Resources

ePlant recommends that the stem or trunk diameter is at least one inch.

ePlant TreeTags work best with woody plants. This includes some vines, like grapevines, and most conventional trees other than palm trees.

No. Palms have a different internal structure, with vascular bundles distributed throughout the trunk, unlike the ring-like structure in deciduous and evergreen trees. This makes our current mounting system incompatible.  
If your deployment is for palms, please contact us to explore alternative solutions.

No. Cacti have a different structure than deciduous and evergreen trees.

The dendrometer measurement is taken from the surface that the plunger sits on. We recommend that the surface be solid (no air gaps beneath plates of bark), and as smooth an area as possible.  The closer the plunger is to living tissue, the better, so locations with thinner bark will give a clearer signal.  Bark can also absorb water from the air, so you might see signs of the bark responding to humidity. Although cutting away bark to get closer to the living tissue is one way to address this, we generally don't recommend it.

Data from your TreeTag are available through ePlant’s data portal.

Once you have set everything up correctly, you can expect to see data within 15-30 minutes of starting your ePlant TreeTag.

The dendrometer signal is a measurement of how the trunk or branch is growing. You’ll see the signal moving upwards over several days or more. Young trees in spring and early summer might grow 1mm per month.

Tree signals are complex biological information, but it can be pretty easy on many trees to pick out water stress from the dendrometer signal. For a young or middle aged tree during sunny spring and summer days, you should see the tree shrinking a little during the heat of the day, and expanding each night.  With enough water, it will reach a new maximum size each night.  If, instead, it shrinks from night to night the most likely reason is that it doesn’t have enough water to fully rehydrate after the day’s heat.

The growth signal is influenced by these environmental conditions. The strongest short-term signal is the day/night cycle. During daylight hours in the growing season, plants engage in photosynthesis, leading to the opening of pores on their leaves and an increase in water tension. This causes the water, drawn in from the roots, to evaporate. The hotter and drier the conditions, the more pronounced this effect becomes.

At night, the pores close, water tension relaxes, and the plant can rehydrate. Consequently, we observe the highest growth numbers at the end of the night. Insufficient water availability during the day can result in rapid shrinkage of the plant and incomplete rehydration at night, known as water stress. While mild water stress can be beneficial, enhancing fruit sweetness or prompting root growth, excessive stress can harm the plant.

No. Your data is stored on the TreeTag for up to one year or until the power or the network connection returns to the gateway.

Find a place with smooth bark, if possible. While scientists often like to take measurements at chest height, the sensor will work just about anywhere there is healthy tissue. In public locations, we usually mount well out of arm’s reach. At home or in an orchard, we’ll install anywhere from 1 foot up to 4 feet up the trunk.

We recommend a #28 drill bit to make sure your mounting screw is snug. You can also use a ⅛ inch drill bit if you do not have a #28.

You can mount it on any branch larger than one inch in diameter. Main branches will produce stronger signals than secondary branches.

There is no requirement, but we typically mount sensors on the North facing or shady side of a tree. We do that so we get temperature readings that aren’t skewed by being in full sunlight. The solar panel gets plenty of energy in the shade in most locations in the continental United States.

No, drilling a hole this size in your tree will not harm your tree’s health as long as it is larger than one inch in diameter. We do recommend that you clean your drill bit with alcohol before drilling the hole if you have used it on another tree. Think of it like a clean needle your doctor would use - make sure it’s sanitary.

We suggest re-drilling the hole to ensure proper contact with the tree. The goal is to have the tip/face of the plunger as flat against the tree’s surface as possible. Try keeping the drill perpendicular to the tree’s surface.

We include a spare in the kit, but if that’s gone too, you’ll need to contact support@eplant.bio and request a replacement. We can send some to you quickly.

We recommend mounting the sensor right side up, so you can read the sticker. That puts the plunger above the mounting screw. This has the added benefit that any sap that might come from the mounting hole doesn’t stick to the plunger.

On a fast growing young tree, you might have to adjust the screw once a year.  When your plunger is in the last couple of millimeters of range, we will prompt you to back the screw out. You do this by stopping the sensor with the app and removing it from the mounting screw, then back the screw out until just before the threads show. Then put the sensor back on and restart it with the app to continue collecting data.

Yes, the solar panel gets plenty of energy in shade as well as in light.

We use the LED light to show the status of the radio connection. This can be helpful when you’re installing in the field and don’t have Internet connectivity on your phone. After you start the TreeTag, you can look at the LED and see if it has established a good connection. The following table shows what the blink patterns and colors mean.

Yes you will need a gateway from ePlant in order for your TreeTags to connect to the network.

We’ve tested hundreds and we believe even thousands will work!

Simply contact ePlant support and request a return authorization. We will send a replacement unit with a return label for the failed unit.

The radios we use get much better range than Bluetooth or WiFi. In some cases they can reach miles, but in a typical home garden, we expect them to reach nearly half a mile. You can check how good your connection is in the app. If the connection is poor but still works, the radio will use more power to get the messages through. This might result in fewer measurements per day.

We encrypt all sensitive information and conduct regular assessments to identify security vulnerabilities and threats.

Try to clean the plunger with a microfiber towel and warm water (no soap or solvents). If that does not free it up, the Tag might need to be serviced. Contact support@eplant.bio and we can help.

Use only a damp cloth to clean your TreeTag’s solar panel. Cleaning agents and solvents should not be used.

Unfortunately the TreeTags do not report their position, but if it was installed on a tree, the app records the GPS coordinates on the phone. You can plot those on a map and use them to locate the TreeTag.

Yes. They can be ordered by contacting support@eplant.bio.

It is used to install and move TreeTags, and to check the status of the TreeTags.

You can download the app from the Google Play Store and App Store here.

NFC is "Near Field Communication" and is used in things like tap to pay. It is the form in which you communicate with your TreeTag to turn it on and off, or scan its status. The NFC antenna is often located on the back of your phone, so move the TreeTag around on the back of your phone until you achieve connection.

There are a few possibilities.

1. NFC isn't enabled (or available) on your device.

2. You aren't lining up your phone with the device correctly.

3. Your Tree Tag is damaged or malfunctioning.

If you are sure that #1 and #2 are not the issue, please contact support@eplant.bio.