3 Simple ways to keep a plant journal

Raise your hand if this scenario sounds familiar. You get your first houseplant and look up all the instructions on how to keep it healthy and happy. Then you get another houseplant. And another one. You keep looking up information, writing it down on sticky notes, taking screenshots, maybe saving useful posts on Instagram and Pinterest. 

Before you know it, you’re the proud parent of 30+ houseplants, but your habits are all over the place and your care tips are kind of muddled when it comes to each plant’s specific needs. You remember you have to water your succulents every week and water your prayer plant every other week. Or is it the other way around? 

If this sounds like a familiar scenario, or if you’re simply in need of getting your plant care routine organized, then the solution might just be a houseplant journal. 

What is a houseplant journal?

The simple answer is, whatever you want it to be, as long as it’s a useful tool that helps you take better care of your plants. When I first started keeping houseplants (oh, 10+ years ago), I kept a simple notebook. The more plants I got over the years, the more complex my notes got too. 

Just to get your creative (and organizational) juices going, here are my three suggestions for the most useful houseplant journal formats. 

Over the years, I’ve switched from one to another, depending on my level of skills and the number of houseplants I was taking care of. 

The notes also proved very useful when I was traveling and had other people take care of my plants. 

1. The plant profile houseplant journal. 

This is a common way to take stock of your houseplants. Much like a new parent would record every detail of a baby’s milestones, you can record what makes your plant happy and healthy. 

You can create a journal-style spread for every one of your houseplants. Write down information such as the date and location you purchased it from, the size it was when you first brought it home and basic care details, such as water, light and fertilizer needs, or any soil amendments.  

You could even add a drawing of your plant at different stages of growth. If you’re not artistically inclined, just stick to taking pictures of your plant to track its evolution.

Here are a few other ideas for what you could track in a plant profile: 

• what is the easiest way to propagate the plant (some plants have more than one method of propagation);
• the plant’s Latin name and other members of its family;
• the natural habitat the plant grows in in the wild;
• last time you repotted it;
• what kind (and brand) of soil you’re using;
• what mix of potting medium you’re using (perlite, compost, coco coir);
• any other type of growing medium you’re using (such as LECA);
• if and when your plant blooms;
• how your plant changes through the seasons;
• how your indoor environment changes through the seasons (in terms of light, temperature and humidity);
• the location your plant has been happy in (if you’re in the habit of moving your plants around a lot);
• new growth patterns (when is your plant actively growing)
• changes in foliage – Do the leaves drop often? Do they change color?
• how long each plant has been in its current pot
• the last time you repotted or up-potted the plant;
• if you have propagated the plant and what method you used;

2. The troubleshooting houseplant journal

If the details of a regular plant maintenance routine aren’t too overwhelming for you on the daily, a plant profile journal may not seem worth the effort. 

That’s usually the case for me when I’m pretty familiar with my houseplants and things are going well. But what happens when one of your plant babies gets in trouble? 

There are a few pesky bugs that may attack houseplants and that may require different types of treatments. Aphids, thrips, mealy bugs, spider mites, fungus gnats can all wreak havoc on your plant fam, and the best way to stand a chance against them is to catch them early. 

You could use a houseplant troubleshooting journal to record information such as:

• What kind of pest is affecting your houseplants;
• What houseplants are more susceptible to it;
• When did you first notice the infestation;
• What symptoms did you notice on your houseplants (take and print photos, if possible);
• When did you quarantine the affected houseplants;
• What kind of treatments have you been using;
• What results did you get with a specific treatment;

I think keeping a troubleshooting journal will help you change your mindset about houseplants, especially if you tend to get easily discouraged when dealing with plant pests. It’s like a book of potions that you can whip out whenever there’s a problem. And the nice thing is that you don’t have to experiment with solutions every time you see a pest infestation. Just consult what worked last time and start from there. 

3. The tracker houseplant journal

This one is for the overwhelmed, absent minded, busy or forgetful plant parents out there. When the days turn into a blur, and you can’t even remember what month it is, a tracker journal will come in handy. You can simply print a blank calendar and write down the days when you water your plants. A few other things you can track are: fertilizing, repotting, dusting, rotating (you do remember to do that to get your plants to grow straight, right?), 

This kind of logbook-style journaling can help you spot patterns in your habits, hopefully before something goes wrong. Are you overwatering your plants? Are you fertilizing too often? 

Writing down the details will help you remember what went wrong if your plants y are struggling. For example, if your plant succumbs to root rot, you can tell just by looking at your tracker that you’ve been watering it way too often. 

I hope I gave you some useful examples of what you could write in your houseplant journal. Of course, you can always mix and match your journal and customize it according to what works for you and your plant collection. 

I think a nice plant journal will even help enhance your enjoyment of your plants. I’ve added a few journals from small business sellers on Etsy throughout this article. And I would absolutely love to see how you’re tracking the progress of your plant family. You can tag me or message me on Instagram.

 Happy plant journaling!

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase through one of the affiliate links, I will get a very small commission or referral fee at no additional cost to you. You can read more on my affiliate policy page. 

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