Nothing wrong with having doubles! Yes it's a good idea though- you can just make your own little labels. Paper, glue and tape along with a piece of plastic seems to last longer than just a magic marker. Just stick the thing in the pot.

Ok here is my catalog system. Each plant gets a plant tag, ex. #W-SK01. Looking at the index card you'll see this catalog ID in the upper right hand corner. W= winter grower / SK is Senecio Kleiniiformis/ plant number. The card lists the scientific name, family, country of origin, acquisition/propagation date, and notes on the plant. Also I take a pic of the plant when I first aquire This works for me :)

Coop:
Yep, I found out that alcohol dissolves sharpie marker on plastic
o_0 LOL! As far as doubles, I have lots of multiples of the same plants in different stages of growing. So darn easy to propagate! I think I'm a plant hoarder -____- It just bugs me when I spend $$ on plants I already have, unless of course it's a particularly large & comely specimen =D

LisaPN:
Love your system =)
Looks like I'll have to adopt this. I like to have notes, my memory isn't as good as it used to be and my collection is larger than it used to be. Right now, my list is on a steno pad.

Wish I was more of a tech gadget geek & could find a program or app that would help with cataloging. I would like to include pics
-__-

(hmmm....adding to to-do list)
lol!

Hookilau I too have a plant problem lol ;) I've always grown things, mostly gardening outdoors because I have two young kids. But my succulent habit started early this spring...one lead to another and another...I now have 84 specimens! I have a few multiples due to propagation and somehow I've purchased 4 Kalanchoe Luciae?!

I sort of keep track of them on my computer. Not that I'm a tech geek but pics pile up. I guess I forgot to name some of them but there are dates and stuff sometimes that show up on the camera. It's a cheap one too I got it at Walmart.

I just have the plant names on a txt file.

I started a notebook, but then I started trading this summer, then started binge trading, so I didn't have time for the notebook what with life, gardening in full swing, and trading in overdrive!!!! So I'm going to have to start a system in the spring, when things come out. I have planted a lot of seeds, and there are so many new plants that I will have to see what survives and what is what, since I forget now. I tried to label stuff, but my kids pull up the tags. I was taking pics, but didn't stay regular. I will have to be more regular next year - I was trying to document what was here / all the changes at the new house this first year. I have an index card system for trading, and I noted for most trades exactly what I had asked for, what I got, and what I sent. So that will help. I will have to start an index card system like the one above to help keep track of my plants! I have a lot of spring ephemerals that I will need to map out and mark to keep myself from double and triple planting that area - something I have found myself doing on accident! "Whoops, I forgot!" I say to the poor plants, and cross my fingers I didn't kill them.
I had bought clear spray paint to use as a clear coat on markers both wooden and metal - to see if the little gardening tip I'd read would work. Just sharpie on a popsicle stick or metal tag barely lasts 3 months for me, if I can keep the marker in the ground that long . . . !

I'm glad to see I'm in good company =)
I'm not feeling overwhelmed by the hoard just yet, but that I'm actively trying to keep things in order so that it doesn't happen.

I did not expect growing plants would require such strong organizational skills!

When plants get relegated to a bottom shelf & I find I like their growing habit, this is when I end up buying another, having forgotten all about the original acquisition. I guess this is why I feel the need to catalog.

It's hard to keep all me notes up in me noggin'
=D

I started a notebook, each plant has a double page. It holds all the info that is necessary to know. Name, temp, watering, light needs and anything I found out about my plants, even when they died. Also I plan to draw a small pic of each myself.
Every other month, when I take my plants to the shower I take a photo and measure width and height. I found a mobile app called Garden Manager (for Android, but possibly there's one for iOS). You can add several pic for each plant, shows growth on graph, can set alarm for watering/fertilizing/applying pesticide etc. Really smart and easy to use.

Sometime I make notes right on the photo.

Rina

Rina that's a cool idea! Two birds with one stone :)

An app that alerts you to water and fertilize, brilliant!

I have a spreadsheet listing name, source,date acquired, size etc, but it needs to be updated..Each plant also has a tag listing name, date acquired, and last repot. I have been updating tags lately, since many disappeared in my greenhouse upset of 2011. I had a baby in early 2012 and the plants took a backseat for a while.. My succulent obsession is now back stronger than ever!
Will be posting some pics here for re- identification soon! The index card idea is appealing, but it would be a bit overwhelming to start at this point...

... I may have too many plants, but I don't have ENOUGH!

Happy growing!
Breton

B,

I'll have to send you a Gasteria 'Bluenoser' next spring - June's probably safe, isn't it?

Too disorganized to catalog, but I do keep it all in my head, so most every plant I have, I know where it came from, and roughly how long I have had it.

From the Stetsonia coryne I bought for ten cents at Walmart in '07 to the Euphorbia tirucalli I started from a cutting from Florida I took in '09, to the Jackfruit tree I started from seed I got in the Philippines last year, I am pretty good at keeping track of things in my crowded cranium.

Christopher

I use Evernote for all my garden note taking. It is the greatest app ever. It runs on Mac, PC, iOS, and Android. And the basic version is free Yeah, I'm a nerd.

When I buy plants, I take a picture of the plant and the tag. Text in photos is searchable in Evernote so that's pretty much it. I have recently been making Plant Profiles with info like Lisa's notes, but also date acquired and source. Then I just make notes about it as they come up like flounders in shade or something.

I also make Garden Log entries. So if I'm walking around the garden and I notice something blooming, I take a picture with my phone and save it as a note. The note has a created on date automatically. That way I can use the search function and search for Garden Logs with the plant name and bloom in the note and I will have the dates every year that the plant started blooming.

I planted bulbs and stuck little plastic flags where I planted them. Then I took a picture and made a note in Evernote. Then I went to my note and annotated it with the names of the bulbs and arrows pointing to where they were planted.

I have Playbooks that have clear simple instructions. They are titled Playbook: xxxx so I can create a saved search for Playbook in the title and then I always have all the instruction notes at hand. One Playvook is for fertilization. It has all the amounts of different fertilizers for all the different sizes of nursery container and how to make up liquid fert. Since I pay for the pro version, I can share the notebook with my wife and she has access to all the clear simple instructions too.

Of course the shared grocery list with checkboxes is probably the best part of the app but that's not garden related. We just have a big organized list of all the pantry items, all the bathroom items, etc. When we run out of an item whoever notices just unchecks the box for that item. Then whoever goes to the store just checks the list for unchecked items and buys them.

This post was edited by nil13 on Thu, Nov 20, 14 at 22:43

Awesome thread. The only "cataloging" I've done is marking winter or summer growers on the labels...

Jeff, that would be great! the elusive east coast Gasteria... I am a little preoccupied with Gasterias lately. I have a whole bunch of NOID plantlets I am hoping to identify.
And June should certainly be safe for shipping. Is there anything I might have that you would like?

Happy growing!
Breton

nil13, that's great! I will have to check into those apps and start doing those things! I especially like the idea of putting arrows on pictures in Evernote to mark where bulbs are. I'll have to check that out. And I love the idea of shared grocery lists on Playbook - will definitely start that!

I also like the idea of taking a pic of the plant and putting all the plant's info on it, perfect.

Everything I described is for Evernote. I now realize the playbook bit could be confusing because there is a thing called playbook. But it is just a note title for an instruction manual. Here is a great resource for evernote that describes playbooks and if you look at the rest of the blog it has a bunch of great tips.

Here is a link that might be useful: Evernote playbooks - going paperless

Thank you, I will look into it. I almost downloaded the app to my Android phone, but I think I'll put it on my old iPhone since the reviews had several Android users who said they were having problems.

I have a lot of Lithops and Conophytums so use Excel to catalogue my plants. I put ths name of the plant or ssp. or variety, collectors number if it has one. Where the seed or rarely the plant came from ,date sown and any flowering.I have a seperate Excel for each of the six genera I grow.

I'm on android and I don't have any problems with it.

I also take photos of the plants with the tags. If I want to add notes, I can add those in the description field of the photo file. The photo maintains the date when it was taken, and so that is helpful. I am more concerned with the tillandsia, as they are often difficult to identify when they are not in bloom, and the blooms don't last that long.

Unfortunately, I found out that permanent markers are not permanent when used on plastic tags that stay outside. I only keep a few of my orchids inside - all the rest of my plants stay outside all the time, even the succulents when they are blooming, and so I need to find a better marking system.

@nil13;

Awesome!

Evernote sounds like it's exactly what I need.
Thanks for the tip! I'm off to download on phone & tablet & get to snapping pics & taking notes.

=D

Marker, schmarker, a #2 pencil is the best ever writing instrument for tags - it never fades.

I use my flicker page to catalogue when I buy and what they are and then I stick them in the ground or the pot. I use # pencil on plastic tags or cut venetian blinds I put on cold hardiness info. I think I aim going to switch to a color code on them so I know when to haul in or cover. I am slowing down on my purchasing. The ones I love are getting BIG and the ones that bore me get left out in the cold. (I am a bad bad bad plant mom.) I am not that organized and I am much more worried about the aesthetics than remembering the name. I figure if I need the name , I can find it out by getting on the web fairly easily. Perfect records was never important to me. They say the devil is in the details, and that is why I stay away from details. I am a big picture person.