Sure thing!
Terry and Karen, both, here are some pictures to show you what I mean:
..this scape is a scape that I use the ultra-fine sharpie on. When you do that, you need to make sure that it has good ink in it and that it isn't drying up. When you use a Sharpie that doesn't have 'good ink' in it, it can show up a little lighter. See the "E&O" label...that was a sharpie that was starting to go. I have some that I made with less ink and they are harder to read, but I don't think I have a picture example of one of those.
Some scapes, as they brown, actually get *easier* to read your previous labels, like the picture below. A couple of mine, like my Penny's Worth, turn a very dark brown and get shriveled, making it tough to read on scapes that are already so incredibly tiny.
Here you can see both of my marking methods at work:
...the brown and purple wire marker designates 'Becky's Curls' as the pollen parent. Above that, you should be able to make out "MRD" (sorry, it's a little out of focus) on one of the scapes. That is "Mississippi Red Dragon" as a pollen parent. I do not go back and otherwise tag anything after I put permanent marker on because there is no need to, unless I see that the marker is fading because I used a bad sharpie.
I wish I could claim that this idea was my genius, but I did not come up with it. I got this idea from another hybridizer who has been doing this far longer than I have. Terry (
@kidfishing ) , I really think the permanent marker method would help you time-wise in the morning since you have so little time during daylight hours before work. The first year might be a small amount of trial and error, but I picked up a few tricks this year that are really working well and are making me consider ditching the wire method that I have been using. The biggest trick I learned is to consider where the other pods/blooms are and how far along they are. It may sound complicated, but it really is a split-second decision. You just need to consider which side of the scape/stem you'll be able to read when you go to harvest that pod. For instance, if there's a tiny pod developing near the bloom you are about to mark, make your mark on a spot of the stem/scape that is going to be visible even when that nearby pod is big and covering part of the stem/scape. This is really only necessary if you're pollinating most or all of the blooms on a particular plant, like I do.
Here is an example of a 'work-around' that I created for when I'm writing on a part of the scape/stem that I know might be difficult to read or understand later:
This isn't the best example of it, but what it shows is that I drew a line from the bloom I pollinated to the label. Sometimes I'm forced to write a label in a spot on the scape where it isn't 100% clear which bloom it goes to. (If you use this method, you may encounter this at some point and have a better idea of what I am talking about, then.) If/when that happens, I just draw a line to the label so I'm certain that when I go to harvest, I know which label belongs to it. In this case (in the picture above), I knew it could be a little confusing whether the "OK" label was for the top bloom or the next one down (which was really the one pollinated with "OK"), so I drew a line pointing to which bloom it actually was so that there was absolutely no uncertainty. I think, in this case, there was such a small writing space on that portion of the scape/stem.
The final trick I learned is to NOT write on the little 'baby leaves' (bracts) on the scapes. Those will not hold the permanent marker label. I usually pull the leaves (bracts) off as I'm marking. There will be some fluid secreted and you'll just want to avoid it (wipe away with your finger or shirt, if necessary) because it will gunk up your permanent marker tip.
The permanent marker method has saved me hours and hours and hours of time this season. I've cut my pollination time down by at least half, if not more, by using this method, especially once you take into consideration the time it takes to make the wire labels. And, as far as cost goes, a Sharpie is super cheap in the grand scheme of things.
