This cataloging system was designed (after several unsuccessful tries) to fit my needs and interests, so it may be totally useless for many people here. However, to those that have the same interest and needs than me, it works fine and can be used, though it is far from being perfect.
The system is based on the individual, not on the species or anything else. I’ll start with the obvious, and then explain the “advanced” thing.
So, to start explaining it, any new plant will receive a new number, regardless if there were already other plants of the same species, regardless if it is a cactus or a Mesemb, etc. The numbering of individuals do not follow any specific order, so it is easier to give a plant a label.
If my last label was 0036, the next will be 0037. Simple like that, even if 0036 and 0037 are the same species, or even if they are from different genera or families.
This way I don’t need to bother identifying the plant, or giving a code for each genus, etc (in former versions, I would give M0001 for the first Mammillaria, P001 for the first Parodia, etc, but I faced the problem of ID the plants, so I gave up).
So I have a note book and a pencil in the greenhouse, with numbers from 0001 to ….my last number (currently 0137).
The only thing I want to take notes on, and that is the reason to using a catalogue, is about the mix I used to pot a given plant. So I have a note book and a pencil in the greenhouse, and I take notes on the mix I used to the new plant 0037, for which the ID is welcomed, but not necessary.
Well, to tell you the truth, substrates are not the only thing I like to know. In fact, my main interest in labeling the plants is to have a tracking system to know who is clone of whom, and who is not clone. So things became complicated…
So 0036 is Mammillaria sheldonii, and I managed to take an offset of this plant, and also to harvest and sow seeds. So what do I do? It is, in fact, very simple, but I took long time to develop this:
“0036 i1” is 0036 individual 1.
Its offsets will be also individual 1, because they are clones.
So the first, original, plant is labeled “0036 i1 p1”, which means: “0036, individual 1, pot 1”.
The offsets, when reppoted to a new pot, will be: “0036 i1 p2”, which means: “0036, individual 1, pot 2”, and “0036 i1 p3”, etc.
And so on… any offset of any of these plants will be “0036 i1 p x”. I know that all pots with “0036i1” are clones.
Now the seedlings:
When I sow, I just give a number starting from “S”, such as “S209”, and write in my book “S209: seeds from 0036 i1p1”. They are subjected to dye at young age and I’ll not give the seedlings a cataloguing number.
When they grow up and can be repotted in individual pots, each of them will receive a new code, which will be:
0036 i2 p1
0036 i3 p1
0036 i4 p1
That’s because each of them are genetically different (they are brothers, not clones). So by the information 0036i2 and i3, etc, I know they are not clones. In my note book I write down: “0036 i2p1, origin S209”. That’s it. Tracking is done.
If I repot them in groups because they are too small, each pot will be:
0036 g1 p1
0036 g1 p2
Etc, until the day I separate them in individual pots, so they will receive an “i” number.
If 0036 i4 p1 offsets, in the case of taking the offset to another pot, it will be 0036i4p2, and so on.
This way, I can always track the origin of any plant, regarding if they are clones, sibbilings, etc.
I may seem complicated and obsessive, but it is in fact very easy and flexible. I gave up taking notes on the computer, adding date of purchase, origin, etc. A simple scholar note book and a pencil are sufficient. With this system, I can always know the only two things that are important to me: what is the substrate of a given pot, and what are the clones and non-clones of each species.
If someone gives me another M. sheldonii, but I’m not sure it is the same species, no problem, it will receive a new number, the next of the list: 0138i1p1.
Obs: my labels are in fact in Portuguese: 0036 P1 V1, P for “planta” (individual), V for “vaso”(pot).
Now you can understand my labels in the pictures
This means sowing number 199. The “epi” is just to make it easier for me to remember that they are Epithelantha seedlings:
This is the fourth plant of the number 0101:
This is a group of sibblings from seeds from the plant 0121:
Young Mesembs: I know who are the brothers…
Hope it can be useful for other members of the forum.