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Discussion id : 87-826
most recent 16 SEP 15 HIDE POSTS
 
Initial post 13 SEP 15 by BartBalk
Can anyone recommend labels that can be hung on the rose bush, that aren't too expensive, but will last a couple years at least? In our park, we have lots of roses that have labels that have fallen off, moved around. We will eventually get them all big permanent labels, but would like to keep their ID with them in the meantime. I have had bad luck in my own garden with labels losing their writing and haven't come across the best method - metal, plastic, pen, pencil?
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Reply #1 of 13 posted 13 SEP 15 by styrax
Pencil on any sturdy, UV resistant, light-colored surface.
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Reply #2 of 13 posted 13 SEP 15 by Robert Neil Rippetoe
This is a popular topic and there are many solutions including using recycled materials.

You can buy plastic labels with a hole punched in them or punch them yourself but plastic can degrade in a few seasons or less.

Tyvek labels are better and can last for several years, or more.

I have found nothing for labeling that outlasts a plain old fashioned #2 pencil, as long as reasonable pressure is applied when writing on a clean label. They stay legible for years.

Some people prefer a marking pen designed for china and ceramics. I see no need to go to the additional expense. I do thousands of labels per year.
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Reply #3 of 13 posted 13 SEP 15 by Jay-Jay
I use the sipes of old aluminium horizontal blinds (Luxaflex) and cut the aluminium in rectangular shapes, get the corners a bit rounded and drill (or punch) a hole in them. Use a small engraving/etching machine (Dremel) to write and hang them up with single core wire.
Cheap and very durable!
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Reply #4 of 13 posted 14 SEP 15 by Patricia Routley
For a public garden I favour no labels at all. Vandals move them or they get stolen.
Instead I favour a cheap photocopied map that could be printed off in small quantities as required. These small quantities would allow for changes to be made when required – and raise a dollar or two – and save on label costs. It would also allow people to take home the rose names to later seek out plants.
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Reply #5 of 13 posted 14 SEP 15 by BartBalk
I have wondered about that. Our garden does have vandals. We could try that first, since we need to create a map anyway.

One other reason we wanted to have labels is so we know which roses are winter-pruned. Our old roses are somewhat mingled with the hybrid teas. Was thinking of marking the old roses with a color tag. Of course, the map helps here, too.
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Reply #7 of 13 posted 14 SEP 15 by Patricia Routley
I have just added an example of one of my garden bed maps. Go into Patricia Routley / Member Garden / Photos .....It is a reflection on paper of what is in the bed. The very next rose you come to, goes on the very next line. This map contains, in this order, a number that a foundling will use for the rest of its life (when the identity can change!); the name; class (which will guide you on pruning); the seed parent & date; the pollen parent & date; breeder; country; bred date; provenance (see Katie Pianto's rose for three previous owners); what rootstock if any; the date I planted it; and its location in my garden.
On the bottom right is a mini map cutout showing where in my five acre garden this bed is. See also the other photo of the whole garden map.
Despite being in page protectors, these garden bed maps get pretty filthy as I take them out into the garden often. They also get covered with my scribble - there are always things to update and note and I seem to have to re-print them once a year. Of all the books on my bookshelves, my garden records book is the most valuable of all.
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Reply #8 of 13 posted 14 SEP 15 by BartBalk
You've fit quite a lot on that map!
I definitely will start thinking about maps.
Many times visitors want to know the name of a rose so they can buy one.
And I do worry about kids moving labels around.
The map does double duty - can't be moved, can be taken home.
Thanks!
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Reply #6 of 13 posted 14 SEP 15 by BartBalk
That does look good. Not sure where to find the old blinds. Can you also write with pencil? Your photos look like they were written with pencil.
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Reply #9 of 13 posted 14 SEP 15 by Jay-Jay
Pencil might suffice, but what You see is not written by a pencil, but it is the bare aluminium, for the original paint is grinded/cut away with the (small) multi-tool. The labels are very durable.
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Reply #10 of 13 posted 14 SEP 15 by BartBalk
ok, I see the metal now. And what did you use to punch the hole? Or did you drill it?
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Reply #11 of 13 posted 14 SEP 15 by Jay-Jay
Sometimes I drilled them with a metal drill, then You can drill a lot at once, but You can also punch holes in them with a centre-point. (used for punching an indentation in the metal or stone, at the location, that you want to drill a hole, so the drill doesn't slip/slide away) See: https://nl.wiktionary.org/wiki/centerpunt
Sometimes , when I want a very nice result, I use only a countersink
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Reply #12 of 13 posted 15 SEP 15 by BartBalk
I found some mini-blinds at local thriftstore and made some sample tags to show my fellow public garden volunteers. Our paper hole punch was able to easily punch a hole.

I will be putting all of our roses in excel as our "database". We have a Brother label maker, so we can print more info on the label, including a QR code to HelpMeFind.

Does anyone have experience with stick-on labels? Are some brands fairly durable? We are going to try Brother Continuous Film label tape DK2211 for starters. One of the reviewers said it worked well outdoors, but Brother makes no claims.

I'm thinking of 1) scratching one side with name and 2) printing (with more info) a label for the other side.

A couple of my fellow gardeners don't like hanging labels because people prune them off and then they are lost. But it seems to me to be more of a problem for those little round metal labels than something big. Anyone have experience in whether these larger labels work better? We have inexperienced people help us with pruning sometimes.
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Reply #13 of 13 posted 16 SEP 15 by Jay-Jay
Looking good => even improved!
I never pruned these labels away, but when the cane dies, it can easily be hung back on another newer cane, for the single core wire can be used over and over again
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