I don't use anything to track potted plants, but I have a
custom-built database for the lab. It got to the point where paper wasn't
good enough, so now the Access database keeps it all straight.

For the uninitiated: Excel and other spreadsheets are "flat"
databases, although it is possible to tie things together if needs be-
with a bit of programming. Access and other relational databases have a
lot more power, if needed. For example, Excel could give you a nice
breakdown of the average pot size (if someone wanted that information for
some weird reason) of all your cattleyas. A relational database would be
more useful if one needed to produce a list of all plants belonging to
cattleya species starting with the letter "m" that were last repotted more
than 16 months ago.

In my case, I could have a list generated on command of all flasks
still on the shelves after X number of days- along with the shelf
location, and container identification. At the end of the day, I could
(and do) get an average age of containers on the shelves, and a standard
deviation of that age. Helps keep things fresh, you see.

A little tip: Open Office has a free (as in beer) office suite
that mimics that of Microsoft's, including its own database program and
spreadsheet. Lots of power there. And it's all free.

The address in the header is bogus. Send no email there.

-AJHicks
Chandler, AZ