That would not work: my husband is an enthusiastic raker. Plus, the darn *&@#$* squirrels move everything around that they can. They've pulled up and tossed temporary stakes before: must have thought they were marking bulbs.

I use the regular 6 inch white plastic pot markers. I would buy 100 a year, then got a deal on 1000, so am set for a while. I have tried permanent marker, grease pencil, and regular lead pencil over the decades, and the only thing that lasts a very long time is the regular pencil. You won't be able to read the label from 5 feet away, but when you pull it out of the ground, it will be perfectly legible. The plastic does get brittle eventually, but that takes quite a few years.

Jerry Hadrava (Rosedale Hostas) always made a label and put it directly under the hosta, daylily, or Siberian Iris as it was planted. He had serious problems with labels disappearing from his display and selling beds, and this was the only way he could guarantee that there was a label somewhere if the usual ones vanished.

I have used mini blinds for at least 15 years and I've never had a problem with getting brittle and breaking. They are not strong enough to push into the ground, so use a trowel to make a slice in ground and slide the label in. Many times I've been in a hurry and try to force mini blind into the ground creating a lot of very bent labels. I have not been able to find blinds for a while, so ordered 6" Rapiclip labels by luster leaf. Really like them, but I haven't used them through a winter yet.

I sort of use a combination of the white plastic ones and fancier ones. The hostas have fancier markers. But I use those white plastic ones for all my iris. I also don't really like to see the markers around the iris it would just be too much. I like the ones that have a wider area on the top. And just so I don't lose a name, I write the name on one side using a Sharpie Xtreme marker. On the other side, I use my P-touch labeler with the extra strength tape. I figure that way if the label fails, I will still have the information from the Sharpie side.

I can take a picture tomorrow. I'm sure you could use mini blinds the same way. I think any plastic is susceptible to becoming brittle at some point. Probably have to replace every few years either way.

You could try some of the animal tags that Esther uses and stick them in the ground with an irrigation tubing stake.

I used to draw a map of each section of the garden and draw in the plants in pencil. Each was labeled, and I could erase and move them.

I use Kincaid. They are stainless steel and still look new after many, years. However, to keep them from being obvious use black tape not white and push them all the way into the ground. The black blends in while the white screams.

i recall a story about hubby pruning a garden tree with a circular saw .... me thinks your base problem might be your hubby ... lol ....

all kidding aside ... the base problem is .. who wants to piss off a garden helper .... right??? ... lol .. i mean really ... id rather have someone helping me clean up the garden.. and a few lost names isnt going to matter in the long run ...

i guess i would do it with my camera ... store all your lets say.. geraniums.. in a geranium folder ... and change the pic file names.. to the plant name.. and when you need the specific name of a G .. go look in your pix folders ... great winter project .. and by the time you have changed all the file names.. its pretty ingrained ... only downside is.. its not accessible when you are out in the garden ....

i cant think of a single example.. of a rake proof label system ...

ken

I couldn't keep track of cultivar identification without maps penned at the time of planting and, with some perennials, maps summarizing cultivars (of a particular plant) penned at the time of their annual bloom. The latter is especially so for categories such as pink garden phlox or Real Series Shasta daisies.

Since you are looking for ID at pip stage just get regular aluminum plant markers and bury them deeper. That is what am doing. I too not fond of labels sticking out.

What I’ve done so far is to take a photo of the whole bed when fully emerged, then tweak the photo on the computer, and print it out pale. I outline each one and write the name over the pic in black marker. But they are closely planted, and I found it was not foolproof when I went to do this this spring. If I could hover over the garden it would be better Maybe I can hire the kid down the block with the drone, LOL.

I ordered an aluminum label sample pack from Pawpaw but found the stick in the ground ones very flimsy. But I guess, like Pandora, you can’t just push them in, you need to poke a slit with a trowel.

I’ll go ahead and use the mini-blinds.

I’ll have to come up with something different for the lilies. Poking something in the ground could easily skewer a bulb.

Thanks, all.

Here are the inconspicuous markers I use. I push these pretty far into the ground. Here is one side written with Sharpie and the other side with the P-touch label. By the way, both of these went through the washing machine today because they were in a pocket. Look pretty good.

Sharpie definitely fades after being out for a year. I started using a fine-tip paint pen you can buy at most craft stores, still looks new after a year in the ground.