Subject: labels/markers

From: [email-masked] (TOM E. HUGHES)
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 23:49 -0500 (EST)

I have been raising azaleas and rhododendrons for forty years, not
always successfully.  But I think I do a lot better by my labels than
I do my plants.  I use medium-weight aluminum packaging -- like those
brown and serve rolls come in and inscribe it with a ball-point pen.
Many of my labels have lasted for decades!  Just cut the aluminum into
whatever size strip you prefer,  punch a hole near the end (use a
hand-held paper punch, but the ball-point will do the job) and twist in
a length of copper wire (I use the scraps that telephone repairmen
sometimes discard).  When the plant dies (as it often does in my case)
I untwist the label and rub out the indented name with the side of the
pen and it's ready for a new name.  That's for twist-on labels.
For stick-in-the-ground labels to tell you what you're looking at
without bending,  I like the Everlast zinc labels inscribed with the
black crayon that the company supplies.  The crayon marking lasts about
five years; the zinc lasts forever but squirrels like to chew on it;
and the wire posts will rust away and need renewal in 4 or 5 years,
depending on your climate.
Tom