Adopt-a-Plant Challenge Update

Windy, I have actually given away plants on Freecycle, too. :) Last fall, my DH and I dug up a bunch of cannas at an auto tire store. I asked the manager if I could tidy up the landscaping in exchange for the extra plants. We ended up filling the back of our Explorer with the extras. I've been giving them away left and right. :) I'm very creative when it comes to obtaining plant material. :) I'll keep an extra sharp eye out for things once it warms up, though. Thanks for the reminder. (Note to self: need a cheap pickup)

Something to keep in mind, as I look through the helpdesk log.

Our editors volunteer their time to act on the error reports you send - often at night after their "real" day has ended. They appreciate the corrections and are happy to send a quick note once the error is fixed - but please understand they don't have time to engage in back-and-forth chitchat once the error has been fixed, especially when dozens/hundreds of new reports are flowing in every day.

Same goes for the correction notes we send - we recently implemented a system that allows us to send an alert when we've edited an entry, moved an image, deleted an entry, etc. For efficiency, these are "form" letters, which can come across as abrupt. We're not trying to make anyone feel bad for an error - we just want to let you know so you won't be surprised to see the change, and so you'll know what the error was for future reference. When we're in a hurry or there are multiple similar errors, we may bypass the note for each error, so you may or may not receive it. Bottom line: don't read too much into one of these notes, or into their absence ;o)

Terry,

Can you help define "chitchat"? I often ask questions about something I think needs to be changed in an entry. Shall I perhaps wait to do something of that nature until after this challenge is over or is that something you would consider "valid"?

For instance, if a tree cultivar is listed in the PF as being propagated by cuttings, but in my research, I have found that they are also propagated by grafting and/or budding, is that a question I should raise to the administrators?

It's a judgment call - if you think you can remember to go back and tell us later, then you can hold off - the editors are swamped presently, and PoppySue forewarned us she would be out of pocket for most of the challenge.

What I meant by chitchat is this totally made-up exchange:

We receive a report:

We investigate and agree, and send back a quick "Thanks - we fixed it."

We get a reply

We reply "Well, it might be the tree roots - I'm really not sure. Thanks again for reporting the error."

We get back yet another reply.

These are well-meaning and legitimate questions, but we simply can't field them via the helpdesk. Especially during a challenge ;o)

Multiply this situation over a dozen or two messages a day, along with another hundred reports that are easy fixes, but still take time to fix and close out, plus a half-dozen questions wanting to know how to sign up, what their password is, or why we charge a subscription, and one or two reports that are involved, time-consuming errors to research. Not complaining - just trying to explain why our responses might seem a bit abrupt sometimes ;o)

Understood, Terry. Thank you for clarifying that.

Terry,

I have a better idea. You could have a check box at the bottom of each error report that gives the person the option of requesting a reply (even automated) or not....with the default being "no need to reply, just trying to help out a little".

I for one, don't feel the need to get a reply to every error thing I submit. During the challenge especially, I bet others are like me....by the time you've had a chance to get to the file I've sent an error message about, I'm 100 plants down the road and may not even remember that I sent that particular error message. For me, when I send one, it's only a "head's up". I won't be offended or delighted either way if you decide to change something or ignore the info I send as i know I'm no expert and I only send error reports when I see something that doesn't agree with my "BIBLE of garden plants" ;-). You'll never hurt my feelings by not replying to my error posts.

-Julie

I'd like to say that a short reply to a report can be very useful for several reasons.

Some of our members like to know we're actually looking at reports and doing something.

If you've left us 5 reports regarding an addition of details to a plant in the specific databases like Iris or tomatoes, it may be that we can't actually add those details due to missing checkboxes (not all plant entries are alike in details) and it saves you from doing more work for something we can't complete.

We don't always agree with the information on your reports. This is by no means a reflection on the reporters knowledge or information resources. If we can't validate the information given (and we do look it up), we write back to let you know why we haven't changed the details.

Something that is oft forgotten in our busy, busy world, it's polite to acknowledge, thank and/or otherwise show appreciation to the reporter for their time and trouble taken. You don't need to thank us back for your time and information ;)

A lot of websites out there don't bother with reports and suggestions, we're different in that and it's nice to surprise some people who've been ignored elsewhere to know we're as keen as they are.

I'd also like to say that we are doing the best we can to get to all the reports we've received so far. If you are wondering why you haven't had an answer, we will be getting to it, so please bear with us for a while longer :)

I appreciate your outlook, Baa, and the brief acknowledgements that come our way when a report is submitted. All of you are certainly more than patient with the rest of us, so it behooves us to return the favour at the very least! :-) Big hugs to you and Mystic, PoppySue and Terry for all of your hard work. The rest of us have the easy part.

~Shannon

I couldn't agree more! Well said!

I recently was queried very politely about an error report I made on hardiness zones. If I had thought about supplying the references when I made the report, it might've saved one of our editors a lil time! :)

It sure is great to read the DG newsletter and see how many details are getting checked off daily. Wonder what the totals are now and if we've passed the 50K mark yet?

Did you notice how many were checked off on the 21st? 6,197!!!! That's the highest it's ever been as far as I can tell. Way to go everyone!

As for who's really doing all the work, of course it's the editors. I can't even imagine how many error messages they field every day, let alone all the other stuff. I try to always say where I got my info (at least one major source anyway) in my error reports. But I'm sure I've forgotten at some point to do that. I know it makes it that much more legwork for the editors. What a pain! In any case, my suggestion above wasn't meant as unappreciative....quite the opposite actually. I know you all appreciate our help, but you've got a ton of work to do without the individual acknowledgments. Just thought it might save a lot of time not sending an acknowledgement every single time....even maybe once a week ("thanks for all the error reports you sent this week, we really appreciate them"...or whatever). Just tryign to find a way to make it less time consuming for the editors.

-Julie

Thanks,
I'll do that from now on... then I won't have to go searching for where I read the facts.Just incase they don't agree with me on my additional entries.Jody

I was just going through my journals trying to match the plants to the plants files. I noticed some sedums were listed as
Genus: Sedum
species: hybrid

I tried this and the links worked!
I wonder if we could do this with Daylillies, Hosta and bulbs/dahlias??? I know The plants are already in there and it would be an administrative nightmare to go back and fix all the existing plants, but we could do it as we add new ones, and maybe volunteer to help...it would be great to be able to link to the PF.

Just a thought..
Cindy

I second Cindy's suggestion. I want to be able to link my trading/journal page to a plant file. Sometimes I have the name, species and genus and it still does not create a link ;o((
Linda

The easier thing (evil chuckle) to do *might* be to twist Dave's arm to add a "Add this plant to your journal", similar to the "Add this plant to your trade list" link that currently exists on all PlantFiles entries.

Now, before the tribal drums get to going, Dave needs to say whether that's feasible AND whether or not he has the time to do it now - it may require major overhauling of the journals, and I'm not trying to burden him with that.

Throughout the existence of PlantFiles (and before that, the Plants Database), we've tried to link between journals and the database - but it tended to get bollixed when it came to the vast cultivars found in roses, daylilies, hostas, etc. Perhaps going the other way (intentionally "adding" plants to our journals via PF) is a better way to go?

Your idea sounds great Terry. Now if the genius of Dave can be applied... eventually... I understand these things are not easy and may not even be possible.
:)

Terry ask Dave to please do that.

Ummm, I think I just did. But we do need to give him the opportunity to say "no way" if it is too time-consuming to program.

Okay, but it would help me quit abusing the trade list by using it in a similar way. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Yes, but not right away.

Thanks, I'll be patient.

Thanks, Dave :)))

I have some plants in my 'cache' for Spring that aren't on the PF and I can't wait to try them out/take pics and put them on here!

:)

Nicole

Nicole,

Adding pictures is an awesome way to add to the PF. That will be great.

Why have the total details by us not listed on our home page anymore?
I was watching the top contender and she was putting in over 1,000 a day.
What happened?

Also, is there a page where we can see what plants have been completed?
Linda

sugarweed, my guess is that the counter was taking precious server resources, and has been temporarily removed from our personal pages. (The system is still counting, but it isn't displaying that information.)

And I'm curious...are you sure you know who the top contender is? (How would you know that information?)

Yes, the counter was removed temporarily - at least just the counter that shows on your homepage. As Terry correctly said, the data is safely hidden on the server.

Dave

The following link makes a good source for many aloes, as well as other desert tropicals: http://www.desert-tropicals.com/

The following link looks good for augmenting missing details about plants' appearance that can be missing from the above link: http://www.cactus-mall.com/grigsby/succulents.html

And the next link looks promising for many types of aloes and other plants, but haven't yet ascertained if it can provide the type of information we are looking for - would appreciate help from anyone that figures this one out:
http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/newgate/cronang.htm

I hope this helps this process along - Has anyone else "googled up" other internet sources that would be useful here? It's been very time consuming just to find these sites.

Here's a website that has good information about plants that are used for bonsai specimens.

http://www.bonsai-bci.com/species/indexbot.html

This link is to the Missouri Botanical Garden's site. They have a ton of information on a wide variety of plants.

http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/common.asp

That's a start for anyone who is looking for a place to start.

~Carla