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Plant tracker
A simple plant tracker
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A simple plant tracker

Pruned back and mobile-friendly.
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can only teach you so much. Nobody can tell you the true needs of your plants, since plant care depends on specific placement, pot, soil, and the seasonal whims of light, temperature, etc. A little over a year ago, I started tracking my plants in a doc. I found that not only were my plants less likely to die, I got to know them much better, starting with how much water they truly wanted at a given time.
My personal plant tracking doc has now sprawled into multiple sections and new functionalities like light measurement, fertilizing, disease tracking, a "rain" button, etc. What you see here is a pruned back, mobile-friendly version. I suspect that, like me, you'll want to cultivate your own garden doc.
Why track your plants?
Understand your plants' true preferences. Overwatering is the number one plant killer. (Also, a nursery employee once told me that the fastest way to kill a plant was to fertilize too often.)
Log important events in your plants' lives, like new growths and mealy bug outbreaks.
1. Take inventory.
The watering interval is how many days you go between waterings. This doc's primary purpose is to help you feel out each plant's optimal watering schedule as it grows and seasons change. And if you notice trends in eieither direction, you can think about potting up, changing the soil, etc.
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Add Plant
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Name
Image
Space
Watering interval
1
Nasturtiums
bigstock-Two-Nasturtium-Blossoms-Surrou-308685904-1024x683.jpg
Patio
14
2
Pothos Sr
image.png
Living room
7
3
Pothos Jr
image.png
Bedroom
9
4
Barrel cactus
image.png
Patio
20
5
Spider Small
image.png
Living room
7
There are no rows in this table
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2. Track watering.
Mark a plant as watered by pressing the water button (or by swiping left on the row if you're on your phone). The dates will update accordingly.
If you miss a watering by a day or by a lot, the row will light up yellow (T+1) or red (T+4), respectively. Remember this is all about trial and error, so if you see that your plant is clearly fine, increase the watering interval and see how it goes.
Search
Space
Name
Image
Watered?
Last watered
Last water
Next water
Watering interval
Patio
2
Nasturtiums
bigstock-Two-Nasturtium-Blossoms-Surrou-308685904-1024x683.jpg
Water
887 days ago
4/19
5/3
14
Barrel cactus
image.png
Water
906 days ago
3/31
4/20
20
Living room
2
Pothos Sr
image.png
Water
904 days ago
4/2
4/9
7
Spider Small
image.png
Water
899 days ago
4/7
4/14
7
Bedroom
1
Pothos Jr
image.png
Water
885 days ago
4/21
4/30
9
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3. Log events.
Everyone loves progress pictures! EVERYONE! If you're a plant person, you probably already take pictures of new leaves, first flowers, new pots. This table puts them in one place so you can relive the thrill of watching them go from seed to shrub. (It's also a helpful reference in case you need to go back to the nursery and demand answers.)
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Log event
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Search
Event
Associated Plant
Description
Date
1
image.png
Nasturtiums
I gave nail supports to two vines to help them climb along the fence
4/21/2020
2
image.png
Pothos Sr
New growth despite one side being strangely floppy.
8/16/2019
3
image.png
Barrel cactus
We think seeds are shooting out of the pods and making these little clovers
5/8/2019
There are no rows in this table
3
Count
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Want to print your doc?
This is not the way.
Try clicking the ⋯ next to your doc name or using a keyboard shortcut (
CtrlP
) instead.