I have been using some zinc labels that I can no longer find. Seedlings - I have used old mini blinds cut up into six inch lengths. Everything in the house right now has the name also written on the side of the pot. But that is not visible in the summer and probably will wear off underground.
I am wondering how everyone labels their plants.
I use mini blind makers for my new cuttings and they seem to work fine for me. If they get a little "washed out" I just remark them. Of course, most of my brugs are in the ground so I have a schematic that shows where everything is planted. Most of mine I have memorized anyway because I "coo" over them daily. When I first plant them in the ground I use the mini blind markers til I get used to where everything is located.
I use a variety of labels. I use the slip on labels for marking crosses made. For plant labels, I've got the metal tie on labels and have used plastic labels or mini blinds cut to size with a hole punched in them and nylon zip ties to hold them on the plants. However, the plant just about has to have a Y on it or the labels can slide right down to the ground. For plants in plastic pots, I've also put a cut/slice in the top rim of the pot and used a slip on label right on the pot. It makes the label easy to find that way. For marking on labels, I use anything from a soft lead pencil, china markers, and paint pens, to a P-Touch labeler. China markers work for labeling right on the pot, too.
I was using popsicle sticks in the pots with my cuttings but my dog pulled 3 of them out so I went to writing on an adhesive label and put it on the outside of the pot.
I use 2 mini blind labels per plant... one hung on a branch and one stuck in the soil, written with any 'light fast' or 'UV resistant' permanent marker. ( blocking the UV light makes the writing last for up to 3 years.
In my bigger trunks I have used the finest drill to drill through the trunk , thread through a an extended piece of wire to hold the mini blind label on. This way though you have to loosen it occasionally as the trunk expands.
I write the names on the trunks of cuttings, then add a mini blind label to the pot when I pot them up. I write on the label with a soft-leaded artist pencil. I insert the labels pretty deep along the inside of the pot...out of 160-170 potted brugs, I believe I had only 1 go missing this past season. I use a Pirouline cookie can with a plastic lid to organize a bunch of labels and the pencil. The labels can be cut at a length of nearly 6". I can easily take the can outdoors with me if I'm doing a lot of potting out there.
And you know the small hole most mini blinds have for the cords to run thru? I make a small label that has one of those holes at one corner. Then I use the cord (or a twist-em, etc.) from the mini blind to pass thru the hole and tie the label to a branch close to a flower when I pollinate it ... marking the pollen parent & date on the small label, as seen below:
Patrick
Brug Moderator
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place
Thanks all...a lot of old mini blinds being recycled. Ruth Ann, do you have a problem with the hole growing closed around the wire??? I have a drill press set up with a circle cutter right now. Drilling holes in the sides of pots every once in a while. I want a good collection of them for the spring.
I stepped into the garage with a flashlight last night. I couldn't spot my 'Alex' that has 2 rather immature seed pods on it, but the 3 pods on Jamie's Monkey Business and the pod on Jim Eichner's pink NOID are all looking fine. I've been maintaining a minimum temperature in the garage of 45F. I plan to lower that to 40F soon.
Patrick
Brug Moderator
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place
Jim Eichner's NOID that you gave me has sent up numerous new stalks from the roots. The cutting is doing good but what is coming up all around it looks great. It is the star of the cuttings you sent, though they all are doing really well.
Sally, that NOID has been a great performer for me. It has been trouble free and blooms freely. The shoots you're getting from the roots should give you sone nice strong trunks.
Patrick
Brug Moderator
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place
I usually just write the names on the pots so I dont have any labels to lose. Between my kids and pets it would be pretty easy to do lol. I use oil paint pen in red to write on the black nursery pots and sharpie for the reg pots, although sometimes I have to go over the sharpie ones again once in a while.
I have one big fat bud on my JMB too. I am trying to ignore it in hopes it will go ahead and open lol! My tootsie buds keep getting blown off from the wind, there is one small one left and I'm gonna ignore that one too :P
Here is the sign/plant marker I gave to New Orleans Lady, you think I will be able to keep track which one she is-lol?
Linda Charlton (Login napdognewfie) Brug Moderator
Re: Labels
December 9 2007, 3:42 PM
Has anyone tried a paint pen on brug trunks? Sometimes a permanent marker will scrape off the outer layer of a stem that is on the green side. I err on the side of caution after being SO careful this fall digging them up, I still ended up with a NOID pile. Well, I'll know what they are after they bloom (process of elimination). I mark on the plant, on a hang tag & write on a stick or blind in the pot, I don't want to go through that again (not on the pot, I reuse them & that would be another problem for me).
I write first and foremost directly on the stem with thick permanent marker. Then I write the name on the pot. But here's something I just had happen to me - I sprayed my plants with Orthenex (which takes care of mites and aphids for me like a charm), and the Orthenex made the "permanent" marker RUN! and the name I had so carefully written just dissolved and the ink just dripped right down the stalk of the plant. UGH!
I've never tried a oil paint pen on brug trunks only permanent marker. Alcohol takes the permanent marker off the pots when you reuse them. Paint thinner or mineral spirits will disolve oil paint.
I wonder what the orthenex has in it to dissolve the marker off the stems-yikes!
I just got a plant that has a really nice tag made out of that soft metal (like copper but this is silver, maybe tin) that you write on and it impresses it into it...
I guess you could always make tags with an engraver on metal or wood burn it into a piece of wood and put it on a wooden stake into the pot or flowerbed for a more permanent feature.
For making crosses I wanted the slip on labels but couldn't find any at a decent price, so I cut strips of white trash bags, wrote the name of the pollen parent on them with a black permanent marker, and attached them right above the flower after pollinating it. They held on through high winds, didn't fade in the rain/sun, and were bright enough that I didn't lose the pods amongst the leaves.
For plants, I also use the mini-blinds, but I make sure the name is also written on the underground portion. Long after it fades above ground, it's still legible under ground. (A tip given when I asked the same question here last year, sorry, I can't remember from who. )
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