Ok Rosie, you should jump in here and explain your antique spreadsheets to him (you know, the ones you keep on index cards?) (I'm jesting in general, not poking fun at Rosie).

I have to say I'm really bad at tracking anything. I'm more likely to spend hours on spreadsheets detailing stuff BEFORE I purchase or receive and little to none afterwards.

photo doc is a good idea..i've been going back on my pics to see what they looked like etc...i've been thinking of putting their name on the pot (if they have one) and then write the dates of when they start blooming..I'd like to enter one or two at the fair next summer..so I want an idea of how long between etc

good topic

Mine have a hanging tag on them if they have a name. I don't like plant stakes because I don't like the way that they look.

Don't tell my Pothos that she isn't an AV. :) She thinks she's blending in.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1afjA3m_US32jgv4FF7LpdPgyM167fnNiNgTlnml4E7w/edit?usp=sharing

Good ideas here

Being able to download a copy of the spreadsheets was more than I had hoped. Thanks Tiffu. It has a lot of categories I would not have thought to include.

Aegis I get a message that your sheet can't be opened. Would you please check the permissions to see if it's being shared? I really wanted to see it but couldn't. ☹️

Heather how will you be preparing to show? Are you going to follow that schedule that exhibitors use?

Dviolet ... sorry, first time ,,,

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1afjA3m_US32jgv4FF7LpdPgyM167fnNiNgTlnml4E7w/edit?usp=sharing

I log all of the names of my violets (if they are NOIDS, then I give them a name). I log acquisition dates, methods (i.e. plant, plug, leaf), vendors, and number (of plants) as basic information.

Then, I'll typically do a monthly update on all of my plants (i.e. passings, bloomings, repottings, status, future plans, etc.). I keep around 100 plants currently, though I'm in the process of winnowing that number by ultimately discarding those that don't do well for me. I'd like to track my watering/feeding, but i've yet to become that disciplined.

Thanks Aegis I got the sheets. Monthly updates for 100 plants would be a lot of typing! But I could see doing something like that if I could dictate it into my phone's Notes app. Somehow that might work out.

dviolet..that might be too far ahead for me to think about..so right now i honestly dont know

Hi all

I'm simplifying my new comment by deleting a couple of my previous posts. (Sorry that Heather's post is out of context now. )

Here is the link to my spreadsheet, with a few future tweaks to be done here and then. The link goes to MS OneDrive Excel and will open on your PC, tablet or phone.

https://1drv.ms/x/s!Auwg4CdQatLBhn1DWHOmXuSjYG2A

Each violet has it own sheet. I copy one sheet to use as a template for other violet sheets. I'll eventually delete or ignore what I don't track. It can be used on a pc but for periodic updates it's ideal as a phone app, enabling me to add photos on the fly and use the microphone on the keyboard to dictate text.

Didn't seem to be much use for spreadsheets on this forum but I thought I'd go ahead and post it anyway.

Anyone who's been following this post will remember all the eureka moments I had while reading your comments, lol. So thanks for everyone's input!

Holy cow - I can't imagine keeping a page like that on every AV I grow...now that's ambitious, Dviolet1! But also admirable if you can keep it up. I know I wouldn't stay with entering all that detail for long myself.

I have kept an Excel spreadsheet from the start of my immersion in collecting AV's (a habit I got into from my passion for roses) and the only thing I wish I would make time to add to the basics (name, description, where and when I got the plant or leaf, quantity and size [i.e. plants, plantlets or leaf pots] is a photo showing leaves and blooms. Someday I've thought I'd like to attach the appropriate pictures. That, however, would increase the length of the entire document as the photos need to be at least a minimal size to distinguish and so increase the width of each line entry. So perhaps just a separate list with photos as a sub-tab; I'll have to think about that. I don't want to do one sheet per violet as I like scanning down the alphabetical list quickly. And I do like to print the entire doc out when I'm doing my re-potting and inventory. It helps to have paper that I can scribble notes on, to be entered in the spreadsheet later (when my hands are clean!)

Oh, and one more thing I do with my spreadsheet: I use a different color font to indicate size: black for standards, blue for semi-minis and red for miniatures. Then I use a color background to express other traits: green background fill for trailers and yellow for chimera's. I can see at a quick glance down my list that way if a plant should be allowed to form multiple crowns, for example. I find it one of the most helpful things on my spreadsheet.

Anne

Hi Anne, I would not track all that info though. A lot of that info is copied straight off the pauli13.xls sheet download anyway. Flower descriptions I would want but maybe not the leaf descriptions. And so on. Adjustments will be made but I had to start somewhere. Easy enough to delete or edit. Kind of like the way I pack for a trip...lay my whole closet on the bed, then start subtracting. A nasty habit I can't seem to break, lol!

I don't want to spend extra time but would rather streamline the task of cataloging my collection. I'm still in planning mode right now, lol. So comments like yours are still appreciated.

A word of warning to any Excel-challenged people reading this, Stop, Do no go further. Proceed at your own risk, or you will hate me for this...

===========Stop Here=========

The important thing for me is that it's mobile, takes dictation and adds photos, on the fly. It syncs to the cloud so I can use it on my PC or mobile device!

Separate pages for each violet serves the main purpose of tracking periodic dated updates as multiple rows running vertically down the page. That's easier than tracking dated info across the page. But that's more difficult for me to say that 3 times fast.

For people who know their way around spreadsheets and databases, the main detail info from the top part of each page can be easily be transposed from columns to rows on a separate page. So separate rows for each violet will run across the page, all done Automatically(!). Some might refer to that as a reporting function. Others might call that kind of automation as being plain lazy. For those that didn't heed my warning to stop, you'll call that intensely confusing.

Transposing the detail sheet info a summary sheet serves to display and print the violet collection in the standard muti-line spreadsheet format you describe.

Sorry if I lost even the spreadsheet users still here, that would be everyone. Only few advanced Excel people would understand the concept of transposing columns or using pivot tables to summarize data. Sorry sorry sorry it that was confusing. BUT My point is that getting this information into that summary format would happen Automatically when using it. Excel is a great program for setting it up to do that.

This was a quick little project that could evolve into something else. It's actually ideal to use this spreadsheet as the basis for a portable database app for phones and tablets. Would be another quick little project for me, and be a major time-saver for me in the long run.

So sorry if it seems like I've rambled! I do feel silly now for that. I'll probably be back tomorrow to simplify it all and just click delete.

This made total sense to me, actually...but i do stuff like that every day for a living, so! The only reason why I haven't done something like that is that the formulas in Google Sheets are JUST different enough to make using it frustrating for me, and I don't have excel on my home machine.

Never expected a nerd session about excel here! Woo, this is awesome!

Oh, now Dviolet1, there is no such thing as too much knowledge. Thanks for the lesson, even if I might not use it. I am far from one of you "advanced" Excel users. Basic is about it for my needs, both at home and at work. And when it comes to linking up mobile devices, I'm out of the discussion, having only a mildly intelligent dumb phone and no tablet or pad. Still, I like to know what's out there so please don't delete your post! Others may read it and get something useful from it even if they don't comment. You never know. :-)

Anne

Hmmm, let's see,,,,I will begin by saying I never got to the index card thing, although it sounded good at the time.

Still using pencil and notebook paper. Can't alphabetize that way but,,,,,.

Way behind on violet bookwork. Shame on me, but hopefully I will catch up this week.

Interesting explanation on excel spreadsheet. I am still learning about them. We will see where that goes. Whew,,,,,too many things,,,too little time! But thanks everyone for all of the "how to" information you have posted! Rosie

I thought my scrapbook buried within my notebook was pretty darn good. Yikes, not so much!

Jeff, any way you look at it, it sounds like your scrap-booking is a lot more fun and interesting than working on spreadsheets.

I've been using my custom spreadsheet for a few weeks now and it's working out great. I'm posting a link to it and keeping it up for a couple of days so our regular gwf friends can view it if they want.

(Link now down but) PM me if you want a copy of it as a template for your own catalog.

Interesting! Mine doesn't have that much info. I have mine mainly for the "count" of plants, leaves, suckers. I have a word file with the names/description/hybridizer etc., of my violets and a pix. And I really like it but do you want to know the heck of it???I handle each of the violets, leaves etc and forget to enter the new information!!!! Agggg!!!! hahaha. Such is my addled brain! Rosie

Yeah, Rosie, I agree. The updates are less work than entering in new violets.

:-)

Thanks dviolet! But I think I will stick with what I created. It is simple. As I said when I go thru all my violets every 7 to 10 days I start out fine,,,,make my notes but then I get too engrossed in the violets and forget to write anything down! But the saving grace is,,,,,,there will always be another 7 to 10 day inventory! lol Rosie