How do you mark your plants?

[Bamboo Outlaw]

Forestry Suppliers has numerous tags. I chose the small aluminum two sided tag and got 1000 of them. I have used these before. They are small enough to be cost effective, not tear up in the wind, easy to write on by impression, yet large enough to get all your information down.
I have seen folks cut up old aluminum cans and write on these and poke holes for wire. They do last forever, but you chance cutting yourself and can't do this in any large numbers.
Another friend buys cheap mini blinds at Walmart and cuts them up. He writes on them with pencil. I have seen this used for about 5 years now and never saw one degrade or lose the pencil mark yet. If you look at the numbers you can get out of a set, these are cheap. For most home owners this may work best. Try it.

[mr.mike]

I use the mini blinds too. They seem to last forever and the pencil lead doesn't wash off. They take a beating here in Florida with all our sun and sometimes rain.

mike[/quote]

[applied]

I use aluminum foil tape. (Sometimes this tape is used for duct work)
It is 1 1/2" wide by 60 yd long. I wrap it around a 3 x 1 1/4" piece of cardboard a whole punched on one end, then write on it with a ball point pen. The impression is indented in the foil. The cardboard backing makes the tag stiff and keeps it from tearing. The foil tape makes the cardboard weather proof. I have buried these tags for 3 years and they are still legible.
David

[bepah]

Check out www.plantsigns.com. Your garden will look like an arboretum (bambooetum?)

Good luck!

As the collection grows, both in numbers, and each plant in size, I have been trying to decide how to mark each plant with its name.... Currently I have nursery tags hanging on each one, which I think is probalby the hoakiest way to do it, after all, you want the landscape to look nice, right? Some of my groundcovers I stuck a 3' boo culm in the ground, and hung the tag on it.... still not real great aesthetics wise.... So, how do you guys tag you plants? Or, what are some of the real neat ways you have seen plants taged, either in public gardens, or private?

[ghmerrill]

Thats an awsome link... many thanks! that is something like what I was looking for, maybe more homemade, out of boo culm, or something like that.... I have seen random pics of people with a large culm staked to a small culm, and the name written on the thicker culm.

[JohnC]

Thats an awsome link... many thanks! that is something like what I was looking for, maybe more homemade, out of boo culm, or something like that.... I have seen random pics of people with a large culm staked to a small culm, and the name written on the thicker culm.

If you took a chunk of culm and heat treated it so it goes all dark, then used a scriber or what have you to carve out the lettering they might stand out if the surface only is dark on the peice of culm. Kind of like those melon carving pictures that were all over the interent a while ago.

[Cactus Joe]

I use copper tags, labelled with a letter-and-number stamping set, from Lee Valley Tools. I label all my plants that way.

Now, my dog ..........well, he does it differently.

http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.as ... 33281&ap=1

[marcat]

Joe have you checked on the price of those "copper"tags lately might make you change. I use just about any thing that comes to hand, and yes pencil is the best thing to write on plastic with. Right now I am putting out large tags for my in ground plants and am using "grade stakes" (the 1X2 stakes they use in house construction excetra) I have some of those around that seem to never rot. This set I am going to ingrave the letters in with a Dremel tool and treat with Thompstons water proofer after I use artist acrylic in the grooves. Should be able to read with out bending over. Just a cheep imitation of a Public garden.
MarCat

[Cactus Joe]

Joe have you checked on the price of those "copper"tags lately might make you change.

Marcat

But I just bought a packet recently, and it was still $12.50 (that's Canadian - although it probably does not make much difference these days) for 50 tags (25 cents each). It had been that price for the last 6 years. And they do last a long time - the longest surviving tags in our garden are 10 years old.

I could get a sheet of copper, cut them up to sizes, punch holes in them, and buy and cut wires to string them. But I calculated that it would take me at least an hour. I reckon that it wasn't worth it.

I know of a gardening colleague at work who cut strips off aluminium and beer cans, and label them with letter stamps. A great excuse for stocking up on those six-packs.

[foxd]

An electronic labeler that uses TZ label tape works very well and produces labels that last. I have found the white plastic plant labels I attach them to, aren't quite as durable and become brittle after a year. They also get pushed out of the ground by freezing earth.

[dudley]

we mix cement and make "stepping stones". If there is no gravel in it
you can easily write all your info in the wet cement.

[ghmerrill]

That is a really cool idea! I wonder if there is a way to color the "writing" in the cement to make it stand out better.

[mantis]

Just got an e-mail from Buy.com with their daily/weekly specials. They have a label maker on sale, and I remembered this thread.

Just thought I'd share:

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?s ... caid=17070

[foxd]

That's the one! For the record, TZ labels I have used have been outside for over a year and still look brand new.

[ghmerrill]

Okay.. so now Im confused... is that the same type of labels that you see from the nurserys???? when I looked at tapes for it, it looks like there are a TON of types. Im familiar with label makers for printing labels on stuff, but one side is always sticky. is that different on one of the tapes sold for this printer?

help! inquiring minds want to know......