Quick tip from the idea file: photograph your plant tags; both sides. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Use your cell phone, if it has a camera. The great thing is, it will be time- and date-stamped, so you’ll always know when you made your purchase.
You could then create a photo file exclusively of plant tags, so you’ll remember things like mature size and cultural requirements.
Photographing the information means that, no matter what size or shape your plant tags are, they are now standardized and easy to store. They’ll eventually disintegrate if you leave them on the plant.
At a garden club meeting recently, the speaker had this to say about plant tags: If the plant lives, the plant tag is sure to disappear; if it dies, the plant tag will hang around forever. Now you need never worry. You’re covered either way.
5 comments
Great idea! These days there often aren’t any tags, just stickers on the plastic pot which makes it even harder to remember to save them.
I had a friend who had a system of tossing all the tags in a box which I thought wasn’t a bad idea, but this is better because you have the date record of the digital photo. (Isn’t there a way with most cameras to show the date stamp on the actual photo area? Not sure how to do that with mine-have to figure that out)
Only thing with this method is you have to always remember to have your camera at the ready, with batteries in it.
Great for all floral shows too, and greenhouses, photograph the plants you like, and also a closeup of the tag.
And that’s true, as you said above, a lot of plants now just have a sticker on the side of the pot, so the camera is really the best way.
As well as getting a shot of the tag, you might want a picture of the plant in the ground. There’s nothing worse than having a tag, and not knowing where the plant is.
Thanks, Malcolm — By coincidence, I did that very thing just today. No fancy art shots, just documentation of what went where.