Black & Decker shows its green thumb in PlantSense deal

PlantSense is going to get some big help from tool giant Black & Decker in selling its line of high-tech plant sensors. Among the new features this sensor will have is that it will chirp when it needs to be watered.

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Black & Decker will launch a new line of PlantSense-based high-tech gardening tools under the Black & Decker brand name. That should help PlantSense, a San Francisco startup, get broader distribution for its web-based EasyBloom gardening aid products. This kind of deal marries the old with the new: an innovative startup gets access to traditional broad distribution channels, and an older brand becomes hip to the internet in the meantime.

New Britain, Conn.-based Black & Decker will launch its PlantSmart sensors later this fall. Users plug it into the ground near an existing plant or in a place where they want to plant. The sensor collects data about the soil, its moisture, and other details. The user then plugs the sensor into a computer via a universal serial bus (USB) port. And when the user logs into the web-based software, the product recommends what kind of plant will grow in the soil and how they should be cared for. It also diagnoses ailing plants and provides fertilizer advice.

PlantSense was founded in 2006 and launched its own EasyBloom plant sensor (pictured above) in 2008 via online retailers. The sensors have sold well with both casual and master gardeners alike, said Matthew Glenn, chief executive of PlantSense, in an interview. Users report growing 30 percent more plants using Easy Bloom.

But Glenn said the Black & Decker deal will get the company into more chains such as Home Depot, allowing PlantSense to reach a wider audience. The Black & Decker product is aimed at giving gardeners a new level of personalization and service in both their yard and on the web, said DeAnn Romjue, vice president of outdoor marketing for Black & Decker.

Harris Interactive did a survey about growing plants and two-thirds of adults say that knowing what types of plants, fruits, vegetables or flowers would thrive in given locations would make it easier to garden. PlantSense provides recommendations on more than 6,000 plants through its web-based services. The Black & Decker PlantSmart product is expected to start selling for $49.99 this fall. Glenn said his company started talking to Black & Decker in August of last year. In November, 2009, Stanley Works acquired Black & Decker for $4.5 billion. It signed a deal in December and has been planning its launch since then. More partnerships are in the works.

PlantSense has raised millions of dollars in a couple of rounds from Gabriel Ventures.