Support
Updating to 2.0
What happens to my plants when I update?
The first time RootBase 2.0 opens, it brings over your plants, care history, and photos from the previous version automatically. There is nothing to export or set up.
Can I restore a backup I made with an earlier version?
Yes. Backup files exported from earlier versions of RootBase restore the same way as 2.0 backups. See How do I restore? below.
Data, Sync & Backups
Where is my data stored?
On your iPhone or iPad. If you turn on iCloud Sync, a copy is also kept in your own private iCloud account. We do not run servers and cannot see your data.
How do I sync with iCloud?
Open Settings and tap iCloud Sync, then turn on Sync with iCloud. You need to be signed in to iCloud. Plants and their history always sync; photos wait for Wi-Fi unless you turn on Sync Photos on Cellular.
If iCloud already has a RootBase collection when you turn sync on, RootBase asks what to keep:
- Use iCloud’s Data replaces what’s on this device with the collection in iCloud. A copy of this device’s data is kept on it first.
- Use This iPhone’s Data (or This iPad’s) replaces the collection in iCloud, and on your other devices, with this device’s.
- Merge Both keeps both collections. Plants that are in both will appear twice.
How do I back up my plants?
RootBase keeps a daily snapshot of your plants and care history on your device and holds on to the last seven. For a copy you control, open Settings, tap Backup & Restore, then Export Backup. This saves your plants, care history, and photos to a single file you can keep in Files, iCloud Drive, or anywhere else.
How do I restore?
Open Settings and tap Backup & Restore. Pick one of the daily snapshots (they hold your plants and care history; photos come from this device), or tap Choose File… to restore an exported backup. A restore replaces all of your current plants, care history, and photos, so export first if you want to keep what you have now. With iCloud Sync on, the restore replaces your collection on your other devices too.
Can I recover deleted plants?
Restoring a daily snapshot or an exported backup from before the plant was deleted brings it back. The restore replaces your whole collection with the one in that snapshot or file, so anything you changed since then is lost. To stop caring for a plant without losing its history, retire it instead; see Retiring vs. deleting.
Care & Reminders
How does the watering schedule work?
RootBase uses an adaptive algorithm that learns how quickly each plant dries out. The more you log, the more accurate it becomes. If a plant isn’t ready when it comes up, tap Not Yet on the plant, or swipe it left on the Home screen, to push the check back a few days. On iPad, touch and hold the plant’s tile on Home and choose Extend. Pushing a check back doesn’t change what RootBase has learned about the plant.
What does “Worth a Look” mean?
A plant is in Worth a Look when its check-in window has opened but its usual watering day hasn’t arrived yet. It may be ready a little early, so it’s worth checking the soil. The widget counts these plants separately from the ones due today.
How do I get reminders?
Open Settings and turn on Daily Check-In (when plants are ready to check) or Overdue Alert (when any plant is overdue), and choose a time for each. Both are off until you turn them on, and iOS asks for permission the first time. If notifications are turned off for RootBase in the device’s Settings app, turn them back on there.
Turn on Early Reminders in Settings to be reminded a day early when a plant’s soil dries faster than expected. When you log a watering from the plant’s page, switch on Drier than expected if the soil was drier than RootBase predicted; that plant’s next check-in window then opens a day sooner.
Is there a Home Screen widget?
Yes. Touch and hold your Home Screen, tap Edit, then Add Widget, and search for RootBase. The widget shows today’s plant care at a glance, in a green style or one that matches your system theme.
Your Collection
How do I track a propagation?
On the Plants tab, tap +, then New Propagation. Choose the method (cutting, leaf, seed, division and more), the medium and, if you like, the parent plant. You can also start one from Search: if nothing matches, tap Log It as a Propagation.
On the propagation’s page, tap Mark as the next stage as it roots, or Mark Failed if it doesn’t take. At the last stage, Convert to Plant either creates a new plant or adds it to one you already have. Split makes a second propagation with the same settings, stage and history, for when one becomes two.
How do I log and treat a health issue?
On the plant’s page, under Health, tap Add Health Issue. Pick the category and issue type, from thrips to root rot, and add notes. Add a treatment to repeat it every few days or every few waterings; you can stop it after a set number of applications, or tap Add Alternate Product to rotate products, one per application.
Log each application from the issue, or with a watering on the Home screen. When the problem is gone, tap Mark Resolved: the plant shows as Recovering for 14 days, then Healthy. Resolved issues stay in the plant’s history, and Reopen Issue brings one back.
How do I set up fertilizer?
Open the plant, tap Edit, and under Fertilizing tap Add Fertilizer. Each plant can have up to five. Schedule each one every so many days or every so many waterings, and choose when it’s active: the growing season, year-round, or months you pick. Set your growing season in Settings under Growing Season; it starts as March through August.
When a feed is due, the watering button offers it too, for example Water + Fertilize. You can also log it on its own from the plant’s Other Care section.
What’s the difference between retiring and deleting a plant?
Retiring keeps a plant’s history. Open the plant, tap Edit, and under Lifecycle choose Mark as… Gifted, Deceased, Discarded or Sold. Retired plants leave Home and your plant list; find them in Search under Inactive, or by searching a word like “gifted”. Restore to Active brings one back.
Delete Plant, at the bottom of the same screen, removes the plant and its history. Only a restore from a snapshot or backup made before the deletion can bring it back.
How do I share a plant’s data?
On the plant’s page, tap the clipboard button, then Copy to Clipboard. This copies the plant’s profile, watering schedule, active health issues, notes and recent care history as text you can paste into an AI assistant or send to another grower. To copy your whole collection, use Copy Plant Data in Settings. Nothing is sent anywhere until you paste it.
Contact
How do I contact support?
Email us at support@rootbaseapp.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.