Great idea old_dirt….. I would like to know how long they will last too. I have plastic markers I buy from Gemplers. They have to be redone maybe every other year….. I use I sharpy to write with.

debra

I got some from the grower last year using those sticks. The sticks are still readable.

bkay

The white plastic markers work okay for me. I prefer a #2 pencil over felt pen and the labels are not exposed to much direct sun and are covered with snow in winter.

If you use Sharpie markers that are "waterproof" the names last longer.

One grower sent me labels carved into wooden sticks, which were illegible year 2 and rotted away year 3. Year 1 was nice.

the wood will rot.. as fast as compost will rot... in your garden ...

its rather thin wood... so there is no long term life to it..

use a paint pen on the side of a pot.. or use a scratch all with plastic knives.. those will only last until the end of earth.. or your lifetime.. whichever is longer ...

no mater what sharpie you use.. its short term ...

brothers UV p touch tape will last about 20 years. on a plastic tag ...

ken

True time laps of cheap tag: 7.16.2022 start

5.05.2023 stop

Don't let this happen to you. lol Have a great day everyone!

Hosta Exstacy

I order aluminum one-sided pet tags from various companies, which laser-etch the letters on the pet tags. I have found that large circles work very well, the ones with the extra small circle with a hole in it at the edge. And I like the black tags, as they show up the names better than light colors. Instead of "Fido", I have them say "Hosta" on the first line, then "Gypsy Rose" or whatever the variety is on the second line. I use aluminum tent stakes to mount them on, and Chicago Screws (a very small diameter one) to attach them to the stakes. I get brass Chicago Screws, which don't rust, and I don't have to worry about anything rotting, rusting, or anything else. This picture was taken at my former residence, not my present house.

Esther, I tried those, probably seen on your old post. They do last wonderfully but my system of holding them failed.

Am following to see solutions. Keeping it all in my head not working anymore lol

Lindalana, find some very small Chicago Screws, about 3/8" long. They work beautifully.

I love that idea but I have too many hostas to do that for. I imagine they are a bit pricey?? $$$

debra

I too am trying to find cheap, permanent tags to label my collection with. One thing I did do this year on my tomato plants was cut strips from soda cans, about 3/4” wide x can length and emboss the name on the tag with pen. Has held up well - there is no ink to wear off and the embossing doesn’t go anywhere. I used a hole punch and zip tie to attach it to the tomato cage, havent figured how to attach it them to my hostas yet. any suggestions would be welcomed…. Thanks!

Don’t you end up with potentially sharp edges? I would have a ba-zillion cuts…..that’s because I am so nimble with my hands……hahaha!

debra

Hey Debra. Haven’t yet! i have a lot of callouses from dividing hostas. 😁

Just wondering:

Are you labelling the plants so that the name is visible at all times?

Are you labelling the plants so that others can see the name in your garden?

Are you labelling the plants just to make sure you have a record of it?

or Are you labelling the plants because you keep forgetting the name and want to have it easily visible to remind yourself of the name?

I don't have a lot of people coming to my garden so I don't have visible named tags. I use cheap plastic window blinds which can be easily bent to break off a piece. I bury it in the ground when I plant a hosta. I add the plastic window blind to each pot I have---sometimes visible, sometimes not.

If I were to have a group of people visiting my garden, I would then add some tags to most of my hosta. I love seeing the names of the hosta when I visit people's gardens. It usually isn't easy to get a hold of the host in order to ask what the names of the plants are.

Now that I am officially a senior, I do forget some of the names of the hosta. But I figure it is good for my brain to get some exercise while trying to remember!

I also use the tent stake approach with a nylon tag labeled with vinyl using my Cricut maker. A zip tie is used to secure it. The zip ties need to be replaced every 5 year or so. I am not sure how long the labels will last I started this two years ago and those labels still look good. I am hoping the vinyl on the labels last 5 years.

I like the tent stake since it doesn't break over time and doesn't pop out of the ground during the winter.

newhostalady, " or Are you labelling the plants because you keep forgetting the name and want to have it easily visible to remind yourself of the name? "

Being 'old_dirt' I need constant reminding of the names. I don't get many visitors but when I do, I want to be sure of the names...thank you

Oh, I see, old dirt. It is frustrating when you can't remember the name of the hosta!

I had tried wooden sticks in the garden, but they weren't legible for long. But I see you used a paint marker. Maybe that will work better than using a marker.

Just an update here, several of the popsickle sticks I used have already rotted and unuseable. Live and learn I guess.

Thanks for giving us an update. I use popsickle sticks for markers when I start my seedlings, (mostly vegetables) but that's not longterm, just until they're ready to go out in the garden. I also need to make a lot of new markers for my hostas because there's too many names to keep track of, so I get it!

I have been using the plastic markers with sharpie so neighbors can read. It’s the educator in me. I even see the kid’s reading them from time to time! Now that I know there are waterproof sharpies, I will buy those going forward! Thanks for that info miles!

debra

Well the wood craft sticks didn't work. Now trying these plastic labels from Menards @ $2.79 per 25. Using the little pencil they came with, I think will last longer than felt marker...We'll see

Will stop at Menards , thanks!

That looks good old_dirt! I've had those sturdy white label sticks, but they are more expensive in Canada so I keep using my plastic window blinds. Paint marker works well too and the letters are a darker color when choosing black as the color. The contrast with the white background and the black paint marker, make the letters more pronounced. That helps me and my tired senior eyes to see the names better! This year I am trying the Sharpie "Extreme Fade Resistant" pens. But for the last several years, I have just used a regular permanent Sharpie pen.