Support

Help with BonsaiGlobe

Answers to the most common questions, and a way to reach a human.

Found a bug, or missing a feature?
Use the contact form on the About page. Include your device and iOS version if it is about a problem.

Contact the developer

Settings and profile

Where are the settings?

Settings opens from the round avatar in the top-left corner of the Bonsai, Pots, Reminders and Search tabs. It holds your profile, iCloud, reminders, appearance, backup and export, the trash and the About page.

What is the profile for?

Under Settings → Profile you can add a name and a photo. The avatar then shows your photo, or your initials, and a hand-over file you send carries your name so the receiver can see who it came from. There is no account behind it: name and photo are stored with the rest of your collection and follow it to your other devices through iCloud.

Backups

How do I make a backup?

Go to Settings → Backup & Export and tap Back Up Collection. The app produces a single zip file containing everything, photos included, and lets you save it to iCloud Drive, Files or any other place you choose. Trashed items are included, so a restore brings the trash back too.

How do I restore one?

On the same page, tap Restore from Backup and pick the zip file. You will be asked whether to Add to Collection or Replace Collection:

Add keeps what is already in the app and adds the contents of the backup. Restoring the same backup twice this way creates duplicates.
Replace deletes the current collection first, then restores. With iCloud on, the deletion also syncs to your other devices, so use it deliberately.

What is in the zip?

A manifest.json file describing every tree, pot, entry, reminder and relationship, and a photos folder with your photos as JPEG files. It is a plain, documented format, so your data is readable even without the app.

iCloud sync

My devices do not show the same data

Check that both devices are signed in to the same Apple Account and that iCloud shows as enabled under Settings → iCloud in the app.
In the system Settings, open your Apple Account → iCloud → Apps Using iCloud (or “Saved to iCloud”) and make sure BonsaiGlobe is on.
Give it a moment with the app open on both devices. Large photo libraries take longer the first time.
Both devices need a network connection. Sync is not instant on cellular when Low Data Mode is on.

Can I use the app without iCloud?

Yes. Everything is stored on the device regardless. iCloud only adds sync between your devices and a copy in your iCloud account. If you do not use iCloud, make backups now and then.

Photos

A photo looks pixelated after I added it

This happens with photos that are kept in iCloud. When only a small preview of the photo is on the device, the photo picker can hand the app that preview instead of the full photo. BonsaiGlobe notices this and skips the photo, but it can only download the original itself when it is allowed to read your photo library.

Choose “Allow Full Access” when BonsaiGlobe asks for photo access. With full access the app fetches the original from iCloud on the spot. Limited Access is not enough: iOS then only lets the app fetch the photos you selected for it in that dialog, and photos you pick later are not on that list.

If you have already answered Don’t Allow or Limited Access, change it under the system Settings → Privacy & Security → Photos → BonsaiGlobe and choose Full Access. The message in the app has an Open Settings button that takes you straight there. Downloading the original needs a network connection; Low Data Mode and Low Power Mode can hold it back.

Without photo access there is a manual way: open the photo in the Photos app and wait until it shows in full quality, then add it to BonsaiGlobe again.

A photo that was added as a preview before this check existed is stored small for good. Move it to the Trash and add it again.

What does the app do with photo access?

It fetches the originals of the photos you pick, and nothing else. The app never browses your library on its own, and no photo leaves your device or your own iCloud account. See the privacy policy.

Reminders

I do not get notifications

Open Settings → Reminders in the app and check that Notify on this device is on and that a notification time is set.
In the system Settings → Notifications → BonsaiGlobe, allow notifications.
The app sends one notification a day, at the chosen time, listing everything due and overdue. There is no notification at other times.
Reminders set to run only in the growing season are silent outside the months you set.

What happens when I mark a reminder done?

A recurring reminder moves forward to its next date. A one-off reminder is completed. If the reminder has a care type (for example Fertilizing), a care entry of that type is added to the tree’s timeline. Choose Done with Details… to add notes or photos to that entry first.

Done and Snooze on the notification

Press and hold the daily notification to see its buttons. Done (or Mark All Done) completes the reminders in it, exactly as in the app. Snooze Until Tomorrow moves everything overdue or due today to tomorrow. Neither needs the app to be opened.

Follow-up reminders

When you log a care entry, the form offers a follow-up reminder: check the wire in eight weeks, feed again in two weeks, repot again in two years. Turn it off for that entry or pick another interval; the app remembers your last choice for each care type.

Widgets, Siri and Spotlight

How do I add a widget?

Press and hold the Home Screen, tap Edit and then Add Widget, and search for BonsaiGlobe. Tree of the Day shows a different tree from your collection each day, in three sizes. Reminders shows what is due today and what is coming up, and also fits the Lock Screen. Widgets refresh whenever you change something in the app.

Which Siri phrases work?

“What’s due in BonsaiGlobe”, “Mark my BonsaiGlobe reminders done”, “Log fertilizing in BonsaiGlobe” (or any other care type), “Open a tree in BonsaiGlobe” and “Show my BonsaiGlobe reminders”. The same actions appear in the Shortcuts app, where they can be combined with anything else.

My trees do not appear in Spotlight

Trees are added to the search index by the app itself, whenever the collection changes. Open the app once after installing or updating, then search for a tree’s name or ID from the Home Screen.

Handing over a tree or pot

How do I send one?

Open the tree, tap the Share button and choose Hand Over…. On a pot the share button goes straight to the hand-over. Check what is included, decide whether the pot travels with the tree, and tap Send…. The app writes a single .bonsaiglobe file and opens the share sheet, so you can AirDrop it, send it in Messages or Mail, or save it to Files. Afterwards it asks whether to move the item to your Trash; choose Keep if it is still yours.

How do I receive one?

Open the file on your iPhone or iPad. From AirDrop it opens in BonsaiGlobe directly. From Messages, Mail or Files, tap the attachment; if a preview appears instead, use its share button and pick BonsaiGlobe. A sheet shows what is inside and who sent it. Enter your own ID for the tree (the next number in your scheme is suggested) and how you came by it, then tap Add to Collection. The acquired date is set to today; everything can be edited afterwards.

What is in the file?

The tree with its details, tags, notes and all its photos.
Its care journal, photos on the entries included.
The pot it is planted in, if you left Include pot on.
Your profile name, if you have set one.

Reminders are not included; they stay with you. The sender’s ID and acquisition details are replaced by the receiver’s own. A hand-over is a copy: nothing changes in the sender’s collection unless you choose to move the item to the Trash afterwards.

The file will not open

Both sides need BonsaiGlobe installed and up to date. Check that the file still ends in .bonsaiglobe; some mail apps rename attachments. If iCloud Drive shows it with a cloud icon, let it download first, then try again.

Exports

CSV

Settings → Backup & Export → Export produces four CSV files: bonsai, pots, care logs and the photo journal. Photos themselves are not included; use a backup for that.

PDF report

Open a tree, tap the Share button and choose Share Report to create a PDF with the tree’s details, portrait and full timeline including photos. Share it, print it or save it to Files.

Deleting things

Deleted trees, pots, entries and photos go to the Trash under Settings, where they can be restored or deleted permanently. Deleting a tree takes its timeline, photos and reminders out of view with it; restoring the tree brings them all back. Empty Trash or Delete Permanently cannot be undone.

Requirements

BonsaiGlobe runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS 26 or iPadOS 26 and later. There is no Android or web version.

Privacy

The app collects nothing and sends nothing to the developer. See the privacy policy for the details.