Show HN: A free site to explore and discover 6k plants
A new site that aggregates data on 6,000+ plants and where to buy them is drawing praise for its clean design and focus on both houseplants and outdoor species, but users highlight gaps in search quality, images, and international availability. Commenters suggest richer filters—such as hardiness zones, native range, invasiveness, drought tolerance, soil pH, toxicity (especially for pets), and edible or pollinator-friendly status—and note the complexity of sourcing reliable plant-care data and licensing images. The creator explains the current US-centric, affiliate-based model, technical stack (Django + React + Postgres), and data-matching challenges, and signals plans to improve search, expand geographically, and add more advanced plant attributes over time.
Overall reception
- Many commenters like the idea and clean design, especially for plant lovers who struggle to find reliable, consolidated info.
- Several say they can see themselves using it, some joking that it’s “dangerous” for their plant addiction.
- A few find it underwhelming so far due to missing common plants, thin info, and limited usefulness for outdoor gardening.
Search, data quality, and coverage
- Search is widely viewed as slow and fragile:
- Only matches scientific names reliably; many common names fail.
- Exact punctuation can be required (e.g., quotes).
- Missing or incomplete entries are noted, including common plants and trending varietals.
- Some users want a dichotomous-key style search for unknown plants.
Images and copyright
- Images currently come from Wikipedia or partner stores, with explicit permission sought from stores.
- Many plants still lack photos; users notice inconsistent image quality.
- Suggestions:
- Use public plant image datasets (e.g., Pl@ntNet).
- Consider AI-generated images or illustrations, though some warn this could be misleading for technical/botanical accuracy.
- Hotlinking images from Shopify sellers is flagged as a bandwidth and long‑term reliability concern.
Desired features & filters
- Strong demand for richer attributes, especially for outdoor plants:
- Hardiness/temperature zones, soil pH, water use, drought tolerance.
- Sun/shade tolerance, indoor/outdoor suitability, container size.
- Bloom/fruiting time, pollinator friendliness, edible vs ornamental.
- Aquatic-specific fields (CO₂ needs, foreground/background, water pH).
- Pet safety, human toxicity, and possibly “messiness” of trees.
- Multiple people ask for native-range filters and invasive-species flags.
- Users want better categorization (trees, shrubs, aquatic, etc.) and less overwhelming “all plants” landing page.
Geography and availability
- Currently US‑centric: US stores, USD prices.
- Non‑US users request:
- Clear “US only” notice.
- Localized versions (Europe, UK, Australia, etc.).
- Some note cross-border and interstate shipping/import restrictions should be modeled.
Monetization, data sourcing, and tech
- Site aggregates inventories from multiple stores; mappings rely on regex plus manual labeling, anchored to scientific names.
- Prices and availability update nightly; some suggest more frequent updates.
- Affiliate relationships are being added; future revenue ideas include subscriptions and concierge-like services.
- Stack: Django backend with React/Next frontend, Postgres search (currently basic
ilike), moving from earlier WordPress/Jupyter setup. - Suggestions include using store APIs instead of scraping, Postgres full-text search, and better image hosting.
Community and future directions
- Ideas:
- User-added plants and edits.
- Shared wishlists/collections and social feeds (“I planted this,” bloom events, seed sharing).
- Care guides, YouTube integration, seasonal/local gardening tips.
- Some suggest focusing on outdoor natives and permaculture, potentially leveraging open biodiversity datasets, while acknowledging licensing limits for commercial use.