The pros and cons of metal plant tags

[neardark]

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

Tags and Stakes

[ockham]

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.

[Ray]

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.

[Grandma M]

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

[Baz in Oz]

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

[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.

[Eyebabe]

I am a bit of a weirdo when it comes to labels.
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.
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!
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.

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.

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

I have attached a couple of labels so you can see

[Rivka]

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.

[alexmenke92]

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.

[james mickelso]

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.