plants that respond highly to water

I am a designer working in collaboration with Waterwise and Northumbrian Water. I am currently designing home monitoring equipment that indicates to a household their water usage. One of the concepts involves a plant pot that provides water to a plant depending on a households water usage.

I don't have much knowledge of plant life and would appreciate any advice on what plants are extremely reactive to water in a home environment? I would hope the more the household saves water the more the plant looks stronger, healthier than when the household is wasting water.

Kind Regards,

Richard Dale

 

I suppose cactii are the ultimate water conservationists that are widely known by the public. Pineapple are also pretty frugal too.

 

I have noticed that Oxalis triangularis completely droop their leaves if they dry out, and miraculously stand up again if watered. During summer they require quite a bit of water regularly, but not much use in winter I'm afraid as they die down.

 

You are looking for a plant which thrives in drought conditions, and wilts when watered? I agree that cacti are the obvious choice, though most do indeed enjoy a good watering (especially through the summer). Thinking caps on!

 

The other plant to consider - that often dies through overwatering is the indoor cyclamen. The difference between a sad plant and a healthy plant is also very marked.

 

Richard - I don't now if this is a small picture or what. But I suspect you may be being too sophisticated. I think people do associate watering with flowers. But you may be as well off with a generic flower, just a stalk with a big daisey head at the top, that droops when unhealthy or stands vertical when healthy. Other than a cactus, I don't think the general public are aware of the water requirements of differant types of flower.

 

Thankyou all for your response. After looking into it i did find that there were far too many variables involved with growing a plant linked up to a variable water supply. The concept has been developed as an online resource where users can download a dynamic wallpaper from their water company's website. This wallpaper is an image of a flower that changes depending household usage. As this would be a digital image it is a lot easier to control! Thanks again.