Need some forward thinkers....

...been looking (for years) at which plant markers would actually hold up nearly forever without any maintenance besides wiping it off. Want ones that will hold up to all the elements and are economical. Thought of this (about a dollar a piece for me to make) and wondered if anyone had any pros or cons that I haven't yet thought of.

This pic is just the idea....I'm guessing that the color will fade off and soil/grime will pack the engraving to create an almost opposite effect which should be just as durable and more to my liking.

What are you thoughts? Do you think it will last 25 years in the environment and still be readable? Would certain colors attract good bugs vs bad bugs? Any ideas would be appreciated.

If you are engraving on metal, than you are right. The soil particles will get in the engraved part and make it easier to read with a light background. Looking at your pic, is that engraved or stamped? Stamping does not collect dirt like engraving does.

I usually use these with my more permanent additions to the garden. The aluminum tags are easy to indent with a pen and the scribbling is there forever, but they also get bent up easily in time. I've found the tags not to be permanent in this respect. But since you are making them, might I suggest a more graceful curve to the stake?

Nice looking. What are you using to engrave them? Where are you getting the tags? Thanks for sharing the idea.

I use metal tags, pawpaw or eon markers. I love them b/c they give a sense of order to my garden beds. However, IMO, the problem w/ tags has not been durability as much as permanence. Meaning, I might accidentaly step over a tag, cause it to slide out of soil and inch away from its intended place. Mind you, this doesn't necessarily have to happen all at the same time. You step on it, next day it slides out, 3 days later it's 5 ft away....you get the pic.

Dogs play w/ them and misplace them.

When adding the yearly layer of mulch, tags get buried. I have found tags 2-3 yrs later intact but nowhere near the plant they were supposed to ID.

Some plants die way sooner than the darn tags, lol

Sunshine, your tags will be beautiful and I have no doubt they will last. Are you going to engrave yourself? Would be nice if you did a photo essay of how you do that. I would find it very interesting.

This message was edited May 11, 2010 1:05 PM

On beds that get mulched heavily for the winter, and will incur some top dress removal in spring, I push the tags all the way down to the ground. When I rake in spring, nothing gets pulled out.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I will put them to good use. A photo essay would not be to interesting.....maybe I could take a pic of me typing in the info for a little engraver machine. lol Working at a veterinary clinic has a few perks and tags for cost is one of them. The biggest problem I see so far is that the tags are just too small and I'd prefer a much larger label and bigger letters.

Please keep the suggestions coming......as I'm still not completely satisfied with the idea.

I think you idea is nice, especially for more permanent things such as trees or shrubs.

So many other plants are too easily lost (lilies, daylilies, irises) and your tags can't be recycled for a different plant. I prefer to use Eon markers with P-touch labels. Many of my markers are 5 years old and look as good as the new ones. If a plant dies, then the label can be peeled off.