You will want to include both the name of the hybridizer, the parents (sometimes this is known from the listing) and where you got it. Perhaps a digital record to accompany. Sometimes the info provided is incorrect, so it is good to verify

Some may be a little too much, but you'll find out (I have a lot of the same ones). One thing that was useful for awhile, was the date I set leaves and when the first babies appeared. I didn't keep it up after awhile but at least I had a good record.

I have hybridizer and AVSA registration and date. Since it's a database, I have checkboxes and there's a column for "died" and "discarded". I guess they overlap :).

Potting mix might be useful? I never marked it but my plants looked better a few years ago and I think that was why. I suspect I was forced to change though.

Good luck. Records are really useful. I haven't had the heart to relearn Excel and try to put things into a spreadsheet.

Diana

I have a very simple record I do on Microsoft Note Pad which is a text Here is how it is organized:
PLANTS
SOURCE Walmart 5/27/14
1) Pot Number Plant Name (Notes i.e repot5/28)
2) Pot Number Plant Name (Notes, date lost, poss cause)
SOURCE VB 6/10/14
1) Pot Number Plant Name (Notes, repot/pot# 6/11)
LEAF
SOURCE EBAY 5/12/14
1) Pot Number Plant Name (date set, date mouse eared)
2) Pot Number Plant Name (date set/date rotted/cause)
SOURCE JJ 5/15/14
1) Pot Number Plant Name ( etc)

Then I add Source to the PLANT list and Source to LEAF list and on it goes.

The most useful information is what is lost, the date and poss cause. I was losing a few leaves before a certain date. It was possibly too cold at that time. I haven't lost leaves lately so it is not my mix or my watering or other issues. I now know not to set leaves before a certain date or to use bottom heat at that time.

This system is simple and useful for me. It depends on what you need to know from the records as the amount of information to be collected could be so large as to be unmanageable.

I would say to design a system and collect information that is useful to your growing situation. That information should provide guidelines or clues to your future growing situation. For instance, if you are growing for show, trade, then named variety become very important. If you are watching your cultural practice, then information that can be analyzed to determine the success or failure of particular practices.
It is individual and mine is very simple. It might become more complicated as time goes on.

This post was edited by lucky123 on Sun, Jun 15, 14 at 23:38

Hybridizer, that is one I added. And whether the ID is confirmed (true). Not sure if I can track down parentage on my NOIDS... (I call them optimara or anthoflores, depending on where I got them) or if I need that record to begin with, except for my own crosses... The named few I have, will get the proper labels though.
parentage is definitely a list to look up later though, I think. Once I get a copy of first class.

The idea was to label plants as p### and leaves as L###, then the resulting plantlets would be "source" L###-their mother leaf.

Maybe a "status" as in, alive, ailing, dead, might be useful too.
I was considering adding watering technique (mat, wick or other) and potting style (straight up, modified Texas etc) but figured that could go under notes if I needed it to.
Uh oh, so much work :-p

I think my main purpose is to keep an inventory, and a record of when I need to repot.
I have some that I know for a fact haven't been repotted in a year. But, surprisingly, they are doing better than some of the others.

Once I have my inventory done, the next step would be to photograph each plant, before and after each repot. And if is blooming well.

The color and leaf info is mainly because I am interested in seeing what I have - I used to buy NOIDs by chosing attributes I didn't already have in any other plants.

Karin
Pot # is my id on the plant.

I list Noids as Pot# Noid/Lettuce (Lettuce is my name for the Noid)

If I repot Pot#3 Noid/Lettuce into another pot, then it is Pot #2 Noid/Lettuce. With seedling, it would simply be Pot # with Source being Parentage, as you noted

IF Noid/Lettuce expires, I c/p the plant name, date expired, poss cause into a separate list. The Pot and its # are not in any file until the pot is refilled.

I have another file in which all of my plants are listed by pot number down the side of the page. Across the page is a "Date Line." 1/14 2/14 etc.

IF I fertilize a pot during that month, I put a * in the date column so I can look Down my list of plants and Across to see the date fertilizing OR repotting was done. This file could be used to keep track of repotting or any cultural practice

I find that separating information into several files/sheets is better than one sheet for all the information. Computer space is cheap so multiple files don't cost more than one, after all.

I can then look at one file to see what plant is in Pot # , where I got it and other growing information

But for loss, fertilizer repotting, a separate file is easy to open, cp and keeps each page simple and easy. Plant list down, date across as it is just monthly with fertilizing my large not AV plants or repotting the AV's. I can know I repotted Pot# Noid/Lettuce 4/14 (month/year) because the precise "day" is not important. Sometime during that month is fine although I do most chores in the first week of a month because of the fertilizing schedule on my not AV plants (begonias, geraniums etc)

This post was edited by lucky123 on Mon, Jun 16, 14 at 1:12

On the other hand, "some" of us use red coffee stirrers to
i.d. red flowering plants, green star bucks straws for the pink ones, and blue Peet's coffee straws for the purple ones. Not saying who that "someone" is. That is why the variegated seem easier to remember. They look different. Just a "casual grower" here.
"someone" has graduated to silver and gold permanent markers to write on the pots and invested in an ink remover for when repotting. Only because the club shamed me into it. Joanne

lol Joanne, believe it or not, even with my optimara NOIDS I can typically tell them apart by foliage. Except for when the babies grow different than the parent (I have a standard struggling to fill a 1.5"pot, but the offspring all grow like weeds).

Lucky, you are right, no need to keep everything in one great list. I am just trying to decide how much info I actually need/want to collect.
I decided on plant# as primary identifier, because I would confuse the pot system. This way, I just need to label the current pot with the plant #, which I would anyways with the plant name.
I like lists because they let me sort by arrtibute, be it when it was repotted, bloom color etc.... :-)

Stakes tend to get knocked out for me so I label the pot. I would find it easier to put the potted date on the pot but whatever works.

As for noids, what I did was have an ID with a (?) after the name. Most of them are gone so it's not an issue. Someone told me that Lowe's sold Anthoflores so I spent a lot of time trying to id my Optimaras as Anthoflores back then. I believe for the most part, my Lowe's have sold Optimaras. However if you get into that situation, you can say O. Degas (?) and then you at least can have a record of that plant, a general idea of what it looks like, etc. Then if Jolly Texan turns into Crimson Ice which turns into Mac's Southern Springtime (I had a little confusion when one lost its tag), you can just fix it then. Only 3 or 4 plants lost their tags when I restarted everything but they sure caused enough problems.

The leaf color, etc. is helpful if you ever get things mixed up and it can happen to the best of us. Right now I have two vying for the title of "Snuggles" which I grew for a long time. I just bought a leaf from Bloomlovers to try to decide for sure. One had lost its tag when I started them all over and then I noticed the other said "probably Snuggles." Hmm. Now I'm leaning toward the unmarked bright pink semidouble var. one as a noid and the former noid as Snuggles.

I love being able to sort my columns any way I want to, I can pick out the minis, the semi-minis, by hybridizer, by date hybridized, date acquired, who they came from, etc.

Diana

Karin
When I was considering seeds, I thought about a system.
On the first pot, number the pot #1, take 1 seedling, name it S1.

In the records, list Pot#1 S1 6/11/14

When S1 needs to be repotted, it would be repotted into Pot#20 S1 8/30/14

That way it would be easy to keep track of where that plant was or what was in each pot. I could look at the pot number, check the records and see which seedling that was or I could look for the plant by looking for that pot by number.

Later, after blooming more information could be added to S1 Pink/Single and those pots/plants sorted into different files.

I start with very simple files, then as I see the need for more information (repotting, loss etc) then I expand into separate files.

I tend to keep too many detailed records with useless information cluttering up the landscape until I can't extract information I need.

I have kept records and more records I tend to be very simple and determine exactly what information I really want and need.

I think Lucky is right; what you are growing for will dictate what you put in your records.

My database has: name, corresponding name if a Russian, who I bought it from and when, and whether it is a mature plant, plantlet, or leaf.

Since my inventory is creeping up towards 450 varieties, I want to make sure I do not buy something that I already have. It is usually not a problem except for the Russians so it's handy to have a list.

For color and hybridizer I use First Class. They've already done the work for me!

Linda

Mine also says if I acquired it as a leaf or a plant. I like to be able to see that I tried something 4 years ago and it didn't work out. Sometimes I am lucky and I noted what happened. It keeps me from making the same mistakes over and over.

I do have FC2 but don't like to have to rely on another program for the hybridizer and registration info every time, just me. Most of the description is not really necessary though since a good bit of it is available online. Some of the official descriptions can be rather brief so the leaf back can be a help.

Diana

For the seedlings, I was actually planning on 'borrowing' the system off the African violet stop blog. Batches a, b and c, planted into ice cube trays, each plant given its id# a1 through a1000, b1 etc.
I'll need lots of trays :-D
But those were going on a separate list each. Seen as I am definitely not keeping them all, and I wouldn't want to crowd the main list...

I'll post a link once I get the first list sorted....

Karin

Karin
That sounds like a good system. I had to set up files and records for a small business. I had a Huge Mess the first year or two until I learned to be very simple, use multiple files and know exactly what information I really needed or wanted.
You should have seen my first files. I was tracking everything in duplicate and able to find nothing when I needed it.
This is very easy. At least I don't have to keep very careful files for taxes and government agencies :)

I found a record keeping document on another group. It has many of the things we've already mentioned and some others. The person obviously grows for show because there are notes pertaining to awards, etc. (Not an issue here unless I start handing them out!)

Some that seemed useful were date of first bloom and true/not true. Potting mix (I was wondering what was smelling and I think it's my manure experiment.) She has "Left Collection" and then a list of reasons, including trade, sold, etc. More elegant than Died/Discarded :)

Diseases/Problems and Remedy used seemed like useful information. You'd spot those ones faster that got powdery mildew. She also has a record of disbudding and when they come back into bloom which is is important for show.

Diana

Catalogued & photographed 28 plants. Repotted a few.
Now I just have to match the plants with the images and fill in any additional info.
And I haven't even touched anything in the 'nursery' yet...

I suppose it will be easier once the list is set up, and I can just edit individual plants...

Here is a link that might be useful: My List

This post was edited by froeschli on Sat, Jun 21, 14 at 13:50

Impressive!

Karin,

That is very nice. It took me a bit to figure out what was going on. I guess everyone just doesn't hold their breath ;).

In the future, you might want to consider placing a small ruler in the photo for some idea of scale. It can be hard to judge the size at times. Very nice photos though!

Diana

thanks, i was thinking about adding a ruler, but since i am noting pot size, well, if you could see the pot it would work...

i just didn't like the look of having a ruler in the picture... maybe next time i'll draw circles on the backdrop :-)

i have already informed DH that i will be setting up a proper light stand for photography practice (aka AV portraits ;-) )

Circles is/are (you pick it) a very good idea. I had thought of a grid but figured that would be distracting. It just seems that something visual is faster than going to pot size.

Of course it's your inventory so whatever works for you.

I do envy your photo setup. I don't even know where to start with a tripod so I guess I'll keep holding my breath. I'd get some great shots of a cat attacking the plant on the floor. I already have one of Happy Harold falling off the shelf while I was trying to take a photo. Dandy had a thing for him, I guess.

Diana