The pros and cons of metal plant tags

[alexmenke92]

That sounds good, I really appreciate your advice. I wasn't sure about heavy metals leaching from tags, I figured it would be miniscule but I just wanted to make sure. I am really in to the dart frog hobby so as you can imagine I am very careful when it comes to protecting animals and plants. I will check out the site. It may be a dumb question but what did you use to engrave the tag with?

[tropterrarium]

Originally Posted by BobInBonita

Got tired of plastic & aluminum - too many broken, illegible, or lost. Now use stainless steel tags - impervious to everything.

I buy large stainless washers (boxes of 100) and stamp them with an alphanumeric "code" or serial number. Attach them to the basket with 18 ga copper wire. If the original plastic tag is available, I punch a small hole and attach it behind the stainless washer - more info until it falls off.

Think about your code system - I originally used "L" to indicate my collection plus a 3 digit number. I am redoing as I repot using a single letter to indicate species/alliance (i.e. C=cattleya alliance). This will make it easier to sort on my Blackberry when I see a potential "bargain". I have used both "Word to Go" and "Sheet to Go" to synch data with my computer.

How do you stamp those washers? Where did you get the dyes? This looks like the best, most long-term, yet affordable option. I also just need a serial number on the plant, the rest is in the computer db. As I grow mainly mounted minis, most other labels are WAY too big.

I looked at dog-tag stampers ($$$) used in botanical gardens, the printable Gempler labels (rub off after a while), the thin aluminum/cardboard sandwich (breaks/corrodes after about 5 years outdoors).

[james mickelso]

My aluminum sandwich tags last 10 years. I used them on my bonsai all the time where repotting is paramount. They don't corroded at all. I use a ball point pen to write on them.