Got both of these from DP Industries in 1000 piece lots, if anyone needs a source.

Not trying to shoot down the idea of some nice pot tags like that Jon but just adding another (cheap) option I came accross.

Old plastic window blinds work great as pot markers. Cut them down to size mark 'em & sitck 'em. I've been using #2 pencil to mark on these. Pencil lasts longer than sharpie (suprisingly) and is cheaper. The only drawback of pencil is that it smudges easily when rubbed with your finger. But seems to be UV & water proof.

This tip comes from a local horticulturist I know.

I only use these once dry they don't smudge or fade
ELMERS- Painters paint markers
They will outlast the tag I think I have daylily tags from 2001 painted on window blinds that are still very readable.

daygrower -Sounds like the marriage of two beautiful things. I've already been using those Elmer's  Painters to label my cuttings individually. Hadn't tried it on my window blind tags thinking that the paint wouldn't adhere very well to the plastic.

Learn something new here just about every day :) !

Thus the point of starting a thread: it opens up a discussion where everyone can benefit and learn, even if it seemed mundane or obvious at the start.

Last year I discovered the mini-blind slats when the wife decided to throw away some of them. They make great tags that can be read at a distance but in case they get moved or lost, I also have an aluminum tag attached to the tree for permanent ID.  I also found that the marks-a-lot fades in the sun and I have changed over to paint markers.

Another small tip, since all my cuttings and trees have a unique number assigned to them, I write that number with a white paint marker on the top of the cutting as I receive them, that way it assures that it never gets mixed up when bagging or potting without being able to correctly ID it.

"gene"

I have started this year giving each cutting a tag  using a rubber band to attach it so there no mixing them up but using paint pen for the rooting stage makes much more sense.
Thats whats so nice about this forum many minds are better than one

I have received pear and apricot trees with tags that are in picture #2.  The tags themselves hold up well to the weather, not cracking or tearing and after several years still just as pliable as the day that I got the tree.  I ordered a roll of them.  Thanks Jon for posting.
Cathy

Jon; Very good point.

Gene; Isn't funny how were always on the lookout for cheap (or free) and useful stuff that most people would never think of finding a use for?

Ever since my buddy clued me in to using those blinds, I'm always keeping an eye out for them. One day when I was out and about, I saw some sticking out of a trash can on the curb. Next thing you know, I was "dumpster diving". Couldn't let those things go to waste!

Since we're talking about the paint markers here I figured I'd post this pic. As you can see I'm experimenting with several different colors just to see which one works best. The white is by far the best choice in my opinion. Yellow is a close second. The orange and pink is actually some wild nail polish I tried - it's not as good as the paint markers and takes a long time to dry.

Funny thing about this picture is the blue color. This blue is very dark when looking at it in person but under the flash of the camera it almost looks florescent.

The picture also gives you an idea of how I'm rooting some of my cuttings this year - damp sphagnum. That's a large storage container that I found at Wal-Mart a few years ago. It's specific use was to store wreathes in. I found a better use for it :) .

 Have a look:

BILL:
THANKS FOR THE Sphagnspiration.
I've tried everything else including a 50/50 mix of Vermic / Perlite in a big plastic box like yours = 50 + cuttings. (I'm after a little mass production). Results are ok but nothing to write home about. There's always a further opportunity to kill 'em (rot !) during the transplant process.

next year...

Stephen V.

I use metal venetian blind tags, hole punched in them, & fastened with sturdy wire.  A metal awl or a drywall screw to etch them.  I have tags like this that have been outside for 20 years & are still completely readable.  They are indestructible & free.  I tried aluminum tags outdoors but the rabbits would always eat them.  It is getting harder & harder to find metal blinds anymore tho I just found one & it was enough to generate 400+ tags.

I have used the plastic tags in Jon's first picture. I use a sharpie to write. What i found out was to also write on the pointed end of the tag which will be in the ground and it will not fade from UV.

Al
Z 6 NJ

You're welcome Steven. Give the sphag a try. I like because it seems to have some mould suppressant properties. Nothin' scientific here just my personal observations. Got to be careful not to get it too wet though or you'll get rot (same as any rooting media). Just 'squeeze it like you mean it' to get out the excess moisture.

Beyond; I like the metal blinds idea for the actual tree markers. I do some scrap metal recycling and I often come accross all sorts of alluminum bits. I was thinking of using alluminum cans cut, flattened, and etched. May work pretty well too.

That's a good thought too AL. I'm kinda stuck on the pencil for now but if you have some sharpies, may as well use 'em up.  

Bill I had thought about using aluminum can strips, but when cut they have pretty sharp edges, so for now I have changed my mind.

The trees I got from Durio Nursery have long, plastic plant markers that have the name of the tree on the part sticking out of the soil and also on the part that's below the soil in pencil.  Works well, but the sun tears up the plastic in time.

noss

I also bough tags from DP Industries.
For those of you who are concerned about the ink fading off, simply use HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning ) aluminum tape, available at home depots, and other building supply stores.  Simply write on the aluminum tape, cut it off to the size of the DP Industries label, and now you have a METAL EMBOSSED tag.
If you are not using labels, this tape sticks to anything, the side of the pot, wooden coffee stir sticks, etc.
The main advantage of the HVAC tape is that it is very is to score with a ballpoint pen.
Hope this helps some of you who have lost the identification of plants, due to tag fading.

On my way back from lunch today, I saw a window coverings shop and stopped by. They were happy to give me a damaged white aluminum miniblind that otherwise would have gone into the landfill.  It'll probably give me a few years of tree tags. Thanks for sharing the idea Bill!

Toronto, I like your idea about the HVAC AL tape. I know just what you're referring to. I may give that a try on my in-ground stuff.

Thanks all, for sharing your great ideas. I had been making permanent plant labels out of strips cut from aluminum cans, but it's kind of a pain. On my walk this morning, I asked my neighbor if I could have the set of white, aluminum mini-blinds sticking out of his garbage can, and now I have a big supply of perfect plant tags. I wouldn't have even thought of it if I hadn't read this thread!

Ken. It's as Jon referred to in post #5. That's the great thing about this forum. There's so much we can learn from each other. Even on the seemingly obvious or mundane stuff.

Because of this thread, I now have a couple of solid ideas for permanent markers that I would hang on the actual tree itself. Wasn't so sure which way I was going to go on that. Now I have a direction to go - very cool stuff. 

I like these

 

http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?p=10459&cat=2,43319,33281&ap=1

I bought some of those from them, they are thin like a pop can but I haven't tried them through a whole season, the other ones than you can stick in the soil made of copper, if they stay wet will start to green a little but can be cleaned with vinegar.

Not quite as thin as a pop can but thin enough to imprint easily

I've been using pot stakes from http://stores.ebay.com/Woodland-Creek-Nursery-Labels?_rdc=1 which are pretty good, and I think at a better price than what I saw at DP Industries when taking a quick look (5/8" x 5").  I mostly write on them with pencil but also sometimes use the Perpaque pens by Sakura I mentioned in another thread a while back.  Some of these have been exposed to the sun for at least three years and the ink lasts longer than the PVC stake.  I bought some Elmers paint pens since someone had mentioned them in the thread but am not sure if I bought the wrong model or what.  They seem to be hard to write with as the tip needs to be depressed while writing to allow the ink to flow and then it sometimes flows too much.  WalMart didn't have the write size even though they showed it online.  I wasted quite a bit of time looking for them there since Kerry or someone said they bought them there but customer service finally told me that some stores have different items.  I was shopping at a very large "super" store, though.  I have also used the tags purchased from gardenware.com that I print on with my laser printer.  Those are easier to read than my handwriting and last pretty good.

One concern w the "stick" type as opposed to the wire or wrap type is pets.

A couple years ago, I was out labeling some perennial flowers with the plastic stick markers, carefully watched by Madison the Rottweiler (original fig guardian-RIP).
I went in the house and glanced out back to see a Rottweiler happily sitting in the middle of the yard with her collection of plastic plant markers.
I use the tags w wire wraps now.