How do you label your daylilies? Do you have a map showing what is planted where in case something happens to the tag?
There are so many types of labels and markers on the market. As well as marking pens. Some use computer labels they make themselves, some use mini blinds.
These are my favorite ways to mark plants. I have no interest in any of these companies - but I do like their products. They have worked well for me.
I used to make maps, until I started using the AAA markers. They are so reliable and sturdy, I don't have to worry about animals or weather breaking them. The AAA labels I bought 10 years ago still look great.
Here,you can see how the AAA markers look in a planted bed
http://northernexposuregarden.... and how the markers are put together. The AAA marker label attaches to the plastic plate shown in these images. You could also use this plate with a self-made label.
http://northernexposuregarden....
AAA does not have a website, but you can see info on them here
http://americanhostasociety.or...
AAA Quality Engravers on 25" Simply Elegant stake in summer and winter....
Another type of label I use is Impress-O-Tag.
http://www.amekron.com/ I use them with landscape staples as markers when I plant seed, and also wire them to the Simply Elegant stakes to mark perennials. I use them for new daylilies. I will usually wait a year to order an engraved tag just in case the new daylily does not live through the winter. You can write on both sides of the tag. Use one side for the plant name, the other side for a few notes.
Here you can see an Impress-O-Tag impaled on a Simply Elegant stake.
I also use Impress-O-Tags for notes about a seedling. For this seedling, I have a AAA marker, then Impress-O-Tags tucked under it with notes on fertility, dormancy, color description. That way when I am out in the garden, the info is right there. I do seedlings on a small scale, so this might not work so well if you select 500 a year.
Sometimes I use the plastic nursery type labels and put them over one of the stakes. I always put the writing side DOWN so that it does not fade. Sharpie Marker will last 2-3 years this way. Sometimes I even put them under the mulch so that there is less chance of the plastic breaking over winter. I also use these, with green plastic, stretchy garden ribbon to attach to fans when I give a daylily to someone, or send it in the mail.
I always take a photo of the tag before taking a photo of a flower so I can label the images. That is why I happened to have photos of the tags that Dottie Warrell uses. She uses this smaller one for single plants, and other perennials. Her husband makes them. The wire is coated, and stiff enough to push in the ground, but will bend enough to make the "curl" at the top to hold the tag. I am not sure, but I think the tags are cut from siding material. Then, she uses a labeler to make the labels.
In the sales area, she uses tall wooden stakes, and makes a larger sign for them. The signs are perhaps 4"x6" with the name stenciled on.
Curt Hanson uses aluminum cans to make labels for seedlings and other plants that he does not have an AAA marker for. He cuts neat ovals out of the sides of the can, then impresses the information on them, and uses a small home made wire down through it for the stake. You never see weeds in Curt's daylily beds - but sure enough, when I went looking for a photo to show his tags, the best label photo has a weed in it!
Mapping would help. I leave on the stretchy plastic label from the supplier, have some EON markers, and do remember where the older, unlabeled ones are planted. Juli, the facedown idea is good, too. Much of my Sharpie names on the EONS have faded. Fortunately, most still have enough to tell and I can overwrite with a #2 pencil. Then, make maps, maps, maps...
I find for the money this is what suits me best. I would love to get the engraved markers one day. In the seedling beds I use the mini blind markers with pencil, since they are largely temporary. I write the cross # on both sides and in the part that will go in the soil. That way if the sun should fade it or it gets broken off I still will have my info. I find the pencil doesn't fade as much as permanent marker.
