I know of several others here at ATP that use this method.
Wish I had been doing it while dog sitting my daughters two dogs. I lost almost all of the tags for daylilies, hardy geraniums and much more.

From now on I will be planting a tag with the plant.

Dogs... 2 year olds... careless lawn guys... it can happen!

Just be sure to use an INDUSTRIAL sharpie marker for the very most permanent labels... lasts way longer than regular sharpie!

Something ate all the plant tags in my yard one time. I saw pieces of them scattered every place. It looked like someone put them all through a rabid paper shredder. This idea is awesome!

That is a great idea

My neighbor threw out some mini-blinds and have used them for markers cutting them in various lengths as needed.
I found that the grease pens works better than the regular sharpies.
I've got markers to last for years!

If you haven't tried the "industrial" sharpies, give them a go... they will last for years also, even in full sun... they are different than regular black sharpie, although they write the same way, and I like them better than paint pens or grease pencils. You can usually find them at office supply stores (or on amazon).

I need another miniblind or two... my last one has about run out of vanes!

I have done something similar for years. I bought a box of plastic knives - like you would take on a picnic at Sam's Club. Box of 500 I think. I put the name on the blade with a sharpie then put a piece of the clear scotch tape over it. The tape helps the marker to stay on. Then I put the knife horizontally in the hole when planting daylilies.

I use AAA Engraved markers now on the daylilies so I actually have not done this in some time.

I did dig up a clump with a knife under it a year or so ago - it had been under there for at least 15 years, and could still be read.

I will look for the industrial sharpies, but so far, every pen (even oil paint pens) eventually fades in my hot, humid climate. I also use vinyl blind slats for markers and they work great, but I found a Brother brand label maker on sale for about $10 a few years ago and made the investment. I am amazed at how well the labels hold up! I've not had one of them fade or tear in the last few years since I started using them. The label tape can be kind of expensive (about $15 - $20 for about 60 ft), but I look for the off colors that no one else wants (pink, lime green, etc.) which are often on sale at reduced prices. The label tape is probably less expensive online, but every time I run out, I just rush out to the nearest office products store and buy more. You know how it is when you just gotta stick a label on a plant or propagation experiment before you forget completely what it is. LOL

Jeremy

Thanks for this tip! I can't write decent labels with paint pens, and even my garden markers (which last better than regular Sharpies) tend to fade. Off to order on Amazon!

You'll like the industrial sharpies! I did have some fading with iris labels that I wrote last fall... but I think I should have cleaned the zinc markers with alcohol like I do before putting adhesive labels on them.