The pros and cons of metal plant tags
 

Hello all.

Here's Maria's dilemma. I hate plastic tags. Hate them with a passion. Don't like the look of them.

I just bought a labelmaker and replaced all my plastic tags with new ones in February of this year. They are already brittle and misshapened.

So, I've been looking online and found this link:

Alitags | Horticultural Aluminium Labels - Metal Plant Labels, Aluminium Tags & Garden Markers

for their aluminum tags. Or, this one for their copper tags:

Alitags | Horticultural Copper Labels - Metal Plant Labels, Copper Tags & Garden Copper Markers

Now, the cost is not abhorrent to me, so I'm looking for comments besides, "OH my God, I can buy ____ amount of orchids for that kind of money."

I want the professional series, because the whole point for me is for the tags to look professional and well, polished.

In any event, what are the pros and cons (besides the cost) that you would see in purchasing these? I don't know enough about metals in relation to orchid culture/growing to make an informed decision, which is why I've come to you brilliant people for your comments.

thanks!!

I use the Brother p-touch. It prints out laminated labels, which lately I've been attaching directly to the pots. All my plastic labels get rearranged by the animals and kids.

Gorgeous plant labels, that's for sure. Copper makes them the ultimate elegant labels too...! These are the kinds of labels Capt. Nemo would have kept on his plants in the Nautilus—Cool...!

But in day to day life with my orchids—mainly lots of complex Catt hybrids—it just would never work! The full names of the cultivators would never fit on the label, let alone when and where I bought the plant! Plus with the Brother P-Touch, I can easily keep nice and neat and small and up to date records of bloom history and repotting all on one label. I used to have computer records of my entire collection, but as I tore down the greenhouse and started to just grow outside (Southern California), the computer records went too—now 3-5 years of history is kept all on the plant's tags...

However they don't look nearly as great as those metals ones you chose...!

I've seen growers with metal tags, so I am assuming they aren't too detrimental to the plants..?

I went down the aluminium tag track years ago and was never happy with the results because -
(a) you need three men and a barking dog to write on the damn things.
(b) They are hard to read when new and shiny and damn near impossible to read when they start to corrode.
(c) Being very thin aluminium, they develop holes and actually fall off in extreme cases.
Modern ones may be made of resistant alloys so I may be talking garbage but have a look at what the experts are using.
I don't know what sort of plastic tags you are using but I find the long thin ones available now (in different sizes) are the answer to a maiden's prayer and they last for years.

Baz

Last year I nearly bought a kit of copper tags with letter punches, but gave up the idea when I realized that most orchid names are too large to fit on the tag. I also like to put the date of purchase and date of last repotting on my tags, and there is certainly no room for all of that as well! I was also afraid that the copper would become all grenn after a while, like pennies do. In the end, I stuck to sturdy yellow or white labels, and I write on them in pencil. Pencil is more resistant to water and sun than markers are.

I thought copper was toxic to some, if not all orchids.

Use vinyl tags. The ones you used which soon turned brittle were probably styrene.

Vinyl tags come in all kinds of sizes, even some colors. Use a mechanical pencil, .7mm with H lead. The H gives a sharp dark line, not like the kindergarten leads. The .5mm leads break too easily, .7mm is stronger.

Don't use the pens, because the ink will suddenly disappear. Pencil lines may get old and dirty, but they leave a trace which can be copied.

I have some alum. tags with printed names from my brother printer, I use mostly tags I cut from venetian blinds,I use a # 2 pencil to do the writting and have no problem. they last as long as I need them , when I repot I change my tags, I have a Number for all my orchids and the info logged into a journal book.

i wanted to chime in even though this thread is a few months old.
i too have been eyeing those nice aluminum labels, did you buy them?

for the matter of not having enough room, i have a label maker that can print onto a aluminum colored metallized polyester tape, so i figure that i would print the names and info and stick it to the nice looking tags.
i also was thinking of hanging them from the plant in some way rather than stick them in the pot, since i have had a few close calls when more than one of my pots tipped over and everything scattered, please no more noids!

i figured to write the name on the front and the purchase and replanting date on the back. i also keep a computer log, so each one could just get a number on the back and that would reference everything else.

Rivka,

HI!! I actually did not buy the tags. However, I went to the Ceramic League of Miami and ordered tags made out of clay. I hope these work.....I intend to use my brother pt labeler--and I sure hope these tags don't snap off.

I ordered 100 originally for my larger plants, but if they work, I intend to order some more for my miniatures. :)

Yeah, I, like you, keep sort of OCD-ish computer logs of everything. :)

Metal plant tags and stakes
 

You might look at Yucca Do's DooHickey plant tags. They're made of metal and hold up well.

Tags and Stakes

http://static.yuccado.com/media/cata...k_tags_1_1.jpg

I sometimes use aluminium wrap paper to make tags.... them with a plastic string I attach it to the plant to avoid aluminium to touch the plant or the medium.

Unless you on porpouse you erase the tag, ther is no way the tag is going to lose the writing negative image.

It is very difficult to beat the longevity of Brother P-Touch labels, but the substrate upon which it is attached can still be an issue. Metal tags are obviously the most durable, but plants can suffer from both copper and aluminum toxicity, so they should be suspended from the plant, not placed in the pot.

I have also been having good success with sheets of vinyl labels that can be printed upon with a laser printer. As catwalker said, they are far more stable and UV resistant than styrene.

I'd be wary of the brittle nature of clay tags (and I'm even a Ceramic Engineer!), and would expect to break them easily if dropped.

I use the plant labels from Kelly's Korner because they are long enough and wide enough to print all my info on my Brother Labeler and stick the printed label onto the plastic label. I have used these for about 5 years and they are still like new.

When my plants bloom, or when I re-pot, there is enough space on the back of the label to write that info with a #2 pencil.

When I use a plastic pot, I drill a small hole near the top of the pot and attach the tag through this hole. To each his own. We all have our own methods which work for us.

Marilyn

Like Ray, I am a fan of the Brother labeller and use their TZ 12mm tapes which appear long lasting but vary wildly in price from place to place.
I have found a source of flexible plastic UV proof tags that are available in a range of colours.
Their narrow tube tags for $4 per 100 (plus tax) mate up well with the Brother tape. The tag supplier will even print your tags for you from your list.

Baz

Stainless Steel Tags
 

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.

I am a bit of a weirdo when it comes to labels. :dance13:
I always keep the label that comes with the plant as long as possible; then I will rewrite the name on some white plastic sticks labels with pencil when they begin to break etc.
So there is always one stuck in the plant media.

However, I have my own labeling system for the plants that is very inexpensive in the long term. :nod:
You will need:
a laminating machine from Office Max or Staples.
little laminating slips. I use the Business Card size (about 2"x4")
a hole punch! :blushing:
regular rubber bands
a printer and paper
kitchen scissors

I simply go into my usual word processing on my home PC and make a document with the labels and print them.
Then I cut them out.
I laminate them and use the hole punch for the label and the plastic pot.
I attach the label with the rubber band. :cheer:

The best part about this is the lifespan is indefinite. The rubber band should last until the next potting. You just use a new rubber band and the same label.
I also include other data and color coat some of the data like light intensity and flowering season. :shock:

It was a big task at first but now I just roll them out as I add a new plant :biggrin:

I have attached a couple of labels so you can see :bowing:bowing:dance::bowing:bowing

i wanted to check back in with folks about aluminum plant tags.
Ray, do you have any reading i can do about its possible toxicity to orchids?

I do finally order a pack of tags from Alitags and i think they are really nice, but that is no shock. i have a new demo label maker that prints from my computer that is great to use and saves me having to reps all this long names, i just cut and paste and hit print, yippee. i have been printing on clear labors and placing them on the aluminum tags, they look really great. i will take a picture of one as soon as i have a spare second.

Hey guys, I was wondering if there was any metal name plate that I could use without worrying too much about leeching toxic ions into the root systems. My manager and I are building an epiphyte tree, and as all of you are aware, we do not want to damage any epiphytes below any of the name plates. We were looking to attach name plates below each of our plants for basic identification to (mostly) non orchid / science people...therefor all of the hybrid information, date or purchase, etc etc does not need to be posted within the tag as it will be documented separately. Any ideas of a system we can use? I keep orchids as a hobby and the greenhouse I am working with is on a college campus and we are just beginning our display process. If anyone has any suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated. We don't like the idea of using plastic, but as always, we take priority to orchid survival rather than display. Thanks everyone.

Wow! All that information? Is it really needed? I guess if you are in the business of selling or hybridizing orchids but for most folks? Wow! Here's what I use. Last at least 5 years with no deterioration. Unless you are using plutonium or magnesium, metals won't hurt your orchids. The amount leached out of the metal is too miniscule to hurt them. You can order them from Graingers.com. Look under labels.

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?

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).

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.