the "water when" test and amount, warnings with what to do, and a review date in 2-3 weeks to lengthen or shorten intervals based on what they found at each check.

## Example result
Ten plants, start Friday 2026-10-30, six weeks, checks on Mondays and Thursdays, heating on (low humidity). Ferns, calathea, the peace lily and basil are checked every check day; monstera about weekly (Thursdays); pothos weekly (Mondays); the snake plant every 16 days, stretching to 21 in December; the ZZ plant every 20 days; the cactus every 6 days now, 9 in winter (it is overdue, last watered 15 October). The peace lily sits in a decorative pot with no hole (HIGH: use a nursery pot inside it and empty the cover pot after watering). The fern in terracotta and the basil would like checks every 1-2 days, which twice a week cannot cover. See `examples/plan-output.md`.

## Rules

- Never prescribe watering on a fixed schedule without a check; always pair each check with the plant's "water when" test.
- Water thoroughly until it drains, then empty the saucer after 15 minutes; never leave a pot standing in water (orchids: soak, then drain fully).
- In winter and in low light, plants use less water: lengthen intervals rather than giving smaller sips.
- Treat yellowing plus wet soil as overwatering, not thirst; say so before suggesting more water.
- Do not guess a species from a vague name; ask or state the type you assumed.
- Mention pets if a plant is toxic only when the user asks about safety or mentions pets/children; do not pad the plan.
FILE:references/plant-water-profiles.md
# Watering types

| Type | Typical plants | Water when | Base check interval* | Winter slow-down |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| succulent | cactus, aloe, echeveria, jade, haworthia, string of pearls | soil dry all the way down: a wooden chopstick pushed to the bottom comes out clean and dry; pot feels light | 10 days | x2.5 (many cacti need almost no water Dec-Feb) |
| dry_tolerant | snake plant (sansevieria), ZZ plant, ponytail palm, yucca, hoya, peperomia | at least 3/4 of the soil dry | 12 days | x2.0 |
| top_dry | pothos, monstera, philodendron, rubber plant, fiddle leaf fig, dracaena, spider plant, money tree, aglaonema, alocasia, anthurium, parlor palm, begonia, Christmas cactus | top third dry (finger test to the second knuckle in a 15 cm pot) | 6 days | x1.6 |
| evenly_moist | Boston and maidenhair fern, calathea, maranta (prayer plant), peace lily, fittonia | top 1-2 cm just dry; never fully dry | 3 days | x1.3 |
| orchid | phalaenopsis in bark | roots silvery-grey (green = still wet) and bark dry; soak 10 min, drain fully | 7 days | x1.4 |
| herb | basil, mint, parsley on a windowsill | top 1-2 cm dry | 2 days | x1.2 |

*Base = spring, 15 cm plastic pot with drainage, medium light, normal humidity. Autumn is halfway between spring and winter; summer is x0.85. See `adjustment-factors.md`.

## How to check (30 seconds per plant)
1. **Finger test:** push a finger into the soil to the depth in the rule. Dry and crumbly = dry; cool and sticking = moist.
2. **Weight:** lift small pots right after watering once, so you know "full" vs "empty".
3. **Chopstick:** for deep pots and succulents, leave a wooden skewer in for a minute; dark and damp means wait.
4. **Moisture meters** are rough guides; they read salts as well as water and are often wrong in bark or very sandy mixes.

## Signs
| Overwatering (more common) | Underwatering |
|---|---|
| yellow lower leaves with soil still wet, soft or black stem base, mushy roots, fungus gnats, sour smell | crisp brown edges, drooping that recovers within hours of watering, soil pulling away from the pot edge, very light pot |
| Fix: stop watering, check roots, repot in dry mix if rotten, lengthen the interval | Fix: soak thoroughly (bottom-water 20-30 min for hydrophobic soil), shorten the interval a little |

Drooping with **wet** soil means roots are damaged: do not add water.

## Watering technique
- Water slowly over the whole surface until water runs out of the hole; wait, then empty the saucer after about 15 minutes.
- Room-temperature water. Calathea and some ferns brown at the tips with hard or softened water; rain or filtered water helps.
- Bottom-watering (stand the pot in water for 20-30 min) works for small pots and dry, shrinking soil; top-water now and then to flush salts.
- Self-watering pots: top up the reservoir when empty and let it stay empty for a day or two now and then so roots get air; not for succulents.
FILE:references/adjustment-factors.md
# Adjustment factors

Check interval = base days (type) x pot size x pot material x light x humidity x season, rounded, limited to 1..45 days. These are the multipliers in `scripts/watering_planner.py`.

| Factor | Value | Multiplier | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pot diameter | under 10 cm | 0.6 | little soil, dries in days |
| | 10-13 cm | 0.8 | |
| | 14-19 cm | 1.0 | reference |
| | 20-27 cm | 1.3 | more soil holds water longer |
| | 28 cm and up | 1.6 | big pots stay wet at the bottom long after the top is dry: check deep |
| Material | plastic, glazed, ceramic, metal | 1.0 | walls do not breathe |
| | terracotta / unglazed clay | 0.75 | walls wick and evaporate water |
| | fabric grow bag | 0.7 | dries from all sides |
| | self-watering | 1.5 | reservoir feeds the soil; check the reservoir instead |
| Light | low (2+ m from a window, north room) | 1.4 | little growth, little use |
| | medium | 1.0 | |
| | bright indirect | 0.85 | |
| | direct sun on the leaves | 0.7 | |
| Humidity | low (heating on, below ~35 %) | 0.85 | soil and leaves lose water faster |
| | normal | 1.0 | |
| | high (bathroom, humidifier) | 1.15 | |
| Season | spring | 1.0 | |
| | summer | 0.85 | |
| | autumn | halfway to winter | growth slows as days shorten |
| | winter | type's winter slow-down (x1.2 to x2.5) | |

Seasons: northern hemisphere Dec-Feb winter, Mar-May spring, Jun-Aug summer, Sep-Nov autumn; southern hemisphere shifted by six months. Next to a radiator or in a heated conservatory, use humidity "low" even in winter.

## Drainage
No hole is the single biggest cause of root rot. Best: keep the plant in its plastic nursery pot inside the decorative pot and empty the outer pot 15 minutes after watering. If it must stay in a pot without a hole, give about half the usual amount and tip the pot to check for standing water. The planner flags this as HIGH.

## Amount
About 15-25 % of the pot volume, until water drains out of the hole. The planner estimates pot volume from the diameter (straight-sided pot about 0.9x as tall as wide), so a 15 cm pot gets about 450 ml, a 24 cm pot about 1.75 l. Succulents and dry-tolerant plants get a thorough soak too, just less often.

## Tune after two or three weeks
- Soil still moist at most checks: lengthen that plant's interval by 25-50 % (or move it to "low" light if it is far from the window).
- Soil bone-dry at every check and the plant droops: shorten by 25 %.
- Write the changes into the CSV (e.g. switch the type or light) and re-run, rather than remembering exceptions.
- Re-run the plan when the heating goes on or off, when you repot (bigger pot = longer interval), or when you move a plant.

## Not covered by the interval
- Newly repotted plants: water once thoroughly, then wait until the rule says so.
- Dormant bulbs and cacti in a cold winter rest (5-12 C): almost no water; a monthly check is enough.
- Fertilizing: only in spring and summer, at half strength, on a watering day.
FILE:templates/watering-plan.md
# Plant care plan: <home / room>

**Period:** <2026-10-30 to 2026-12-10>   **Check days:** <Mon and Thu, 5-10 minutes>
**Conditions:** <northern hemisphere, heating on (dry air)>   **Review on:** <2026-11-16>

## Do first
- <Peace lily: no drainage hole - move it into a plastic nursery pot inside the cover pot; empty the cover pot 15 min after watering>
- <Spike (cactus): overdue - check on Monday>

## Weekly routine
| Day | Check these plants |
|---|---|
| <Mon> | <ferns, calathea, peace lily, basil, orchid, pothos, cactus (every 2nd Mon in December)> |
| <Thu> | <ferns, calathea, peace lily, basil, orchid, monstera; snake plant every 2-3 weeks> |

## Cheat sheet
| Plant | Water

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