I like grease pencils to mark my plants. Very similar to a crayon I guess. They have outlasted the mini blind shades I have used them on, as long as I press down well on them. I've used paint pens too, which hold well as long as you get black paint pens. I got some blue ones, & blue doesn't hold long at all. I recently got a labelmaking machine which came with some lable tape that is supposed to last in the weather. I'm trying it, but leaving my old markers there "just in case". I've tried sharpies which some people say work. Mine didn't, although I did find one that was industrial that said it would hold up to heat/cold etc & it did pretty well. I wasn't able to find another.

What I do is use a black sharpie first, then go over that with the black crayon. On some 14" tall plant markers I have, which are shinier than other markers, the names have faded after 2 years but with markers that have a dull finish I don't have that problem. They are still readable after 3 years. I don't know anything about labels or stickers which are printed on a label maker. This summer I found a great garage sale buy -metal mini-blinds. I marked them as above for my newly acquired cultivars and I'll let you know in 2 years if they lasted! Val in windy,dusty, hot West Texas

Irisval, The metal window shades work well but are hard to read because they are so short. I usually cut mine about 8 inches long. I used these for three years. The only thing I could mark them with that lasted more than one year was paint pens. This can become expensive if you have a lot of markers which I did. I finally broke down this year and bought 1000 metal markers from Paw Paw Marker co. in Paw Paw, Mi. They seem to have the cheaper prices if you buy a lot and I needed a lot. I really like the markers because now I have a name and a number on them. Before I just had a number. Lee Mincy

I like the PawPaw markers but neither the graphite pencils, grease markers, or permanent Sharpies last more than a season or two here. So far I've had the best luck with DecoColor opaque paint markers bought at Michael's Craft store. Those labels have held up for three or four years so far.
Neil

I have marked plants before with the plastic mini blinds and they became brittle. I don't even remember what kind of plants I was marking. It sure wasn't irises. Anyway that didn't work to well for me.

I just happened to see an ad for Paw Paws Metal Markers in one of the garden magazines I get. I then looked up some of the pros and cons of using them. I used the grease pen and marked them this evening. They look pretty nice, I just had one problem. I no more than got started good and my dog ran through the bed chasing a grasshopper and messed up two of them. I guess the dog will be let out on a leash from now on.

Anyway, I thank everyone for responding so quickly.
Neil may I ask what part of the country you live in. I will have to see where the closest Michaels Craft store is or someone who handles the Deco Color opaque paint markers. Do you recall how much they run and about how many signs you can do with one?

Marian

If it is possible for you to position your markers facing north, the markings from an Elmer's Painter's Pen can last up to five years or more.

Walter Moores

The Deco Color paint pens are widely available at most craft, scrapbooking, and office or stationary supply stores. They're even available in the craft dept of my local WalMart. I use them for all of my labels, and they last very well through our frigid northern MN winters and hot, steamy summers.

One thing I would recommend for paint pens is to use them when you are making up a large amount of labels. They go dry pretty quickly after opened. I think Deco Color is the brand I tried, & they lasted quite well, but one I just made a few labels & went to use a few weeks later & it had dried up. Expensive for just a few. Maybe I had a bad one though.

I had the same problem with paint pens. Once the plastic cover/seal is broken, they dry out very fast. They do last a lot longer than the sharpies but are much more expensive. I did all my metal tags with the crease pen/crayon this spring and they seem to be holding up well so far. I am waiting until they have gone through a Mississippi winter to see if they are really any better than the paint pens. They sure are cheaper. Lee Mincy

I've been using the same deco color marker for three years. The fine point is no longer fine, but there's plenty of fluid in there. Are you sure you're getting the cap back on tight and shaking the tube each time? Some times it takes a few tries to get the liquid to flow.

I'm sure the cap was on tight but I am not sure I shaked the paint pen each time I used it. I do know I shaked it when it stopped marking. I may just be getting old pens or it may just be the volume of markers I am doing. So far the crease pens made it fine through the hottest summer we have had since I have been growing iris but the paint pens did also. The crease pens if they hold up will be my choice since they are so much cheaper. Lee Mincy

The grease pencils didn't last here in Tenn, even with the markers aimed away from the sun and the direction the rains usually come in. Neither did the graphite pencils.

(When I was testing the various methods, I would write the iris names on the labels with grease, graphite, and then also the paint pens. Someone going through my iris kept reading out the names "Immortality, Immortality", "Gypsy Prince, Gypsy Prince." Finally they asked why iris are always named twice.......)

I am commerical and I have used the DecoLiner paint pen by Marvey for about 7 years now, might have to redo a few to make them easier for the customers to read and to photo for the picture ID. Get mine thru the mail same price all the time. Cheaper than Michaels unless on 50% off sale. I do write on both sides of the tags tho...

I have used about everything except the labels as just do not have enough time for that.

In my own gardens I do the paint pen on one side and a #2 pencil on the other and if the critters do not take them I have them for years and years.

Good luck

D

Well I can see that this is something everyone has had a few problems with. I was trying to save myself from writting the names over and over every year.

Thurston- I laughed about you writting on them both ways and people asking why they were named the same thing twice. (LOL)

Denise since you are commercial how many irises would you say your able to do with one Deco paint pen? Would you email me and tell me more about it?

I appreciate all the different responses here. I guess I'll have to conduct my own little experiment with the markers and grease pens and so forth and see which one works best here in the harsh summers of TEXAS. Thank You All, Marian

Marian,

Regardless of how you decide to mark your irises in the garden, the most important thing you can do to keep your iris identities intact is to make bed maps. I map every iris as soon as I plant it. Then I put the information into an iris database and bed maps that I keep on my computer. Then I print out a copy of the database and bed maps. That gives me three ways of keeping track of irises in my beds - garden markers, computer database and bed maps, and hard copy print outs of database and bed maps.

With all the 4-legged traffic that goes through my iris beds, markers go missing or get broken or relocated all the time. With my system, every last marker could disappear from my beds, and I'd still know what was planted where.

Laurie

I am suprised no one has mentioned the Brother Label maker.
I use the black on clear. The label doesn't fade and will not come off. The only problem I have had is that if I try to reuse the label, the effort to take them off is more than the cost justifies. Use the Brother brand, the others don't work nearly as well.

I have really enjoyed reading everyones post here. It's easy to see that signage has been a problem for others and I'm sure it will continue to be an issue.Thank you Laurie for suggesting a map.

I guess I will get out there and make some maps and do that too. That makes sense. Considering within the first hour that I was working in the beds and making signs one of my dogs ran through and wiped out 2 of them. At the very least that would be another way of knowing what is planted in each place. I suppose if one should die, you would just mark it off the map location. Maybe adding a different one in that location the next season.

gmason how long do the labels you make with Brothers Label maker last?

Thanks again for all the helpful information.
Marian

I got Teamwork from Keppel in 2001 and made this tag for it. I originally tried the pencil they provide. That was fading after a couple of years. My handwriting is so bad that these really upgrade the appearance of my tags. I really like the Paw Paw tags because they last and in a garden setting they are noticable without distracting from the plant. They make the tape in different sizes and I have seen them with the name 3/4 inch tall. I use the 1/2" size.
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I am suprised no one has mentioned the Brother Label maker.

Me too. Love mine. Got it on Ebay and got the tapes quite reasonable too on Ebay. Just have to keep an eye out for them, and maybe buy a 'lot' of several tapes.

Different models do different tape widths, and different numbers of lines. Mine will do up to 5 lines but I've never used that many...the print is then too small.

Well worth investing in. Mine is a pt-1950.

I 'think' they are about as permanent as anything that can be found.

Here is a link that might be useful: ebay search results for Brother ptouch

Well I just might just have to put a Brother's Label Maker on my Christams wish list. I think I could come up with some other uses for it around the house. (grin)

I would like to know more about them and which one's print like 3 lines and how much are they, and the tape you use in them and so forth.

Would one of you please email me and tell me more about them. That way hopefully I'll know which one to put on my wish list. (grin)

I don't know if I've been good enough this year for Santa to bring me anything.

Marian, Aka Lovely Iris

Go Here.

Here is a link that might be useful: Brother P Touch Label Maker

Well, thank you so much for the info, I had just purchased a Dymo label maker to use in the very same way. It is still in it's packaging and I have the receipt so I think it is back to Wal-Mart asap.

You alluded to the fact other brands weren't as good, so I am assuming you were referring to Dymo.

Thank you, just in the nick of time,

Irisawe

On a COMPLETELY different note, I put clear sealer on some granite rocks - used a black paint pen to write the names and then resealed the rock. I set it out paint / word side down so I only see the ID if I want to pick up and flip the rocks to read them so the garden looks "natural" . It just a thought for those who want to try something different. It's lasted a year, and I'll probably have to wash and reseal the rocks - but the sun doesn't fade things this way.