I guess I do keep some sort of record. I do as Fred does and keep seedling crosses in a notebook. I did start putting the cross on the plant tags last year since I don't live at the garden and it was irritating when I wanted to see what a cross was and left the notebook at home.

In 2011 I wrote down beside each cross how many seeds I planted from each and then when I transplanted them I wrote down how many seedlings I had because not all germinated or made it after sprouting. In 2012 I just wrote down the crosses as I planted the seeds and did not keep track of the number of seeds or what germinated. In 2013 I didn't write anything down in the notebook because I was going to after they were transplanted but since I only had around 40 left from over 1000 seeds planted I didn't even bother. The seeds rotted because of the all the rain we had ever single day. Even though they were covered on top so not to get direct rain they stayed too moist (I didn't have to water them at all unlike the year before they got watered just about daily) and most rotted or if they sprouted they died shortly after from too much moisture. The ones that did make it were so little in number that I just made plant tags for them and didn't write anything down but they died from the sleet/snow so no 2013 crosses to keep record of anyway.

This year I will just go back to writing the crosses down in a notebook as I plant them and assign them a number and nothing more.

I do keep photos on my computer of all the ones I have bought new for the year so I know what I have coming but I really don't keep any other records as far as what cultivars I have. I think I said in my original post that I used to use Plantstep but don't now since what I keep each year may change. I would probably still use it if I had cultivars that were permanently here.

Keeping records of crosses is really time consuming, but like Michele and Fred note, even more helpful than cultivar listings (especially since we have ATP to help with database and plant lists to keep track of all that - and they print out very nicely!). I admire and follow the practice of noting pod x pollen on the plant at the time it is crossed, and recording it for registration use later. I like being able to track what breeding choices have resulted in pods - I have one this year that is setting pods from both tet and dip pollen, and might have lost track of whether the crosses were "taking" otherwise.

It sounds like your surviving 2013 seedlings will have been very narrowed down to a super hardy group, Michele. A tough way to weather nature's culling out of desired crosses, though, I know. I started with 300 seedlings in 2012 and after their first summer in the blast furnace garden, with a few additional losses over time, was left with perhaps only 30. Still, I am glad to see how well those 30 have done and have no worries about their tolerance for heat and drought.

Good ole pencil and paper, always improved upon, never replaced. Though I do relish getting that written-down pollination and seedling info into my excel sheets to track notes on success rates and how the seedlings develop.

I did the export from plantstep to excel. That part is nice. I don't have to enter all that info into excel. Just from working with it a little last evening I can see how the excel spread sheet has some great advantages. I like being able to filter for different things and it's just right there to see.

Our collection involves about 225 cultivars - mostly registered plus a few seedlings and NOIDs. I've been maintaining an Excel spreadsheet since we got started around 2001. It began simply as a list of what we had along with the basic AHS info that described it. As the collection grew, I added columns for: which bed it was in (primary sort sequence), what dates it bloomed, year initially planted and when it was last divided. Although I'm relatively comfortable with Excel, the fairly simple records I maintain only scratch the surface of Excel's capabilities.

I also do some genealogy record-keeping for my and my wife's families. I began doing these in Excel, but have subsequently been using the spreadsheet tool on Google's "Drive" (formerly "Docs") environment. That tool is much less sophisticated than Excel, but seems more than adequate for the types of daylily records I'm maintaining. Two advantages of the Google Drive spreadsheet vs Excel are: 1) no requirement to back up your data (Google does it) and 2) it's accessible anywhere (as long as you have Internet access).

To date, I don't keep photos of our plants in Excel. They're in a separate folder on our PC. Obvious issues: 1) periodic back ups required 2) no remote access.

Seems to me the ideal situation is to have access to a list of what you have. where it's planted, its basic descriptive info, and a photo of it accessible anywhere at any time - preferably on a tablet-style device (with Internet access).

It almost seems like a system that evolves by itself as the gardener's priorities sift out. Thank goodness excel doesn't require more than just exploring the menu tabs. Now if I could just find a great, simple template for exel that has a family-tree type genealogy display... .

I may check out the Google's "Drive" . I am not a computer guru, consider myself pretty computer literate but Excel seems to intimidate me for some reason. Guess I am just not that familiar with it.

I wish I could find a good template for a daylily database for excel. Once the template is in place, I can easily edit and add to it. But creating the initial template/table for some reason is a challenge to me that makes me just give up after about 30 minutes messing with it .... (sigh) I have the patience of a saint when it comes to gardening and growing plants from seed. But throw a computer program my way that has too many bells and whistles, I get totally frustrated. I should probably just find a tutorial on Youtube on how to use Excel. (That would probably help clear up my confusion.)

@beckygardener That is exactly how I feel. I have tried using Excel in the past for other things I needed to keep info for. Doesn't take long for me to get overwhelmed with it and as you said Give Up...

I've never used the plantstep program so can't comment on it. Excel has been my program for keeping records. I'm not much of an explorer when it comes to computer programs, I just figure out the basics to get it to do what I want. Setting up a template is the most time consuming part, once you have a template entry of data is easy. Changing the size or adding/deleting of columns or rows, shifting placement of text in the boxes, wrap text button is very handy for those long daylily names or just making stuff fit in the box, importing images from photo files...it gets easier as you work with the program a bit. I still have to search "help" every time I want to copy page for adding more pages with a particular template

When collecting seeds in the fall I do a file for each year with 2 columns, pod parent in the first box of the row and pollen in the second for each cross after I bag them. After all seeds have been collected I sort the file first by pod parent and then by pollen parent and print copies of each. This gives me all seeds from one parent grouped together two ways. Late Nov. I start looking thru both lists and decide which seeds get started in the house, which get planted outside if there is left over room in the bed and the others...sit in the fridge until the next years are collected.

A second separate excel file for the seedlings when planting is done after they get mapped outside. Again with the two columns allowing me to sort both ways for planted seedlings by cross.

In the fall after garden work is done I update the large seedling book file. Each year has an updated "book" of records for the selected seedlings, going all the way back and continues to include a few of the very first sdlgs that are still here. The book is about 45 - 50 pages now ending with the most recent selected seedlings. I take out any seedlings that were composted from the previous years selects and condense the pages, copy and paste the info to fill empty sections, and typing in the new info collected from that year. Registered ones have their reg data entered. This file has 8 seedlings to a page, 4 on top & 4 on bottom, with the left hand column listing rows for seedling #, Name( if registered), Form, Height, Bloom Size, Foliage, Bud Count, Branching, Fragrance, Color, Cross, FFO, LFO and Notes. A row at the top of the two recording sections has an image of each seedling. The book is printed and kept on a clipboard making it easy to take to the garden for recording the info, for instance, in the spring I can grab the clipboard and go out to record foliage.The previous years info is all shifted to the right in the data box leaving room to write the new years data to the left while in the garden and giving me a record for comparing or rechecking notes or data. The previous years printed book is then put in a binder with others and can be referred back to at anytime (handy for when the computer is turned off) and the updated book is saved as a new file.
Image of seedling book template.....


Another file is kept listing all the registered cultivars with the usual reg data boxes. And yet another is kept for recording the registered cultivars for FFO, this is printed for carrying out to the garden on the first walkabout in the morning. A few other misc. files for various daylily/plant collections are also kept.

I never used Plantstep. I have an Appleworks database and could move things over to Excel. I have 250 daylilies. As far as identifying them, see what daylily people in your area have at test gardens. Do you have an AHS club in your area?
I have had some luck with club members identifying things for me. I don't hybridize, I just grow things I like and sometimes that is because of the name, and sometimes it is because of the color. My husband shares my addiction and helps me plant and he does most of the watering. There are 70,000 daylilies but if you consider where you got the plants, you can narrow that down. You have to take measuring tape and note the height of the scape, and size of the blossom. That cuts down possibles as well. I label everything now but had a problem with the lawn cutting service blowing away tags so we keep a computer record where we plant things and my husband did some garden diagrams of locations.

I had last year 200 + seedlings 100 + made it ,half of those the labels faded or peeled off.
I keep similar ones in there own folders like doubles or eyes and have on note pad planned crosses.
I do want to get plantstep program when it gets cold so I have something do all winter.
and buy one of these so I have no more labels fade.

There has really been some great info posted here...Thanks Everyone! I did start up loading pics to Google Drive. I think I like it and it is a nice idea not to have to store them all on my computer or worry about backing them up. I am practicing working with Excel. Guess that will take a little longer but I am determined to learn to work with it better.

I like the Plantstep software although there are still a few features I am not clear on. Hopefully I will understand those better as I learn more about Daylilies. I also like Plantstep because you can keep track of other plants in it as well. Although I will say the Daylily portion is the best (IMO) as you have access to the internet to get the cultivar info as opposed to having to enter it on Irises, lilies, hostas etc. I did email their support and asked about internet info on other plants. Here is the reply I received

Hello Catherine,

Currently the Flower program only has a database for daylilies.

We are working on an Iris database and a Hosta database but I can not give
any time when it will be ready.

Have to wait on the people who are build the data ....

Thanks,
Kent

Hopefully when they do add those databases they will be updates for those who already own the software.

Now that we have plant list events, I've tossed excel and that Other plant program into the circular bin. With printer at ready, and my ATP lists already pre-sorted into the only categories I need or use, gardening and hybridizing just got sooooo much easier! I love having it all in one place, now - lots less potential mix-ups for me to make!

Needs clicking to see

Nice Job Tina! I am just starting to enter info here on the site. I hope to get there. I still like the software too.

I have spent a lot of my spare time hunting up the dates I received plants and where I got them from, this is the first time I have been able to get so much information put together in one place. I am just loving this new feature, it is terrific! Plus then I import my own photo for each plant, so neat. I was amazed how much info I was actually able to dig up and get entered.

Seedfork said: Plus then I import my own photo for each plant, so neat.

For your list? How are you doing this?

I think Seed might mean that, since he imports photos of all his plants into the ATP database, they are right there for him to check by just clicking on the link to the plant in his list?

Okay, I was not sure if there was some other way to add a photo to our own plant list or not. Thanks!

Well, you made me wonder ... See Seedfork's info below on how to include ATP photos ... but for those who also want to track bloomed seedlings that are, of course, not in the database, there is also a way to get a photo link to them.

I use Photobucket to store bloomed seedling photos for free, and there are many different storage sites available. I enter seedlings' events into the Pod Parent Event list, make notes about them (adding the Pollen Parent info) and then paste in (per Seed's idea) the ATP database URLs to my own photos of pod and pollen parent, as well as the Photobucket URL to the seedling/s.

When I want to see a seedling's photo, I just click the Event's hot-linked URL (in blue type, in the example picture above) and it opens up the photo in a new tab. (Does not work here to click the Event URL in the example photo, so it is just a visual sample). At least then I have access to seedlings right in the plant list entry.



Database!

Great Idea Tina!!