Get a group of gardeners together, and favorite plant identification apps are sure to be a part of the discussion! I don’t want to discount great books, like the Southern Living Garden Book or the Georgia Gardener’s Guide by Walter Reeves and Erica Glasener, but isn’t it great to have this tool in the palm of your hand? And in order to use them effectively, you’ve got to know which ones are worth it.

I was inspired to pen this article from my recent time with some gardeners and a cub scout troop during the Great Southeast Pollinator Census! We let folks loose in the demo garden at the Cherokee County Senior Center, and as folks staked their spots in front of various flowers, many didn’t know what flower they were observing. Enter Cherokee County Master Gardeners with their knowledge (and their smart phones, haha)!

“There’s an app for that!” Here are some that I’m personally familiar with, and check out this article for even more specialized ones! (Disclaimer- I have not checked out all of their suggested apps, and I don’t receive compensation for the promotion of any of these. Ok, legal stuff done!)

- Armitage’s Great Garden Plants $4.99 by Dr. Allan Armitage

- Seek by iNaturalist

- PlantSnap

- PictureThis

- Google Lens (not just for plant ID)

- LeafSnap

- Tennessee Wildflowers

- Mobile Weed Manual by Entomology and Plant Pathology - University of Tennessee

- Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology (not plants obviously, but identifies birds by sound!)

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