What Is Planter (planter.garden) and What Does It Do?

Planter is a garden planning app that lets you lay out your beds by drag-and-drop, check which plants grow well together, and see when to start seeds, transplant, and harvest. It covers 80+ plants and over 1,000 varieties, runs on iOS, Android, Amazon Fire, and the web, and is free to try with paid upgrades. It suits anyone who wants to organize a garden on a screen instead of paper — especially beginners who need guidance on spacing and timing.

What Planter actually does

The app centers on a visual garden layout. You place plants into your beds the way you'd arrange them in real life, and the app keeps the plan in one place instead of scattered across notebooks and websites.

Its main features, as listed on the site:

• Drag-and-drop planning — "Put down the pen and paper," as the site puts it. You arrange your garden in minutes with an intuitive interface.
• Companion planting — shows which plants complement each other and which don't, so you can avoid bad pairings while you plan.
• 80+ plants and 1,000+ varieties — and if you're growing something unusual, you can add your own custom plants and varieties.
• Growing calendar — tells you when to start seeds, transplant, harvest, and more.
• Seed box — a place to track the seeds you have (listed under the Free tier).

Who it's for

The site's own user reviews point to two groups:

• New gardeners. One Google Play reviewer called it "a great way for new gardeners to get started," and another said it helped plan "my very first garden."
• Gardeners who want to get organized. A reviewer described drawing raised beds on paper and "fumbling through different sites" for companion planting before finding the app, which "does it for you."

If you already keep a detailed paper plan and don't want companion-planting or timing help, the app's value is lower. If your planning currently lives in your head or on scrap paper, it replaces that.

Platforms and pricing

Planter is available on the App Store, Google Play, Amazon Fire, and the web. Prices are in US dollars, and purchases are made within the app — the site notes you should check the app for your local currency.

Two things worth noting before you decide:

• The web app is a Premium feature. The Free tier covers the mobile experience; if planning on a desktop browser matters to you, that points toward Premium.
• The free tier is limited to one garden. If you rotate beds, keep a separate cutting garden, or plan multiple seasons at once, you'll hit that ceiling quickly.

How to decide

• Try Free first if you have a single bed or want to test whether the drag-and-drop layout fits how you think. You get the calendar, companion planting, and the plant database at no cost.
• Choose Premium if you want more than one garden, the web app, or an ad-free experience — and you're comfortable with a yearly charge.
• Choose Lifetime if you've used the app for a season or two and expect to keep gardening; it removes the recurring cost after a single payment.

The site's reviewer who had used the app for three seasons described starting on "the limited free version" and then moving to the full application — a reasonable path if you'd rather confirm the fit before paying.