Don't think I can beta (yet), as my PC is ancient Win98...at least until the tax return comes in. But I am very interested...
Some feedback -
1. STOP means quit, abort, get out, abandon ship....(of the whole program). I vote "Close Page", "Back to (fill in level up)" or whatever, as applies.
2. Tracking watering frequency by daily, weekly, etc. encourages bad practice. We should water as needed. Method? I'm having trouble seeing the value of this - from the top unless it got bone dry & an emergency immersion/soaking is required. Maybe other people prefer a variety of methods, tho. If so, fine.
3. I like Ravenna's reference about calendaring certain tasks per species - the pruning of fagus is a great example. Pines are also cyclic (tho the cycles vary depending on if it's young/in-development or older/established bonsai). Same need tho - be able to spit out a list of who needs what when in a particular season....
4. What about some flags for species' care / problems - one I can think of is "acid lover" (there's a name for it that escapes me at the moment). Azaleas everyone knows. How many know that Piers japonica and stewartia also hate lime/salts? Sometimes it's hard to remember which are sensitive (be nice to pull up a reminder list before the spring fertilizing regime kicks in after being "off" for winter). Aren't there junipers that conversely like things on the basic side? Example use which would avoid this: Constant use of organic fert tends to acidy (some) soils - once a year or so, it's helpful to add a little dolomitic lime....NOT the stewartia! Drat! Scrape it off...Darn!
Other 'pet peeves' of species (other people chime in if you have one)?
5. On species info - a field for variety/cultivar? How many different Satsuki azaleas (R. indicum) to thumb thru, or Acer p.'s? I've got over a dozen of each - I'd like to be able to search more quickly by going down beneath Species to cultivar/variety (optionally)..... For those with a lot of pines - a quick jump to the Zuishio, etc. How many different J. chinensis varieties?
6. Tree Types (I'll make a stab at it....):
Conifer - Evergreen; Conifer - Deciduous; Broadleaved - Evergreen; Broadleaved - Deciduous. Not sure this would cover the Desert Roses (need a Succulent type?). (by botany) Anybody think of anything else?
Anybody see a need for type-by-climate? As in, Temperate, SubTropical, or Tropical? But, these I know pretty well as, if I don't (e.g., the Tropicals), they're not around long....
I'm amazed what all you've done so far. Thanks for the effort!
