Propagation: Good Long term labeling, 1 by Zen_Man

Zen_Man wrote:
I now use a scheme very similar to the one Blueberry uses. I use white plastic stick labels and write on them with Ebony pencil. Ebony pencils write very dark. Wooden stick labels seem to rot within months in my garden. Last year I had a debacle, using wooden craft sticks (like popsicle sticks) as stick labels. The pencil writing didn't fade, but the soil "ate" the sticks by mid summer.

The plastic stick labels don't rot and they are reusable, because the Ebony pencil writing can be erased. At first I tried using regular pencil erasers, but found that a cleaner like Bon Ami or Bar Keepers Friend removes the pencil writing faster and leaves a slightly ruffed up surface that accepts pencil writing better the next time.

I use and re-use hundreds of labels each year, because a hobby of mine is breeding zinnias, and each of my "breeder" zinnias gets an individual code name that stays with it on a label from seed to seedheads. I keep a notebook with detailed information for each of the codes. This year my codes started with E1, E2, ... up to E91. Last year my codes started with D1 and ended with D124. Next year the breeders will be named F1, F2, F3, ... and so on. The codes are almost a necessity, because I use rather small labels, and I discover a lot of different breeder zinnias that appeal to me. The labels stay with the plants in their starting trays and go with the plants into the garden, and stay with them until I gather seeds from them in the Fall.

ZM