Disclosed is a plant stripper for separating buds or fruit from the stems or branches of a plant. In one embodiment, the plant stripper is defined by a housing that contains a face plate, bladed rollers, and motor and gear system for counter turning the rollers. In operation, a plant stem bearing buds or fruit may be provided through a plant hole in the face plate and gripped by the counter turning rollers so that continued counter turning of the rollers pulls the stems or plants through the plant hole of the face plate. Suitably, the plant hole is gauged so that only the stem may pass through the hole but not the buds or fruit whereby the buds or fruit of the plant are stripped from the plant via action of the stem through the plant hole. In one embodiment, the plant stripper features a guide tray for catching stripped buds or fruit and guiding the same to a collection bin.

A robotic device for sleeving potted plants. The robotic device includes a vertical shaft, at least two upper arms arranged on the vertical shaft, each one of the at least two upper arms having a gripping unit for gripping and releasing potted plants, a first picking area located at a first position radially outwards from the vertical shaft, a sleeving area located at a second position radially outwards from the vertical shaft, and a sleeving unit arranged at the sleeving area. The at least two upper arms are rotatable between the first and the second position about the vertical shaft, wherein the at least two upper arms are arranged to be movable along the vertical shaft.

A robotic device for sleeving potted plants. The robotic device includes a vertical shaft, at least two upper arms arranged on the vertical shaft, each one of the at least two upper arms having a gripping unit for gripping and releasing potted plants, a first picking area located at a first position radially outwards from the vertical shaft, a sleeving area located at a second position radially outwards from the vertical shaft, and a sleeving unit arranged at the sleeving area. The at least two upper arms are rotatable between the first and the second position about the vertical shaft, wherein the at least two upper arms are arranged to be movable along the vertical shaft.

A plastic grid or framework arrangement is used to support and position a series of bowls that hold flower arrangements, candles, letters, and other decorative elements. This grid is deployable in water fountains, indoor and outdoor pools, and other small bodies of water during festive occasions or for longer term decorative display. A special feature of this invention is that the grid itself does not float and is positioned below the surface of the water, and thus is not readily visible. Buoyancy is provided at the hubs that form nodes in the grid. The hubs also support floating bowls containing various decorative elements. The resulting effect is that the various decorative elements appear to be floating on the surface while the sub-surface grid structure maintains their relative positioning, keeping the bowls from clumping together at the edges or in the corners of the pool or fountain. The framework can take the form of a grid or ring or other shapes and can be assembled quickly from a kit of components and can be easily dis-assembled and stored for future use.

A plastic grid or framework arrangement is used to support and position a series of bowls that hold flower arrangements, candles, letters, and other decorative elements. This grid is deployable in water fountains, indoor and outdoor pools, and other small bodies of water during festive occasions or for longer term decorative display. A special feature of this invention is that the grid itself does not float and is positioned below the surface of the water, and thus is not readily visible. Buoyancy is provided at the hubs that form nodes in the grid. The hubs also support floating bowls containing various decorative elements. The resulting effect is that the various decorative elements appear to be floating on the surface while the sub-surface grid structure maintains their relative positioning, keeping the bowls from clumping together at the edges or in the corners of the pool or fountain. The framework can take the form of a grid or ring or other shapes and can be assembled quickly from a kit of components and can be easily dis-assembled and stored for future use.

An invention is disclosed for apparatuses, articles, structures, and supports for faux or artificial floral arrangements. Embodiments of such an apparatus, article, structure and support would provide, among other benefits and advantages, a more reliable, adaptable and extensible support for elaborate and extensive arrangements of faux floral artifacts over an extended area in a three-dimensional manner. In addition, faux floral products that incorporate or are otherwise equipped with the invention would become more environmental friendly and cost effective, and easier to manufacture and transport than the current approaches in the art aimed for the same goals or benefits.

A flower trimmer including a handle and a head connected thereto on which a blade with a cutting edge is disposed so that an end area of a flower stem brought against the cutting edge can be trimmed or cut off by a tensile force introduced at the handle. The head comprises an opening at the front end thereof through which opening the flower stem is inserted into the head substantially in the axial direction and directed past the blade. In the head, a cavity is provided next to the opening, the cavity being traversed by the blade.

A flower trimmer including a handle and a head connected thereto on which a blade with a cutting edge is disposed so that an end area of a flower stem brought against the cutting edge can be trimmed or cut off by a tensile force introduced at the handle. The head comprises an opening at the front end thereof through which opening the flower stem is inserted into the head substantially in the axial direction and directed past the blade. In the head, a cavity is provided next to the opening, the cavity being traversed by the blade.

One variation of a method for monitoring growth of plants within a facility includes: aggregating global ambient data recorded by a suite of fixed sensors, arranged proximal a grow area within the facility, at a first frequency during a grow period; extracting intermediate outcomes of a set of plants, occupying a module in the grow area, from module-level images recorded by a mover at a second frequency less than the first frequency while interfacing with the module during the period of time; dispatching the mover to autonomously deliver the module to a transfer station; extracting intermediate outcomes of the set of plants from plant-level images recorded by the transfer station while sequentially transferring plants out of the module at the conclusion of the grow period; and deriving relationships between ambient conditions, intermediate outcomes, and final outcomes from a corpus of plant records associated with plants grown in the facility.

One variation of a method for monitoring growth of plants within a facility includes: aggregating global ambient data recorded by a suite of fixed sensors, arranged proximal a grow area within the facility, at a first frequency during a grow period; extracting intermediate outcomes of a set of plants, occupying a module in the grow area, from module-level images recorded by a mover at a second frequency less than the first frequency while interfacing with the module during the period of time; dispatching the mover to autonomously deliver the module to a transfer station; extracting intermediate outcomes of the set of plants from plant-level images recorded by the transfer station while sequentially transferring plants out of the module at the conclusion of the grow period; and deriving relationships between ambient conditions, intermediate outcomes, and final outcomes from a corpus of plant records associated with plants grown in the facility.