Plant Bowl
In order to plant a seed, you first need a special bowl. Plant bowls can be purchased from a provisioner for a small price. Once you have an empty plant bowl, you'll need to fill it with dirt before you can plant a seed in it. To fill a plant bowl with dirt, double-click the bowl to use it, and then target a source of nice soft brown dirt. If you've targeted an appropriate patch of dirt, you'll now have a bowl full of dirt. Add in enough water to soften the dirt, and you'll have a perfect spot for planting a seed! Make sure you do not add too much water to the bowl. Two pours should be sufficient. Double click a pitcher of water and target the bowl of dirt to add water. Pitchers can be purchased from innkeepers and tavernkeepers.
- No water added is hard dirt.
- One water added stays hard dirt, unsuitable for planting seeds
- Two water added gives soft dirt, which is the optimum level
- Three water added gives squishy dirt, which is a bit too much
- Four water added gives sopping wet dirt, which is way too much
- Water troughs can be found in bakery shops and some stables (Skara Brae for instance). Double click your empty water pitcher and target the trough to fill it. Serious gardeners will want to build a water trough in their house to have an everlasting water supply.
Alternatively, you can fill the plant bowl with 40 pieces of fertile dirt. Fertile dirt
is found on various monsters, as well as a few other lesser known places. Now may be a good
time to do some negotiating with a warrior or mage to see if he/she can collect some for you.
First test results indicate that fertile dirt may lead to accelerated growth!
Plant Seeds:
Plant seeds originally come in four different colors;
blue 
,
red 
,
yellow 
,
and plain 
.
When planted in a bowl of dirt and carefully tended to over time, plant seeds will grow into
full-grown plants. These plants can be used for decorative purposes only, or as a source of new
hybrid plant seeds and specially grown resources.
By using cross pollination and random genetic mutation, other seed colors can be created.
Those colors are:
bright blue 
,
bright red 
,
bright yellow 
,
purple 
,
orange 
,
green 
,
white 
,
and black 
.
Both the white and black seeds are extremely rare to achieve so paint your thumb green if you
manage to cross pollinate these!
Players that conclude the "Naturalist Quest" will obtain a rare colored seed. Known colors are
'rare pink' 
,
'rare magenta' 
,
'rare aqua' 
,
and 'rare fire red seed' 
.
You can find a Naturalist NPC in various cities around PC Realm.
While you can tell what color of plant the seed will grow into by the color of the seed itself, the type of plant that results from a particular seed remains a mystery until the plant is fully-grown!
The first step in growing a seed into a plant is planting it in a bowl of soft dirt. In order to plant a seed, simply double-click the seed to use it, and then target a bowl of soft dirt. Freshly dug dirt isn't soft enough for a seed to be planted in, so you'll need to pour water into your bowl of dirt before attempting to place a seed in it.
Plant Growth:
Plants take time to grow through their various stages. A plant has nine main stages of
growth, from seed, to sapling, to fully grown plant. Plants will not grow in containers,
unless the container is in a player's backpack. If a plant is healthy and well-tended, it
will grow one "stage" of its life-cycle in about a day's time. If a plant is not healthy
because it has not been well taken care of, then it will not grow. You must keep your
plant in a healthy state by curing it of any maladies that might be affecting it, and
then letting it heal naturally or help it along through alchemical means.
A plant's grow stage is displayed by the numbers
through 
on the top left corner of the plant menu.
Growth Indicator:
A symbol in the upper right-hand corner of the image tells you what happened the last time the plant tried to grow:
- No symbol: Unknown - meaning there was an error, or the plant has not yet grown.
- Red ! : The plant did not grow because it was in an invalid location. This means the plant must either be sitting out on the ground, or it must be inside your backpack.
- Red - : The plant did not grow because it was not healthy. A plant must be either "healthy" or "vibrant" in order to grow.
- Yellow - : The plant did not grow because it had not been 23 hours since it last grew. Plants can only grow once every 23 hours.
- Blue + : The plant successfully grew.
- Green + : The plant successfully grew, and got an extra bonus growth from being planted in fertile dirt.
Plant Health:
Plants have hit points much like your character. A plant loses hit points when it is affected by various maladies. If a plant has insects eating at it, then it will lose hit points each day. Other maladies that can affect a plant's health include under or over-watering the plant, harmful fungi, poison, and disease.
From good to bad, a plant can be in one of the following conditions:
- Vibrant
- Healthy
- Wilting
- Dying
Greater heal potions and a plant's natural healing will raise the plant's hit points back up to its maximum, but only if the plant has been cured of all maladies first. If a plant loses all its hit points, it will die.
As a plant grows, its maximum health increases. Seeds and saplings are very weak, and can easily be killed if neglected for even a short while. Full-grown plants, on the other hand, could survive for several days without any help.
Infestation: 
As a plant grows, it has a chance of being infested by insects. These insects will slowly eat at a plant, causing it to lose health and eventually die. Different plants have different chances of being infested. Flowery plants, over-watered plants, and bright plants all have a greater chance of attracting hungry insects, so they'll need even more attention from their owner.
You can use greater poison potions on your plant in order to kill off the insects that have infested it. Be sure that you do not use too much poison, however, or your plant will soak up the poison, which can cause it to wither and die!
You can view your plant's current Infestation Level in the Plant Health menu. The Infestation Level meter shows the relative amount of insects that are currently attacking your plant. A yellow + sign means the plant has a small infestation. A red + sign indicates a severe infestation.
Fungus: 
As a plant grows, it has a chance of being infected with harmful fungi. Fungi sap the plant of its health, which will cause it to wither and die. It is important to remember that fungi love moist areas, so over-watering your plant increases the chance that it will become infected by harmful fungi.
You may cure your plant of fungus by using greater cure potions.
You can view your plant's current Fungus Level in the Plant Health menu. The Fungus Level meter shows the amount of fungi that are currently sapping health from your plant. A yellow + sign means the plant has a small fungus infection. A red + sign indicates a severe fungus infection.
Poisoned Plants: 
You may apply greater poison potions to your plant to kill insects infesting it. If you apply too many poison potions, however, or apply poison potions when there are no insects on the plant, then your plant will soak up the poison and become sick.
When you apply greater poison potions, they will not take effect until the next growth check your plant performs (approximately once a day). Don't worry, however, as insects only harm your plant during a growth check as well, so any insects will be killed off by your poison potions before they can harm your plant.
If you accidentally poison your plant, you can cure the plant of poison by using greater heal potions to counteract the poison. To apply the potion, use the apply potion symbol from the plant's main menu, then target the potion bottle. The Poison Level meter shows the amount of poison that your plant has soaked up. A yellow + sign means the plant is slightly poisoned. A red + sign indicates that the plant is severely poisoned.
Diseased Plants: 
You may apply greater cure potions to a plant in order to cure it of harmful fungi. If you apply too many cure potions, however, or apply cure potions when the plant is not infected by fungi, you will infect your plant with a deadly disease which will cause it to wither and die.
When you apply greater cure potions, they will not take effect until the next growth check your plant performs (approximately once a day). Don't worry, however, as fungi only harm your plant during a growth check as well, so any harmful fungi will be cured by your cure potions before they can harm your plant.
If you accidentally infect your plant with a disease by over-curing it, you can use greater heal potions to counteract the disease. You may view your plant's current Disease Level in the Plant Health menu. To apply the potion, use the apply cure potion from the plant's main menu, then target the potion bottle. The Disease Level meter shows the strength of the disease affecting your plant. A yellow + sign means the plant is slightly infected. A red + sign indicates that the plant is severely infected.
Watering: 
In order to keep your plant healthy, you must water it regularly. An under-watered plant will wither and die if left unattended. However, it is important to remember that over-watering your plant is also unhealthy. Over-watered plants become waterlogged and lose health, in addition to becoming perfect breeding grounds for insects and fungi.
Each time a plant performs its growth check (approximately once a day), the plant will soak up one dose of water, so you'll need to keep a constant eye on your plant to make sure it has not dried out. You can view your plant's current Water Level in the Plant Health menu. The Water Level meter shows the amount of water in your plant bowl. Unlike other state meters, the Water Level meter displays both negative (under-watered) and positive (over-watered) levels.
A yellow - sign indicates the plant is slightly under-watered. A red - sign indicates a severely under-watered. A yellow + sign indicates the plant has been slightly over-watered. A red + sign indicates the plant has been severely over-watered.
Potions (Plants):
You may apply various potions to a plant in order to cure it of various maladies, help it to heal back up to maximum health, or strengthen it against infestations. Potions are applied through the Water button on the Main Menu.
The following potions may be used on plants:
- Greater Heal Potions
- Greater Cure Potions
- Greater Poison Potions
- Greater Strength Potions
Heal Potions (Plants):
You may apply greater heal potions to a plant in order to cure it of poison or disease. Heal potions are applied during a plant's normal growth check, so you will need to apply new heal potions each day if you want the plant to continue applying their beneficial effects.
If greater heal potions are applied to a plant that is not poisoned or diseased, and the plant has no other maladies currently affecting it, then the heal potions will be used to help increase the plant's current hit points (in addition to the natural healing a plant performs if it is not currently infected by any maladies). To apply the potion, use the heal potion symbol from the plant's main menu, then target the potion bottle.
Strength Potions (Plants):
You may apply greater strength potions to a plant in order to help it resist insect infestations and fungus growth. Each strength potion applied will lower the chance of infestation by harmful maladies. Strength potions are soaked up by a plant during its normal growth check, so you will need to apply new strength potions each day if you want the plant to continue applying their beneficial effects. To apply the potion, use the strength potion symbol from the plant's main menu, then target the potion bottle.
Cross-Pollination:
When a plant first reaches its full-grown state, it will sprout its full foliage,
no longer contained within the plant bowl. At this stage of the plant's growth, it will
begin to produce pollen. You can view your plant's current Pollination State in the
Plant Resources Menu. The plant will eventually self-pollinate if left unattended, and
the plant will begin to produce seeds. Seeds produced by a self-pollinated plant will
grow up into an exact duplicate of the "parent" plant. Plants will only give pollen on
days 7 through 9 of their growth cycle. Something to consider if you want to gather the
pollen instead of letting the plant self-pollinate.
Another method of pollination is called "cross-pollination". Once a plant reaches the pollen-producing stage, its pollen may be gathered by the owner by using the Cross-Pollination button. Gathered pollen may be used on another full-grown plant. When you pollinate one plant with pollen from another plant, the targeted plant will produce seeds that will grow into a hybrid of the two plants. The color and type of each "parent" plant are combined to produce a new type of seed that will grow from the targeted plant.
While you may continue to gather pollen from a plant throughout its entire life cycle, once a plant has been pollinated (either by itself, through natural pollination, or through manual cross-pollination from another plant), no further combinations may be performed. The seed type that the plant will produce is determined the first time the plant is pollinized, and cannot be changed afterwards.
In very rare circumstances, cross-pollination may result in a "mutation". If mutation occurs, the targeted plant will not produce seeds that are a combination of the two "parent" plants, but will instead produce "mutated" seeds that grow into mutant plant varieties.
Pollination State: 
The Pollination State indicator displays the current pollination state of a plant.
indicates that the plant has not yet produced any pollen, as it has not reached full-grown level.
indicates that the plant has entered its pollen producing state, and can have pollen gathered from it,
or be cross-pollinated to.
indicates that the plant has been pollinated (either by itself, through natural self-pollination,
or by the pollen of another plant). While you can still gather pollen from a plant in this
state, the plant can no longer be the target of cross-pollination.
Seed Production:
When a plant reaches its maximum growth level, it will no longer grow in size, but will instead produce seeds any time a growth check is performed. The type of seed that a plant produces is determined by whether it pollinated itself, or if pollen from another plant was applied to it during the cross-pollination process. A plant will produce once seed per day, up to a maximum of eight seeds. A plant will only produce a seed if it is healthy.
You may gather seeds from a plant by using the Gather Seeds button on the Resources menu. You will pick all available seeds from the plant and place them in your backpack, if there is room. The number of seeds available is displayed next to the Seed # indicator . The color of that number is the same color as the seeds will be, such as red, blue, green, bright red etcetera. A red X symbol indicates that the plant has been set to decorative mode, or has produced its maximum amount.
Resource Production: 
Certain plant type and color combinations result in a plant that can produce unique resources. A plant will begin producing resources at the same time it produces seeds, when it reaches its maximum growth level. One resource is produced per day, up to a maximum of eight resources. A plant will only produce resources if it is healthy.
You may gather resources from a plant by using the Gather Resources button on the Resources menu. You will pick all available resources from the plant and place them in your backpack, if there is room. The number of resources available is displayed next to the Resource # indicator . A red X symbol indicates that the plant has been set to decorative mode, or has produced its maximum amount.
Resources produced by unique plant combinations have special properties dependant on the resource type and color. The following resources have been discovered:
Red Leaf - Gathered from Bright Red Elephant Ear Plants, Bright Red Ponytail Palms and Bright
Red Century Plants. Red Leaves allow you to seal ink in a book so that the content of the book
cannot be edited ever again.
Orange Petals - Gathered from Bright Orange Poppies, Bright Orange Bulrushes
and Bright Orange Pampas Grass. Eating Orange Petals will make you resistant to poison for 5
minutes.
Green Thorn - Gathered from Bright Green Barrel Cacti and Bright Green Snake
Plants. Planting a green thorn will give various results, depending on the type of soil the
thorn is planted in.
Decorative Mode: 
When a plant reaches its maximum growth level, a Decorative Mode symbol will appear in the Resources Menu. This symbol is displayed as a leafy plant with a red / symbol through it.
Pressing this button (and clicking Yes to apply) will set the plant to Decorative Mode.
A plant set to Decorative Mode will not produce seeds or resources, and cannot be used for cross-pollination. A Decorative Plant does not need upkeep, however, and is always in a healthy state. Decorative Mode should be activated if you simply want your plant to be used as a house decoration, and therefore do not want to have to water it or keep it healthy.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Once a plant is set to Decorative Mode, it cannot be set back to its normal state. A Decorative Plant will never produce seeds or resources again.
Emptying the Bowl: 
If you would like to empty your plant bowl of the plant or seed and start over again, you may use the Empty Bowl button on the Main Menu.
If the plant in the bowl is in the seed or sapling stage, emptying the bowl will result in a bowl and the seed placed in your backpack.
If the bowl only had dirt in it, or the plant had grown beyond the sapling phase, emptying the bowl will destroy the plant, returning only the plant bowl to your backpack.