Bonsai Software Application

[Faisal Ahmad]

i just want to know, what software you use for maintenance your bonsai

I'm still searching and need some advice

 

[czaczaja]

I'm new as well and have a simple excel/word documents about what was done when etc. I grow alot from seed and its easy to lose track.

 

[ShimpakuBonsai]

What do you mean by using software?

To keep track of things during the year?
As a maintenance guide for when to do things during the year?

 

[Faisal Ahmad]

to keep track progress,

i have using this



but due to limitation for free version, i cant add more than 5 tree. so sad

 

[czaczaja]

to keep track progress,

i have using this

View attachment 516761

but due to limitation for free version, i cant add more than 5 tree. so sad

Thats neat! I'll try find a non-free version

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Progression threads on Bonsai Nut.

 

[RJG2]

Progression threads on Bonsai Nut.

This, and albums in Google photos - can add notes in the captions field.

Be weary of specific apps and websites - as you can tell from the comment on your other thread, things seem to go defunct. Take photos and keep notes in your favorite medium if needed (word processor, spreadsheet, or paper).

I don't even trust Google photos and back up everything to raided network storage (that also gets backed up intermittently).

 

[Tele]

I use a notes app on my phone. You can add pictures. Extremely easy and very usable.
I wish however I downloaded an App with dropbox support.

 

[Ruddigger]

I use Jooni, although the US version is no longer on the app store, I was able to get a webapp working for it.

 

[Tentakelaertje]

Yamabonsai has an app that allows you to track progressions. I'm not using it because I prefer to just forget things but I have played around with it before and it's pretty good.

 

[PowerTap]

I'm also in the Google Photos albums and notes on my phone camp. I don't think I need something more specialized.

When Marai comes out with the app they have been talking about (apparently in beta now), I'll check that out if it gives suggestions on when to do work.

 

[B-Trees]

I've used Airtable with some success. I tried having a table for trees and a table for work done on the trees but that amount of metadata turned out to be too much to keep up with (and I'm an archivist lol). So now I just have albums in my iPhotos and make sure to take before/ after photos whenever I'm working on a tree.

You don't really keep notes about your friends, right? You remember the important stuff because you care and keep up with them because they're part of your life - that's where I want to be with these trees.

 

[NashsMan]

to keep track progress,

i have using this

View attachment 516761

but due to limitation for free version, i cant add more than 5 tree. so sad

One of my club's members uses this and has for several years. He's one of our more accomplished artists (and is also a volunteer certified to work at the National Arboretum collection) and swears by the usefulness of how the app let's him track his work on specific trees and handling phito records, etc.
I recently tried the free version and became frustrated that I can't upload photos from Google Drive into the app.
I may try to just use Google Sheets.

 

[pandacular]

I use Notion. It’s like a hybrid note taking and productivity app. When I first started out, I just had simple pages for each of my trees that documented work, provenance, future plans. But Notion’s object model is kind of database like, which allows for some interesting stuff, such as creating different views of a collection.

Here’s what the top of a typical page looks like for my trees:

I can then use the tags and attributes to organize them, such as this view based on my repotting plans in spring

Or sort them based on a characteristic, as I’m using it now for my wintering over plans:

It’s a very powerful application and fairly simple to use. I imagine the complexity of my use will continue to expand.

 

[pandacular]

My day job is writing code, specifically highly interactive websites. I would be very surprised if there exist any bonsai specific software that has much of a feature parity with something available in a more general app. I think anything out there would have to beat Google Docs, which is a rather high bar. These things are just so hard to get right and once you do, it’s then also expensive to keep it up. Figuring out the needs of the average user is enough of a challenge to make it unlikely to be worthwhile. In my opinion, using something more flexible and open is almost always going to win out over something bespoke.

Airtable as @B-Trees suggests is another good alternative that beats Google Docs for the more savvy user. Alternatives specifically to Notion include Microsoft Loop, Evernote, and Obsidian (for the security conscious/obsessed).

 

[Faisal Ahmad]

I use Notion. It’s like a hybrid note taking and productivity app. When I first started out, I just had simple pages for each of my trees that documented work, provenance, future plans. But Notion’s object model is kind of database like, which allows for some interesting stuff, such as creating different views of a collection.

Here’s what the top of a typical page looks like for my trees:
View attachment 516812
I can then use the tags and attributes to organize them, such as this view based on my repotting plans in spring
View attachment 516813
Or sort them based on a characteristic, as I’m using it now for my wintering over plans:
View attachment 516814
It’s a very powerful application and fairly simple to use. I imagine the complexity of my use will continue to expand.

thank you for sharing. i will try it

 

[PonderingSage:]

I use google sites as a journal with a page for each tree’s progression. Its mostly photos with dates and notes about the work done.…and the dreaded section entitled: The Burn Pile.
(To reflect on mistakes)

 

[Russ1]

I have been using a Database I created in FileMaker Pro.

 

[PowerTap]

I use Notion. It’s like a hybrid note taking and productivity app. When I first started out, I just had simple pages for each of my trees that documented work, provenance, future plans. But Notion’s object model is kind of database like, which allows for some interesting stuff, such as creating different views of a collection.

Here’s what the top of a typical page looks like for my trees:
View attachment 516812
I can then use the tags and attributes to organize them, such as this view based on my repotting plans in spring
View attachment 516813
Or sort them based on a characteristic, as I’m using it now for my wintering over plans:
View attachment 516814
It’s a very powerful application and fairly simple to use. I imagine the complexity of my use will continue to expand.

I use Logseq to similar effect. I've also previously used Google Keep to similar effect.

 

[Faisal Ahmad]

I have been using a Database I created in FileMaker Pro.
View attachment 516891

where i can download this software?