For the last few years, I've been using the one piece stainless steel BotanicaLabel by Wren. They are sturdy and with a mat surface and never rust. I like the fact that they are low profile and, with a black-on-clear Brother labeling tape, they don't stand out. I ran out of clear labeling tape last fall while planting some PCNs and resorted to black on while. I was not as happy with the resulting look. After some plants died, I reused the markers. The labeling tape can be peeled/scrapped off after heating in boiling water, but the white background had to be scrubbed off with nail polish remover. I plan to keep plenty of black-on-clear tape on hand from now on.
I've been using one of the Brother P-Touch Label Makers that can be used as a printer on a computer. Much of the time I just use the keypad on the label maker, but it is very nice to cut and past information, when it's available on the computer, into the label editor. Also the computer doesn't run out of "buffer space" when I'm creating a label with lots of text.
The main disadvantage of the BotanicalLabel is that is it rather pricey. In the long run, I think that longevity and reuse makes them economical enough.
Ken Walker
Concord, CA USA, Zone 9
On 2/7/2011 5:16 PM, g*@peoplepc.com wrote:
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Agree labels are a tough problem with perennials.
Agree with Anner on the Paw Paw label. About the best option I have come across.
Here's a few things about working with Paw Paw's that might help someone. We use a grease pencil or China marker to write directly on the front of the label surface facing the sun. We get about 3-6 years of legibility. It depends a lot on sun exposure. Even if the grease fades and weathers after awhile, the oxidation of the metal surface is held up under the grease coating and you can see the writing like an etching on the metal surface. At that point we rewrite with the grease pencil if needed. Good for another few years. Usually after two grease pencil cycles the bottom legs will start to rust off, and they are shorter, but many are still useable. We have some labels here from 1992 when I first started breeding iris. You can still read those pedigrees. We also write the cross number on the underside of the label facing the ground where there is more protection from the elements, particularluy the sun. That serves as a backup of last resort. I had lots of problems until I started using this system - much better now, but we always try to have a written back up on paper in case something silly happens like the neighborhood dog prances through the garden dragging his chain behind. Don't ask.
Oh. Almost forgot. You can cut the grease writing off the labels by soaking them in a little vinegar diluted with water. Soak for a few minutes then scrub off the surface with steel wool or a mildly abrasive pad. ( don't overdo the vinegar concentration or leave them in the vinegar too long - they will melt down if you overdo it ) This vinegar cutting techique lets you start over with a used label and re-write a new pedigree on a clean surface.
Then if you stay out of them with the lawnmower they should last a long time ! The ones that go through the lawnmower don't look so good. They're a lot harder to read after that.
