How often should you talk to plants?

[Blanchflower]

OK, I have a question to ask. My Sim has the green thumb trait and the question is, what is the optimal number of times should one talk to plants to increase its quality? Is it everyday? Thanks!

 

[Happytime]

  I've not had a Sim yet in the Sims three with that trait! In the Sims2, "Talk to Plant" was an interaction that eventually "stopped" when the Sim had helped the plant as much as it could (and topped off their "Social" need until it was full).

I'm interested in the answer to this one! 

  -- Happytime

[Metropolis Man]

Not 100% sure here, but I believe Talk to Plant has a cap effect of bumping quality level by 1. So, talking to the plant one time should do the trick. Any more than that and you're wasting your time. What I don't know is if that's once per harvest or once per life of the plant.

[Swede1992]

I usually talk to them once a day and it seems to have quite a good effect on their quality-gain during the day. Can't say of it's optimal, but it doesn't take that much time and it works somewhat at least.

[LlamaMama]

You talk to every single plant? I wish you could just give a speech to them all at once: Listen up, you plants...

I thought it was just for social needs, didn't realize it helps growth.

[wildredchild]

Talking to the plants only helps with quality of Harvest, not quality of plant growth.  So you would talk to the plant each time you take a harvest from them, and then the next time you harvest that plant, the produce will be one level higher then the actual plant.  Example, you have a great plant, talk to it and you get excellent fruit from it instead of great.  If you also fertilize the plant, then you can get outstanding produce when you harvest and talk to it.

[TollingBells]

Oh man, that would be good to know for a nectar or gardener challenge.  I'll remember that next time I make someone a gardener.

[Happytime]

Listen up, you plants...

LlamaMama, 

I did a true and for real "LOL" I read that, I envisioned a Sim at a podium with one of those "RED CRISIS" thought balloons overhead! "You VIL GROW!"

Thanks for a great snicker!

  -- Happytime

[LlamaMama]

LlamaMama, 

I did a true and for real "LOL" I read that, I envisioned a Sim at a podium with one of those "RED CRISIS" thought balloons overhead! "You VIL GROW!"

Thanks for a great snicker!

  -- Happytime

I'm pleased to get you to your happy place, Happytime!

[Sarah]

Can all Green Fingered Sims talk to plants, or does their social need to drop to a certain level before the option comes up?
I had a Green Fingered Sim and the option never came up (although I -do- think at the time I remembered about the option a lot of the plants were at 'Perfect' so maybe that's why?)

[wildredchild]

I have never had a Green Thumb Sim not be able to talk to the plants they had growing in the garden and I play almost every Sim with Green Thumb, unless it is a challenge character.

[Pam]

All of my Green Thumb Sims have always been able to talk to all of their plants.

[Saltypaws]

Usually I will just tell the sim to talk to the plant and when he quits talking on his own, I figure, maybe that was enough.  I know in sims2, when the plants reached the last level, the sim would automatically stop talking.  I only have my sim talk to the plants once every cycle.  When I harvest a plant, I will have them talk to it and then that is it.  My sim's garden is too big now, so I have quit talking to them, besides, when all of the plants are perfect, I see no need anymore.

[LlamaMama]

I still fertilize my perfect plants, though. I think it speeds or increases the harvest.

[NeoFelis]

I still fertilize my perfect plants, though. I think it speeds or increases the harvest.

According to the gardening section of the guide, it speeds up the time to harvest at varying rates depending on what you're using for fertilizer. I don't remember anything about increasing it, but that could be my memory acting like a sieve again.