Greetings to All:

New member as of today...

I'm in the processing of writing a draft (article) for a local HOA newspaper.
Note: I nor the Valrico Garden Club gets any compensation for articles submitted/published. Its a free community newspaper.

Topic is Name That Flower/Plant

A few months ago I came across an article about an app for cell phones that will identify plants/flowers, when you take a picture...

...the following is part of the draft "With the forever evolving computer/cell phone technology, you can now take a picture of a flower/plant and with the software downloaded to your cell phone, which will in turn, identify the flower/plant for you. The one I read about recently is called the “Shazam” and if interested, then the PlanNet app is for you and is available for iPhone and Android devices. Sounds interesting for sure, but on the other hand, depending on other points of view, now I'm not so sure. As with the reviews, they will get your attention: ”may not be what it first appears to be…still in the infancy stage…the app does not apply to North America yet.”

Once I read the reviews, it pretty much killed my article...so, where do I go from here???

Any suggestions to help identify plants or flowers?

Please be aware of the fact, that I cannot acknowledge your contribution/suggestions by name in the published article (I can only mention garden club members, per the club president). But, on the other hand, I post the articles (saved drafts) to the Valrico Garden Club facebook page...which, I created and maintain (hint-hint...wink-wink).

Its been a HOOT...being tasked by the club to write articles, since I have two-brown-thumbs...

Have a great day, from Gwen

Hi Gwen, to NGA

There are no short cuts to identifying plants. Through study, research and practice, anyone can learn to recognize the characteristics of plants that eventually lead to an ID. I don't know how the rest of the folks here gained their knowledge and ability to find the identities of plants but I don't think any of us has a magic button. If we did, this Forum would quickly become obsolete.

If you have read some of the posts made on this site, you know that there is often a lot of discussion before we agree on an ID and sometimes we never do.

Maybe instead of trying to find an App, you could make it a learning experience for all of you by discussing the characteristics of the plants common to your area. Did you know that roses and strawberries are related? That peaches, cherries and almonds are in the same genus? What does the houseplant you call "Benji" have in common with Fig Newtons?

You get my drift...

Daisy

Daisy is absolutely right. You might want to read up about dichotomous keys, that will illustrate how difficult it can often be to precisely identify a plant.

The easiest way to get an ID on a plant is to post a photo of it to the very same place where you posted this question. Scroll to the bottom of any page on this site and click on "Ask a Question" and away you go.

Dave is right. The App is called National Gardening Association and the download is at garden.org.

Hi Gwen, from me too!

We have a Plant ID Forum right here: http://garden.org/forums/view/... with many knowledgeable members who can usually identify a flower or plant very quickly. Scroll to the bottom of the page and give a little bit of information about the area where the plant is growing and upload any photos you might have and I'm sure you will get an identification!

Seems to me like your original article isn't "killed"; it's just not going in the direction that you had predetermined. Your article could be about how and why such an app doesn't work well, and then pose alternative venues.

Yep, lots of people have already said this but I'll add my 2 cents - post a picture of a plant to our Ask a Question forum here at garden.org and you have just asked thousands of gardeners all over the world to help you ID your plant.

I think chances are you'll get a much better, and likely more accurate result than the smart phone app that asks a computer. There are too many variables in plants including the capabilities of the photographer to get a decent shot of an identifiable part of the plant in the first place.

Wouldn't posting to the Plant ID Forum be a better choice. Either location would work but that's what the ID Forum is for and if you post it to the Ask a Question Forum it would probably get moved the the ID Forum anyway.

To Horntoad: Oh my goodness! You are kneeling in a field of Pitcher Plants! Are they native to your area?

DaisyI said:To Horntoad: Oh my goodness! You are kneeling in a field of Pitcher Plants! Are they native to your area?

Those are Sarracenia alta and are native to Texas. They don't grow in my county, but are in the counties immediately north of me. That particular patch is about 50 miles from me.

No offense to you, Gwen, but it troubles me that they assign a self-described "brown thumb" to write an article about plants. There is a an assumption that anyone with decent writing skills can research any topic online and then write an informative piece about it.

I think that plant identification is much less of a problem than plant care. Retailers should be able to properly identify a plant at time of purchase. Otherwise, sites like this that allow you to post photos are a good option. But that is just the first step because knowing the name is not enough to understand how to care for that plant. As this site reveals, there are many varied and contradictory opinions on what constitutes proper care of particular plant species.

I think a very informative article would be one about how to determine the reliability of various online sources of information on any topic. There is a tremendous amount of bad information getting passed along simple because anyone with an idea or limited experience or opinion or ax to grind can post as easily as someone with genuine credentials and knowledge.

I want to thank everyone who provided positive feedback to my inquiry "Name that Flower/Plant."

The October Bloomingdale Gazette was delivered today. I have posted my article (draft) on the Valrico Facebook page.

With time, it will also appear on: www.BloomingdaleHOA.com. For now, you can view the September article, which was written by another club member (Patti) about Homegrown Pineapples.

The garden articles are located on page 14. On the same link, you can also access the archives for older articles...Sep '14 - Mar '15, articles are on page 8; from Apr '15 on, then page 14 (expect for Apr ’16…it's on page 15).

Thank you, from Gwen

@WillC, your opinion above mirrored mine.

When I have a plant, I find I am having trouble growing and need more knowledge, the world wide web can be a very dangerous place.

Nearly loosing a plant, or losing one because of bad advice is definitely not a "hoot". It's a time consuming, often expensive, upsetting sorry experience. I began growing plants when I was 17, and I remember the struggle endured with every one I ever lost.

Laurie B