Black letters and white background is the best IMO. I would stay away from the reds...any red signs are affected by the sun rays.
If your existing metal markers have rusted out, sanding is a must...otherwise simply clean them to get better adherence.

Papou

The black on white TZ type labels are fine. I recently bought copper tag markers,and I am using clear labels,that let the copper show through. Phil

i use black on clear so the zinc tag shows through .... as per phil's logic ...

i think .. without going ALL THE WAY UP STAIRS .... that i use tz-131 .... the label says .. among other things ... UV resistant [its in the bottom right corner of the package, i think] ... that is the key .. so the sun wont ruin it ... probably the one you are already referring to ...

for the best job .. i suggest ... you buy all new labels ... try bulk at eon ... for 200 it will probably be under 50 bucks ... and it will be so much easier and look better when done ... and i am not positive that they are solid zinc.. so sanding them might remove the rust resistent zinc.. and i would hate to here they all rusted later this summer ..

i have found no way to get the wax/china marker off the zinc labels ... and in my soil ... the standards rust.. so you cant get the label off the standard ... to make the job any easier .... if you have gone this far.. start fresh .. been there done that ...

and lets be really honest ... you are an addict ... so you may as well order 500 new labels from eon or paw paw ... because sooner or later you will need them ... lol ... and they are probably even cheaper in bigger bulk ....

good luck

ken

PS: when you print a single label on the ptouch .... you will waste about 1.5 inches on either side of the hosta name .... soooo make a list of all the names and run them together like this ... using spaces ONLY within a name:

JUNEON STAGEPANDORAS BOXGOLDEE ...

use a nice pair of scissors to cut between the names ... and fill it up until the window says FULL ... so you will get about 10 to 15 hosta names per wasted three inches ...

find the best size print .... skip 'Hosta' on every label [if they dont know they are hosta.. kick them out of your garden ... lol] .. and i like all caps ... .. as it is easier to see from further away ... and learn .. according to your font size ... how many letters will fit across the label ... on mine.. i think it is 14 ... and so ... and i hate her for this... a lot of the lakesides wont fit unless i use two lines ....e.g. LAKESIDE SURFRIDER ... will not fit across the label ... so one goes above the other ...

there are a lot of tricks to save tape ... i think i hit them all ...

Thanks, everyone! The labels I ordered are TZ-231 (1/2") and the package does say "uv-resistant". I have both EON and Walt Nicke zinc markers but I like the EON ones better.

Ken, sounds like good advice to start w/new labels. Can you get the labels, separate w/o the stakes (95% of mine aren't rusted.) I probably have at least 75 brand new ones out in the garage, waiting for a new hosta. I could try re-using the old ones for other perennials. I have had rust on ones where I sanded the china marker off. Then re-sanded, sprayed with silver metal spray and re-marked with the china marker...not sure how well that worked...I'll find out this spring!

Yup, you talked me into it - I'll order new ones from EON (or is it PAW PAW?)

And I agree about not putting the H. before every name - LOL! I gotta save SOME money after ordering 23 new hostas in the last two weeks and getting the labeler. And now more labels. ;-)

Char

You might try rubbing alcohol or hair spray to get the pencil off your old markers. Not sure if it will work on pencil, but hair spray does work on perm. marker.

or try goof off ..... i think its called ...

eon .. paw paw.. two different places ... basically the same labels .... pretty sure both are online now ...

i dont know if they will sell just the plate ....

ken

fingernail polish remover should take off the old marker.

lol@ "I hate her for this", Ken

Ken, Paw Paw does sell the replacement plate, I bought 200 last year to replace the ones that I used dymo labels on. some didn't last a year. then I bought the Brothers p touch. Jim

Thanks! I ordered them directly from EON - they DID sell just the replacement plates. Cheap! only 15 cents/apiece!

That was funny about Lakeside, Ken...I'm frugal so I'll label all mine LS... ie LS Looking Glass --- OH OH! That's over 14! Let's see.. LS LOOKG GLASS? Oh, Nuts! When you go to 2 lines, can you even read the letters? I'm over 50 ya know...ROFL

Char

if you are real good.. you can get 3 lines on a label ... lets see if i can find some pix, in a reasonable amount of time ...

2 lines
{{gwi:841188}}

3 lines ... look close.. i know its hard to see
{{gwi:932647}}

these labels are almost the same size ... apparently i just dont take pix of hosta labels.. the trick ... get the middle line in the middle of the label .... and trim the top and bottom lines right at the top or bottom respectively of the letters ... and it should fit ....

in the alternative... trim the bottom line bottom... put it on .. then the middle... then .. oh whatever. you will figure it out....

ken

other tricks ....

after you have cut the tape ... place it over the label ... for centering.. and see what lines up under the first standard hole .... then pull away ... remove the backing ... and try to remember which letter goes under the hole ...

since you are going through the whole garden .... may as well make a database.. and garden maps while you are at it.. you have all summer to get all the info down .. so you can work it out on the puter next winter ...

ken