Tags and labels One growers explanation etc.

What a good blog.

As you would have read Vicky, from a previous post, i loathe and detest the dutch labels that just show symbols ..... how stupid 'is' that ????? A real lazy, cop-out. Grrrr.

I like the rigid type plastic-y labels with a tie attached that gives loads of advice, sometimes there's a second 'printed' (!) label that the garden centre/nursery has attached that also gives some info - aswell as the price ..... THAT is what i like to see on the plants i pay good money for, because let's face it, they're sometimes expensive.

I recently bought from Gardening Express, not something i'll do again, a very expensive plant and it didn't have 'any' type of label at all ... now how can you be expected to give it the best start if there's no advice ???
(It was also very poor value for money aswell but that's another story)

Thank you for this very informative blog.
I'll come back and comment further another time.
I want to have a think about this. :o)

Whew, I bet you are glad to have got that out, Vicky LOL. I fully understand where you are coming from. I am not a profesional grower but have many friends who are and I recognise a lot of your frustrations.
Although we are capabable of buying plants from many sources we rarely buy from garden centres these days; as you say, you never know what's in it. We either propogate our own or buy from specialist nurseries or from likeminded plants people at club stalls.
As everyone who reads your blog is experienced in using the internet, if there is insufficient information on the lable then they could always put up a question on GoY or search the web.
Nice blog, Vicky.

Thats an interesting Blog. I tend to buy local home grown. I think a good label is often a sign of an organised and good grower! I like the last 2 labels on your blog because they are sturdy and give info and I hate the first 2. I dislike the symbol ones in several languages and will not buy them as not only can I not understand them, I can not be sure how well they are grown or what else I might be introducing to my garden. If a nursery is scruffy with poor labeling I dont go again. This is because I tend to spend a lot and want good plants not rubbish. I will sometimes buy at a garden centre but it has to be grown locally and well labelled. Mostly I go to nurseries where I am known and can have a chat as well. Overall I think you get what you pay for with plants.

I also use independent nurseries firstly and the national garden centres secondly.
The independents i use are local awell as nationwide, i have my favourites that i return to all the time :-)

I have acquaintances who work in national garden centres and they have quite a lot of people returning plants because they've not had labels or the symbols/info on them hasn't been good enough.
It's the new gardeners and the less experienced gardeners who come a cropper here.

As the Dutch are the biggest exporters of plant material bar none, It's my guess they use symbols on plant labels because it would not really by practical to translate into every language of every country they export to

I agree with you Bs :-)
But isn't english the most widely spoken language, i think a few appropriate words would be sufficient :-/

Dont agree I'm afraid, anything can be translated by computer these days. I wouldnt buy a kettle if I could not read the label/instructions and that also applies to plants. I think its just a cop out.

What a fantastic blog Vicky... very useful and informative.

A very interesting blog Vicky. One of the things you mentioned which really annoys me is the one where customers - or worse just lookers - who take away, or just throw a label down after looking at it. Also I do know quite a lot of people who lose or discard the label, and then forget the information it held.
There are so few REAL nurseries around these days and far too many garden centres which sell anything from a tatty vase to furniture, but whose plants are second rate.
Some of your frustrations must get you down when you're particularly busy, like a windy day blowing your labels away or the pheasant picking them out of the pot.
We do all I think, appreciate good clear informative labelling, and in future I shall be even more appreciative.

Just a little unfair to the Dutch Denise, for an example they send plants all over the EU, I don't think translation into Czech or Polish is so straight forward, plus a lot of the central European countries would know German rather than English as a second language.

I've asked for a new GoYpedia page so this blog can go up...

Hi MG.... Have you asked for a GoYpedia page called Plant Labels ?
I would be happy to edit that.. :o)

Yes TT I asked for that or similar. Also asked for one for poinsettias and one for tillers as despite Cliffo that question has some really good info :-)

I'll send a message to P & A, offering to edit Plant Labels...
I'll put a comment on this thread when it is set up. :o)

what an intersting blog Vicky.
I propagate some of my plants to sell for raising funds and it does annoy me when people take out lables and dont put them back in the correct pot or in any pot. :o(

Some of the symbol ones do give me enough info and they can be common sense too.

and how often do we put plants into spots in the garden despite the advice on the label. I know I am very guilty of that. I have a tub of 'dead' labels now.

Thanks for putting your view forward, it certainly has made me re - evaluate what I will put on my labels in the future.

look forward to the plant breeders one. That is another thing that gets me cross when people flaunt the pbr. Grrrrr

Interesting and informative blog, Vicky. I have a foot in both camps here. Although the modern trend of using virtually undecipherable symbols for everything (my DVD control is a case in point), I can understand the reason for it, and am rather inclined to agree with Bluespruce, to a point. Personally, I would rather see the written word, but I think the big plant businesses care little for how the buyer copes with their purchase, as long as they buy it in the first place. Now, you may think I'm a bit sad, but on the rare occasions I do buy plants, I immediately make my own label translating the symbols (those I can understand, that is) into plain English, with my own abbreviations. I find this works well and only takes a few minutes.
Like your comment Tt. Perhaps when you've finished editing labels you can have a go at my novel. It's almost finished. LoL :-o)))

I like labels to be wipeable/cleanable so that I can keep them in perspex/polypockets in a folder for future reference, especially to remind me with regard to pruning, cutting-back, dividing, etc. Of course, I could also add this info to my homepage here on GOY as reminders. :-)). I always look for variety name, which should always be on the label, if known, or if the plant has one. Descriptions of foliage, flowers, colouring etc, I think, are not necessary, and not always accurate, as individual plants may show slightly different colouring (although I can see how this may well help sell a plant).

Actually, this last comment is made because I am a huge fan of Heucheras, with their delicious "foodie" names, and descriptions reading like restaurant menus just make me hungry, to the point that I almost want to EAT the labels - LOL!!! Fabulous blog!!!!! :-))

Surely even if a plant is imported, the seller be it a Garden Centre or Nursery could add their own label in words rather than symbols? I get a lot of plants from a good GC where they do grow a lot of their own plants - but add labels with growing information when the plant comes in with a 'symbol' label.

I agree with Louise - I dislike these symbol only labels - I want a lot more info than that, including the plant's complete name!

I also think there needs to be a common hardiness rating system - like the stars that the RHS uses....please??

I like my labels to be blank on the back. When I have killed the plant I can write the name of a new plant on the back and use it again!

LOL

Only if it doesn't disintegrate when you try to remove it from the ground or plant Bulbaholic :0)

I do actualy do this but only with stick labels. They can be quite versatile.

Do you mean the old lollipop stick labels....now there's something you don't see anymore - not that I can remember them :0)

Seems to be popular now to cut up plastic milk bottles (cleaned first, of course) and make your own (I do this, sometimes). LOL, Bb!! Gr8 idea!!!

I have enough probs with symbols on clothing, labels, with regards to waahing/drying/ironing instructions, to have to decypher more on plants!!!!!!!!!

I guess some pre-decimal gardeners would like labels written in inches as well as centimetres for depth to plant etc..?

With the great variety of size and shape of labels.. not easy to find a good way to store them together.... I like to have the original label indoors and put my own label on the plant...

Lol. BBumble.... you ask for an editor of your novel...
oooh is it a romance about gardeners ?...
... "resemblance to real persons living or dead is coincidental" ? LOL...
.. or would you prefer a ...g-h-o-s-t... w-r-i-t-e-r... oooh....creepy.......

Pwrhaps, Tt, the novel is called "Withering Heights", as a "nod" to gardeners, and ghosts, everywhere? Personally, I always like to now think decimal v. imperial, as the measurements sound, and look, grander I IHATE however, some things, such as kitchen worktops/units, being measured in millimetres What's with that?????? (although I know, from experience, that most kitchen measurements are a few millis "out").

If it MUST snow then please let it snow in inches NOT in centimetres....
I like my plants to be inches high... not centimetres....

Frank Loesser wrote " Inchworm, inchworm, measuring the marigolds "..

not....Centimetreworm, Centimetreworm..... :o)

Carefull, Terra, your wlking close to the edge there ;-).
By stick labels I mean the four and six inch plastic labeles you can buy at the GC. I use loads of them and try to re-use as much as possible. If I amselling plants or putting plants to a stall then I use a nicely written new label.

Lol....
Mr Moonaholic,
I bet you have really lovely hand-writing on those new labels :o)

i clean my white labels for reuse using nail varnish remover. it cleans off most permanent pens cleanly. mind it doesnt take your nail varnish off too Bulbaholic :o))))))

Lol. Sbg. :o)))

Ooh, I'll have to be careful then

Thank you for all your interesting comments I shall read them a few times to digest the info etc. that is here
Glad you are all saving money on your labels what good ideas you all have.
If you save money on these types of things you'll all have more money to get more plants after all thats our main passion I am sure.
Thank you once again
so pleased you enjoyed it :)

Hello....
Just to report I'm now the GoYpedia editor of a new category..

---------- Plant Labels---------- !!!

Hopefully this will have an interesting mixture of photos, blogs and questions. Please nominate any item you think might be suitable. Thanks. :o)

Oo that sounds really interesting I will try if I have time to take some pictures of lots of different labels
we do have quite a few here
better pictures than the ones I put up they were really taken to remember the plant names :)

That sounds useful, Vicky.
It is a pity we can't nominate our own photos for GoYpedia, but I guess I'll find them... or maybe please send me a p.m. when they are on GoY. Thanks.

will do :)

:o)

Thats a geat tip SBG thanks

Thanks for this informative Blog.
It's also interesting reading all the comments.

In defence of the Dutch growers - they are really geared up to producing plants and they grow on a HUGE scale compared to most of the growers in the U.K. and the plants are relatively cheap because of the economies of scale.

If we did not have these huge nurseries in Europe supplying the U.K market, the U.K gardeners and nurseries would see an immediate difference in costs and a limit to the variety of plants on offer. I'm sure we would all be complaining.

The other point is there is a big 'chain' to the supply of the plants and lots of U.K growers and nurseries buy them in from places such as Holland, then sell them on to the U.K market.Probably a lot of buyers dont even realise this.They probably think the plants were all grown in the U.K, as indeed some are.

In the U.K growers have to add on so many 'on costs' , e.g. greenhouses have to be heated during our very cold winters and this ultimately affects the retail price.Of course plants have to be transported by sea or air from Europe but this is done on a huge scale so its a 'swings and roundabouts' situation.You take your choice.

We prefer to buy British grown plants, but it is still a ' market in development' and the choice is still not wide enough.

If the labels are not clear when you buy a plant from a nursey it's so easy these days to 'Google' the name of a plant and up pops all the information you need.

It's always best to do some research about a plant before you purchase it, particularly if the plant is likely to be tender for the U.K climate, or if you are investing a lot of money in a new addition for your garden.

Thank you kensington for your comments and indeed everyones comments it is really interesting.
I agree about the dutch and I do believe that plants have to come from other countries otherwise we wouldn't have the fabulous range.
We send for very small rooted cuttings from usa and a lab in holland and a lab in belguim as they are unavailable any other way.
We cant do our own cuttings on the PBR varieties so this dictates.
This has to be an add on cost for us as USA is VERY expensive at the moment, but it is mecca for new heucheras Dan hiems of course.
We do however do cuttings on as many heucheras as we can from our collection which dont carry PBRs, this helps the average price per plant but too slow in some cases to be commerical. (I refer to the very rare ones and the very slow to bulk up ones!)
It is easy to google plant names but sometimes even that info can be conflicting, this in my opinion is where the specialists come in.
In fact if you google some of the plants that I have in our collection they do not come up as they are basically not around any more and were only around for a very short time. This is what happens to a genius that develops really quickly hence the importance of accurate labeling and national collections.
Many of the heucheras we have collected over the years have been incorrectly labelled when purchased sometimes I have to go back to the breeders to confirm exactly which one it as as nothing is written about a few of them.
Luckily for me we know most of the breeders so its easy to sort out in most cases. (This is ok while they are still very much alive !!)
When we label for our collection we put a label under the plant and a label as usual near the plant and then we have a plan and name the plant on the plan just incase!!!
Bit extreme but when its a national collection it really is important.
I love all your tips on re-using the labels esp nail varnish remover, I hope bulbaholic takes care lol
The symbol system works I guess in other parts of europe but the zones(temperature zones that is) confuse lots of people me included.
partly because I dont want to think about zones but simply what temeratures it will stand, if you know what I mean.
I prefer imperial but Rick says we have to go metric!!!!! so like a good wife I do as i am told lol lol lol:))))) of course:)
A pet hate of mine is perminant marker pen thats NOT perminant!
There is of course a label heaven where stray labels drift off to with all the odd socks and pens! all these go missing at outr house!

My biggest gripe is half-hardy and semi-tender plants labelled as hardy - just to make them more saleable I suppose.

Has anybody found a REALLY permanent marker pen for white labels? The only thing I find that lasts through a winter is good old lead (graphite I know) pencil!

The best permanent markers i've found i buy from Wilkinsons and are sold as markers for writing on CDs and DVDs.
They are thin fine pens that have a fine tip too which is good.

Thanks, Louise! I shall pop in there next time we are in town. :-))))

How long do they last outdoors Louise ?

I started using them back in the early summer and they're still dark Bs, i'm pleased with them.
By now you'd expect them to be faded beyond recognition but they're not.

I don't know if mine pen is the same one as Louise uses - I use the Edding 8400 cd marker. This one lasts a long time. About three years ago I wrote on a label and stuck it in the fence as a trial. The last time I noticed it the ink was as good as new.
If you don't find this model then be aware that some cd markers are not permanent and the only way to find out is by trial and error.

I have found the CD markers the best too.
The sharpies are rubbish I find.
I have started using the pilot cd marker extra fine this stays for a long time too.
Thank you for all your posts I have found all your answers and comments really useful and interesting. :)))))) (this is the number of double chins I have after christams eating lol)

LOL, you'll have to work off those double chins now Vicky ;-))
A diet of lettuce leaves for a month now too ;-))

By the way, the pen i have is a Steadtler.

So CD markers it is then, thanks folks. I'll back up with pencil until I know I've got the right type. I might even use them on CDs. :-)

Now there's a novel idea, Wagger! LOL.

I will have to work very hard in the new year to get rid of all the double chins louise1 lol

LOL

Very interesting and informative blog Vicky. I often google plants only to find conflicting info and advice so I'm sure using a specialist is the most sensible way to go. I consider myself reasonably intelligent, but I can't always fathom the little symbols either and need words. I bought a little Dyson vac on Ebay a couple of days ago and the only info was in symbols!!!! I had, in the end, to ring the seller (feeling stupid) only to find I had been too gentle with the wand extension and that was why it wouldn't come out. I think the symbols are ok for bedding but with perennials etc much more info is needed. I find the 2 bottom examples of yours are the type that stay readable for years. Just read what I wrote about your 2 bottoms perhaps they grew over Christmas like your double chins lol ;-)))

Thanks I prefer written too s...ymbols are too vague ok for bedding lie you say
Oh yes my bottoms grown just like my chins over christmas and no sign of them going yet I will need a new wardrobe if I dont sort it out lol

Intereisting blog and subsequent comments - I missed all this as I was in Luxembourg for Xmas.

Perhaps we should all save good and bad examples of labelling for the new Goypedia site?

One big con in my opinion are those copper labels which we are supposed to scratch. Not very successful I feel.

Thats a really good idea to save lables and compare what you like and what you dislike
I am looking for some labels for in my garden at the moment and have tried the copper but I am not too keen they bend about too much
I am going to stick to my 'brother machine' they are really good
I think I am going with black or dark green labels with white on clear tape.
That way the labels wont be seen first but are there if any visitors want to see them.
Hope you had a good trip Luxembourg is lovely I went there when I was 12 never been back but it was so nice.:)

Vicky.... do you have a photo please, for GoYpedia labels, of the black or dark green labels with tape which you mention above ? Thanks.

Hi Terratoonie
I will but it will take a couple of days as my camera had an accident!!
When it come back I will put one on for you asap
Thanks :)