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.

The

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.

Mark a plant as watered by pressing the

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

and see how it goes.

Everyone loves progress pictures!

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

answers.)