About us

Plantative started with two problems we had ourselves: our plants kept dying, and the plants we actually wanted were hard to find. We figured we weren't the only ones. So we built an app that helps with both, with care advice and reminders for the plants you already have, and a place to find new ones from people near you.

We're Sebastiaan and Maarten, two brothers who grew up in nature and now live in Ghent. The idea came up during late-night chats with friends, and five of us built the first version together. Life has since taken the others in different directions, and we're grateful for everything they did. Today it's the two of us, with help from our mom, who knows way too much about plants. She's one of the two people behind Tuin Vol Leven, which designs and maintains biodiverse gardens.

Our promise

We think sharing plants and plant knowledge shouldn't cost money, so the main features of Plantative will always stay free. There is also a basic premium plan. Whatever it earns beyond what we need to keep the app running goes to the environment and to planting trees. You can follow where the money goes on our Instagram.

How we use AI

Yes, we used AI while building Plantative, but we wrote the code ourselves. This isn't a quick vibe-coded app. We handled the security ourselves too, so your messages, photos and private info stay between you and the people you choose to share them with.

In the app, AI helps identify plants and give care tips. It sometimes gets things wrong or misses something about where your plant is growing. If that happens, tell us. We read that feedback ourselves before we use it to improve the advice.

What we're building

The best plant advice comes from people who have grown the plants themselves. We want Plantative to become a community full of that kind of knowledge, where people with years of experience help the ones who are just starting, and where a cutting from your windowsill ends up with someone who has been looking for it.

That only works if people join in. Download the app, swap a plant and share what you know. The best things in life (like plants) grow better when we share them.