The importance of marking your orchids... - Orchid Board

glassgirl · #1 09-13-2009, 08:31 PM

Hi....

I am new to orchids(big time new) and have a question. I was talking to an experienced grower and he said it is VERY important to make sure you know exactly what kinds of orchids you have and that you need to mark them. Is this true? If you don't know exactly what it is--does it devalue the plant?

How do you mark your orchids and keep track of who's who? What do you use (do you mark the pot or do you put a little stake in it?)? Any information anyone has about this topic would be great!

THanks in advance!

Laura

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #2 09-13-2009, 08:39 PM

Yes, it does devalue the plant(s).

Sometimes different kinds of plants look identical vegetatively, but have different looking flowers.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #3 09-13-2009, 08:39 PM

Awarded plants are worth more btw.

peeweelovesbooks · #4 09-13-2009, 08:40 PM

Hi Laura and welcome to the OB!!

Well, like mostly everything in orchid growing, you'll get 10 different answers from 10 different people.

My take on the subject is this:

Orchid identifying is very important for me. Notwitsthanding the fact that I want to know what I'm growing, i.e. how to take care of each particular orchid, I keep really detailed records of each and every orchid that I have. Further, if you at any point are lucky enough to show your orchids, orchids without an identification cannot win an award.

Some people buy NO ID orchids, other people, like myself, do not. It's all up to you.

What do I do, well, I'm a little overzealous on the subject. LOLOLOL Recently I custom-ordered some ceramic tags from a local potter. I just got tired of brittle, snapped plastic tags that needed replacing. I also have a brother PT label maker, which I plan to make a new label and affix same to the ceramic tags I ordered.

If it's mounted, I hang the tag with a cable tie, if it's potted, I try to tie the tag with the cable tie and stick it inside the pot--that way if the pot tips over the plant tag stays around the plant. I keep a running inventory of every orchid I get. Everything I have is labeled this way and inventoried.

Have fun with the hobby!! And, once again, welcome to the OB.

glassgirl · #5 09-13-2009, 09:06 PM

So you can put something in the pot to mark it. I didn't know if it would have any adverse effect on roots or anything like that. I am a fused glass artist by trade and was planning on making my own markers out of fused glass (I want something pretty to go along with my orchids!).

How did you like your ceramic markers?

I never knew there was so much to learn about orchids...and ohhhh they are soooo pretty!

peeweelovesbooks · #6 09-13-2009, 09:27 PM

Laura,

I haven't gotten them yet, but glass markers also sound supercool.

orchidbingo · #7 09-13-2009, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glassgirl

Hi....

I am new to orchids(big time new) and have a question. I was talking to an experienced grower and he said it is VERY important to make sure you know exactly what kinds of orchids you have and that you need to mark them. Is this true? If you don't know exactly what it is--does it devalue the plant?

How do you mark your orchids and keep track of who's who? What do you use (do you mark the pot or do you put a little stake in it?)? Any information anyone has about this topic would be great!

THanks in advance!

Laura

Hi Laura and welcome to OB. I'd say your orchids are lucky to get fused glass IDs!
My tags are just plastic- I write on one side with pencil and on the reverse with permanent marker.
I stick them way down into the pot where the roots are likely to grow around them.

I think any tag that doesn't breakdown is the moist media will work fine.

bingo

Royal · #8 09-13-2009, 09:57 PM

Hey glassgirl,

Welcome to the board! I like the idea of artistic labels. One thing to consider might be to make some sort of label holder that goes into the pot to work with any standard plant labels. I guess the possiblities are endless.

As far as names go, it is important to know if you ever want to trade, sell, breed, or show an orchid. Some folks (like pewee and myself) have no interest in trading for a NOID. I appreciate their undeniable beauty, but a NOID takes up just as much bench space as a quality lableled plant. If you have the name of a particular hybrid, then you can research its parentage. If you don't have the name, the closest you can come with any certainty is genus, maybe.

glassgirl · #9 09-13-2009, 10:14 PM

Hey bingo--thanks for the tip on the roots. I wasn't sure. I bought my generic phal at a farmers market yesterday.Someone said they are hard to kill?I hope that's true!!!!!

I prototyped a 7" long marker for my phal today-pulled it out of the kiln-and I love it, so I am thinking that it should be long enough to go below the roots. SO much to learn!

Laura

orchidbingo · #10 09-13-2009, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glassgirl

Hey bingo--thanks for the tip on the roots. I wasn't sure. I bought my generic phal at a farmers market yesterday.Someone said they are hard to kill?I hope that's true!!!!!

I prototyped a 7" long marker for my phal today-pulled it out of the kiln-and I love it, so I am thinking that it should be long enough to go below the roots. SO much to learn!

Laura

Hi Laura,

Please post a pic of the marker if you get a chance

bingo