I've just submitted Cactus Album to Apple! Depending on how quick they review it, it could be on the App Store within the next week or so

Had a nice surprise when I inspected the plants this morning. The bud I've noticed on the Copiapoa hypogea for the past several days had opened up! Certainly a nice contrast with the horrendous conditions outside today

I've just put up a page for the app on my site. This provides some more information about the app, along with screenshots. It should be ready for submission to Apple in another week or so. Can't wait!

A fascinating article. Thanks, Dave!

Things are pretty quiet with my collection lately, since the large Tee Dee shipment has been held up due to weather. Meanwhile, the Gasteria armstrongii flowers opened up last weekend: Jan2014_Cacti_7Sm.jpg Jan2014_Cacti_8Sm.jpg Nice to see some activity while most of the other plants are sleeping!

Lately I've been reminded of this topic by my Frailea asteroides. Here's a shot of it earlier today: Feb2014_Cacti_1Sm.jpg It's still perfectly firm, so I'm assuming it's this guy's natural habit? It hasn't had any water so far this winter. I've read that they can shrink all the way under the soil, ...

A few more screenshots from the Beta version of Cactus Album: Cactus_Album_Grid_iPhone5.png Cactus_Album_Cacti_iPhone5.png Cactus_Album_Cacti_Info_iPhone5.png Cactus_Album_Watering_Info_iPhone5.png I'll be sending out the Beta test email shortly. If you'd like to test the app, you'll soon get your c...

Yeah, I learned early on that the scientific name should be given priority. All the section headings and the species fields themselves now have that first, with the common name second. Well over half of the names I've entered so far have no common name, which is quite a different situation to the tr...

So they've been kept in bags all this time? Completely sealed? I'm wondering if that's where I went wrong with my Lithops. Not keeping them enclosed, I mean. Very few germinated, and some of those are dying off already (sowed in early December). I only had them enclosed for a week and have been spra...

A quick update on the progress of the app: database import/export over WiFi is done, the iPad interface is complete, and watering notifications are working great. All that's left is to finish populating the species list. I'm aiming for 500+ species names, at which point I think I'll call it good. Th...

Shortly I'll be adding a bunch of species names (scientific + common names) to the app. I was thinking 500-1000 names would pre-populate the list, with the ability to edit these or add more to the list. Is that too much? Too little? Would it be annoying to scroll through so many names to pick the on...

The PC apps are works in progress and haven't been released yet. There's a good chance I'll bring Cactus Album to the PC at some point, but it's more likely to be ready for Mac before then.

This weekend I completed the app icon for Cactus Album. I went for a more realistic approach, in-keeping with the album theme of my other app, Bonsai Album: Cactus Album Icon.png Now I’m working on the last few features including the iPad interface, CSV import / export, and local notifications for w...

Yesterday I took a few more shots of the flowers from my last post. The E. horrida has some pollen now, and the Pleiospilos has finally opened up. I was hoping it would open more, but I think this is the best I'm going to get! Jan2014_Cacti_4_Sm.jpg Jan2014_Cacti_5_Sm.jpg Jan2014_Cacti_6_Sm.jpg Full...

Nice plants! Is that winter storage enclosure outside, or do you keep it in a shed or somewhere warmer?