Thanks! I will do an internet search on Ebony pencils. I've never heard of them.

I've had people say they give the plant tags a spray of clear sealer or even swipe on clear nail polish if using sharpie -
The paint pens last longer than sharpie, found at Walmart, Michaels. Elmers and Deco are two brands.

Pencil is good.

I have a gardeners p-touch (Brother) and apply to plastic 8" plant stakes bought in bulk - the labels last more years than most home gardeners would need them to.

loribee2,

"I will do an internet search on Ebony pencils. I've never heard of them."

Ebony pencils are widely available. You should be able to find them locally. You might even find them in Walmart, but an arts & craft store would surely have them. They are ordinary wooden pencils with extra thick extra dark lead. The pencil itself is round, painted black, and labeled "Ebony". Mine are labeled "Sanford, DESIGN EBONY Jet Black Extra Smooth 14420".

ZM
(not associated with any product or vendor mentioned)

None of the usual methods worked for me...

This is the method I used last year and will use for the current year. It worked really well and is simple.

I bought multi plastic swords like you use in cocktail drinks. I kept a small note book and in it I recorded the color of each sword I placed in a particular container along with the plant info. The swords did not deteriorate and I can reuse them this year. Multi colored wood toothpicks will not work.

If you start to run out of colors then you can either buy a different type of multi colored swords which will increase your selection process. For instance, the plastic swords I buy from my wine store are different from the ones I buy from another store even though they are the same color.

Also you can double up in a combo definition meaning in a container you can place a blue sword and an orange sword etc etc.

Works for me

Deco paint pen from Michael's. Labels/winter sown containers one and done. I'm re-using the labels from last year to stick in this year's WS containers.

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Wow, thanks everyone for the great recommendations! Love the sword idea, and Gardenweed, you've got such beautiful handwriting I wish you could label mine for me, LOL! I'm also thinking about a label maker for my birthday. I didn't realize they could create waterproof labels. In the meantime, sounds like I'm off to Michael's.

Thanks so much for the wealth of ideas!

I want more information on my labels. When I start my seeds besides the botanical name I want the date started. This goes a long way toward relieving anxiety over plants not yet germinated. I buy my pencils from Lee Valley Tools on line. The pencils are 2B and are made in the UK. Dark and easy to read and never fade away no matter how much sun, water or years. The plastic plant markers I buy from Harmony Farm Supply for $27 per thousand which is close to 3 cents apiece. I keep a piece of art gum eraser in the greenhouse and can easily erase the tags and use them over. After three or four using s the tags get brittle and are easy to break and it is time to buy more. Al

Check out the link. We use their garden marker and white plastic tags for everything, from greenhouse to field. They hold up well in the sun and weather and we find them there, intact, next year. We make it a point to write the same thing (name, date, and any other info) on both sides of the tag just in case. The only problem I find with the marker is that it doesn't do well when you get it wet. Well, almost all markers don't, so no biggie there.

Here is a link that might be useful: Harris pens/tags

i realy love using sheet copper . somone gave me some as a gift years ago and now i make my own from scraps that roofers have given me. you write on them with a ballpoint pen over a soft surface like a magazine.it bends the metal so the ink isnt needed. you can erase them by rubbing out the metal with a hard stick on a hard surface and buffing out the oxidation with any thing abrasive.when they get old they arent shiny so they are inobtrusive great for my bonsai trees they last forever

Thanks for the recommendations! The copper idea is a very creative one, as well.

I have been using aluminum cans, cut into about 3/4 inch strips from the top to the bottom of the can. Writing the name on that using a lot of pressure etches it on there. No need to worry about fading ink, anyway.

I engrave.

Old aluminum window blinds cut up with the Paint pen's Gardenweed mentioned from Michael s.
Gardenweed..I adore your handwriting!

I've used plastic blinds in the past and found pencil held up best. I ran across the pen shown in the link below and may give it a try. This place seems to have good prices on plastic labels as well -- though I'll probably be Mrs. Cheap and use blinds again!

Here is a link that might be useful: Labels and pen

Hi Folks,
There is also aluminum foil tape that can be written on and the pen leaves the indention. Then you just peel the back and stick it where you need it, on your winter sowing jugs or plant markers. I think you get it in the plumbing section of the hardware store.

I buy square white plastic pots for my tomato seedlings and wright the name directly on the side of the pot. I reuse the pots so next time I just cross out the name and write on another side. Can do that four times and have a fresh face to write on each time. If you can buy the pots for six cents each wholesale it doesn't make economic sense to pay 3 cents for a label. I use a sharpie and have never had trouble with it fading or rubbing off.
Also, with the name written directly on the pot there is no chance of a label falling off or it accidently getting switched.

I use grease pencils and they work wonderful. They don't discolor with the sun. It's the same kind greenhouse growers use. I buy them at my local office supply house for 1.29. They come in many colors. I buy the black, white, and red. You know the kind teachers used on the overhead projectors many moons ago. I guess I'm dating myself here with this info. anyway you can write on pots or on the plant tags and are self sharpened or I like to use a crayola sharpener to keep a good point. Hope my rambling helped a bit. Josie

I have found that almost any kind of pencil on white plastic works best. The whiteplastic plant label you buy in the garden center work, but for the last few years, I have been cutting my own out of scrap white plastic from a company that makes illuminated plastic signs. Sharpie pens work okay indoors, but tend to fade outdoors. I have recently bought a P-Touch labeler that is working well so far, but I haven't tried it outdoors yet. By the way, Brother makes several other labelers that use the same tape but cost less than the garden labeler. These labels can be attached directly to the side of the pot or to a label stick. They hold very well, but can be peeled off when the pot is reused. (after sterilizing, of course.) They are waterproof, and according to the maker, usable indoors or out.

a note about pencils. If you go to your craft or art store you will find pencils graded by H or B on a numerical scale.(H1, H2, B1, B2) HB is a medium point H1 is slightly harder, H2 is a little bit harder, and so on ( H2, by the way is the most common. If Your pencil does not have a grade designated, it is probably h2. This is the type used in schools.)going back, B1 is a little softer than Hb, B2 is slightly softer than B1 and so on. As a general rule, the harder the pencil, the lighter the mark it will make. The softer the pencil, the darker the mark, but, with softness comes an increased tendency for the mark to smear when rubbed. So, while a B6 pencil will make a very dark mark, you would not want use on a label that is subjectec to a lot of wear. Personally, for most garden use, I like to use an HB to H2 pencil.

My pencils are 2B and smudging is not a problem. The P-Touch labels from Brother work fine outside, they remain very legible and I have never had the adhesive let go. However they are expensive(cost of the tape)and very slow if you are doing a lot of labels. Al

Californian, where are you getting the pots for 6 cents each?

I could use some of those!

I write the name on the top AND bottom of the label with pencil. The bottom name is in the soil and seems to last longer than the one above the soil line.

I simply use a Sharpie or other permanent marker on the standard 4 inch plant tags. The tags go with the plant when/if it gets potted up. Works great. :)

Oregon: Check your local nursery. I get mine for 5 cents a piece. lol

- Steve

I saw this in junk section I have hundreds of precription bottles i used the lids . Angie

Here is a link that might be useful: lables

That is really cute! I wonder if the orange juice can lids rust in the rain. I don't drink orange juice, but am tempted to find a use for it just to get the lids! LOL

Here is a link that might be useful: my blog

Springlift34, what material do you engrave on? Are you using an etching pen (such as the police recommended marking your belongings with)? Engraving sounds like a really good idea since you only have to do it once. I like doing it well, once!

I am experimenting with a ptouch labeler this year. It makes things look so organized, but I don't know how they will hold up once I get them outside. It sounds like some previous posters have had good luck. I actually already owned the label maker (not the garden one--see link), so the cost was just tape refills for me. It would be great if they last more than one year...I bought the thicker (less brittle) plant tabs just in case :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Plant label pictures (on blog)

My p-touch labels have held up for at least the three years I have been using them. I only use them on shrubs where they are put onto the metal stakes you push into the ground. They are too slow and too costly to use on annual plants, my opinion. Al

I am happy to hear that your Ptouch labels have lasted 3 years. If I can reuse the annual labels for several years, it brings the cost down a lot. As far as being slow, I don't mind this time of year because it lets me start pretending that I might get to start gardening soon...it snowed here again today!

Here is a link that might be useful: My Zone 5 Iowa blog

I bought a bunch of metal garden stakes at the home and garden show. A guy had a booth selling gardening supplies. You mark them with a special black pencil.

Couple of things:
Gardenweed -- I agree with others, beautiful hand!
Grease Pencil -- I have heard pencil works best to not fade. I made the mistake of using sharpie permanent marker. It wasn't.

Everyone using plastic stakes/markers; I use wood because it is a renewable resource, is inexpensive, and pencil writes well on it. Yes, eventually they rot; which is good! I hate digging in my garden and finding plastic tags from bygone years! Those using copper (expensive these days), etching, recycling blinds, etc -- kudo's to you! But that is too much work for this lazy gardener! Wood and pencil...simple and cheap; which is probably why that is what my grandfather used decades ago!

Stick with wood!

Soft black pencil on pieces of old plastic window blind slats are the best thing I have ever used. One blind picked out of someone's trash will last for years. Plus everything is recycled and FREE.

I order wooden tongue depressors by the case. They're a nice size. I write on them with a wood-burning pen. After a few practice tries, I got the hang of it. My labels look nice. We will see if they are still legible in a few months. They should be, because the wood-burning pen actually cuts into the wood.

very usual pencil works fine and nurseries around here do that.

Vinyl blinds and pencil. No issues. The tags will wear out before the pencil wears off. Don't expect 10 years out of them, but I have some tags readable at 6 years :)

Regular pencil on regular white plastic plant labels that you stick into the soil. If you buy large ones, you can cut one into four small labels with scissors.

There are different varieties of Sharpie. There is the common ones, and then there are the super, contractor, red-label ones, designed not to fade. I have simple plastic labels on herbs and iris that are still perfectly clear out in the garden now that I put out last spring. These are still cheap, just a little more than the regular sharpies.

My most common plant tags, for seedlings and young plants, I make by cutting up plastic milk jugs. I tried the china marker/grease pencil, but it didn't work as well as the Heavy Duty Sharpie.

All of these ideas are nifty but the ones that hold up the longest by far are the copper plant tags which is why so many botanical gardens use them. They are nothing to make, in fact its just a little more work than writing. Take a copper sheet from lowes/hobby lobby for 12$ and cut it into whatever size strips. I usually get about 200 copper labels for 12$... then I save any copper eletrical wire from junk appliances people toss out and use that for the cordage because with the rubber coating it holds tight and doesn't rub the plant. Buy plastic labels from china via ebay for stuff you sell or plan on putting in ground/low cover items. In fact I was on here to try and help others, I am about to order 500 hanging tags and 100 in ground for like 15$ total. Also, if you do your whole yard like I have with the copper its great when your like is that a Louisiana sweet or was that a navel, oh let me check after 5 years and it makes life easy. I wish there was an easy way to engrave the plastic labels, I was kind of looking for something without having to go the whole dremmel route, but ideally that would be great as well. I just find the plastic finds it way into the soil or if its a plant tag breaks after a couple of years. Copper is pretty permanent, I have found some that are like 40-80 years old and still legible.

I'm also looking for something that won't wash off during irrigation. Copper is one thing I've considered since it doesn't rust. Curious what Brad Edwards used to write on the copper. Also, I haven't tried these yet, but this is what I'm leaning towards: they look easy, weatherproof, and elegant.

1. White grease marker and chalkboard spray paint (on any cut plastic)

https://farmhouse38.wordpress.com/2013/03/19/chalkboard-plant-markers-from-old-gift-cards/

2. Aluminum duct tape

Don't use grease pens, they work okay but they attract dirt and can still smear pretty bad. Use a cheap ball point pen, press hard, you can go over with permanent marker if you like. You could get some off Amazon, I am looking at some now for 35$ that is 12inches by 5 foot and its 36 gauge and highly rated "not cheap but I can make 144 labels with two feet left to make larger tags things like the blackberries and high end ornamental like parrot tulips. It takes a little longer to "engrave with a pen" vs just writing it on but its so nice knowing what everything is especially if you have like 30 fruit trees and 15 different varieties all nearby. You can patina them ahead of time with ammonia and sea salt. In my experience grease pens and pencil markers last 3-10 years. Not bad for the average homeowner but they tend to get lost in the soil or the tags break when the trees grow. Use extra wire when hanging the copper labels and never put them around the central leader on anything or the main limb and they will out last all of us. A picture is worth a thousand words, these are 5 YEARS old.

They also save questions like what is that in the yard, which variety is that, and make it so much easier for grafting and cuttings. Now just getting around to making sure I actually do it.

faffing around with copper is a lovely thing if you only have to label the odd few plants...but raising hundreds of plants from seed means buying 1000 4inch plastic labels and a black horticultural pencil...and putting a label in every single pot While the labels never smear or fade, they can be scrubbed clean in hot soapy water, I never bother.

The only thing that works for me is indenting a copper label with a fine tip pen

On my staking sticks, I put a printed label with clear packing tape wrapped around it to protect it from the weather. The labels lasted well during our short growing season in Toronto. Cheap and efficient.