Metal Label

[Robert E Holt]

I have seen some Bonsai with metal labels that you can write on and thought they were a great idea. I know they are available on-line, but being cheep nd an engineer, I decided to make my own. I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this, but my approach was to use a soda can. I used a regular pair of scissors and cut out some plates. Here are he results;

 

[DougB]

I have used them for several years. With my bad eyes I can barely read anything after a couple of months. Moving away from them. A better solution is to go to Lowes, etc. and get some old Venetian blinds that were mis-cut. You then cut them to size, put a small hole in them and you have a great tag of the size you want. OH and always use a plain lead pencil, never a sharpie, etc. These will last several years and continue to be readable.

 

[Robert E Holt]

I have used them for several years. With my bad eyes I can barely read anything after a couple of months. Moving away from them. A better solution is to go to Lowes, etc. and get some old Venetian blinds that were mis-cut. You then cut them to size, put a small hole in them and you have a great tag of the size you want. OH and always use a plain lead pencil, never a sharpie, etc. These will last several years and continue to be readable.

Thanks, I'll check that out. I agree, these are a little hard to read. I used a ballpoint pen simply to 'emboss' the information in the soft aluminum. Since it the same color, you have to hold it at just the right angle to be able to see through the glare.

 

[Paradox]

I used to use plastic plant stakes with a number written in marker. Having to rewrite every 6 months was a pain so I started using metal tags with numbers engraved instead and those work much better and they aren't as obnoxious to look at.

 

[M. Frary]

You guys have so many trees you can't keep track of what's what? I'm serious. I don't understand the labeling thing.

 

[rockm]

Labels like this are pretty useful-over time they become even more so.

You can write the specific cultivar you air layered a tree from, or new seedlings. If you have more than a dozen trees, over 10-20 years, that kind of record that is physically attached to a tree that doesn't fade or get ripped up etc. is great.

Additionally, you can keep records of repotting, leaf pruning and other stuff on them. Believe me, it helps. I've got some of these on my bigger bonsai to keep track of repotting dates. Over 20 years, I've lost paper and even electronic records. The aluminum tags however are difficult to lose or destroy.

 

[Robert E Holt]

You guys have so many trees you can't keep track of what's what? I'm serious. I don't understand the labeling thing.

I don't really don't have very many tree (new to Bonsai), but I have taken an interest in Azaleas and managed to get my hands on several Kurume and Satsuki varieties. Right now they are all in one gallon and three gallon nursery containers. When not in bloom, they all look pretty much the same, so I thought the tags would be good for helping to identify the various cultivars

 

[M. Frary]

Thanks Rockem. I guess I just keep it all in my head.
Good to know.

 

[barrosinc]

Rockm, have you tried google docs?

 

[j evans]

Either my head is to small or I too much other stuff to remember. Maybe I just need to declutter my brain of useless things. I just can't remember and don't want to stress about remembering.

 

[rockm]

Sorry, computer-based records are sh*t ;-) They are in my case anyway. First You have to have a device to use them, second you have to have a desire to get online, or on that device and type in data. F that. A ballpoint pen and a physical tag don't require anything like that, not to mention they don't require electricity to use and/or software updates, patching, etc.

I always get a chuckle out of folk who's default is a computer program for stuff like this.

I also realize I'm a big ignorant Luddite. I do bonsai, however, to escape technology. It's low-tech nature is one of the things that attracted me to it.

And, yeah, I used to keep all this stuff in my head. As I grow older, I've found a lot of that stuff falls out or drops out. Tags save me from myself.

 

[Robert E Holt]

I use the compute and my android tablet to record data about each tree, mostly because once my handwriting gets cold not even I can read it. I am just starting to use tags so that I have a physical way of tying that data to the actual tree. I sometimes use a pen and paper as well, just out of convenience.

 

[whfarro]

I just use a simple tag with a number.
I keep a record of everything in OneNote. Pictures, potting records, notes, links to info, videos and even threads on this forum related to that tree. I set up OneNote with pages similar to this forum, with subpages for each specific tree.

 

[Robert E Holt]

I just use a simple tag with a number.
I keep a record of everything in OneNote. Pictures, potting records, notes, links to info, videos and even threads on this forum related to that tree. I set up OneNote with pages similar to this forum, with subpages for each specific tree.
View attachment 82650

I have used onenote on my PC for years, but started using EverNote before OneNote became available across platforms. I like them both, but tend to use EverNote more for personal stuff and OneNote for work.

 

[whfarro]

I like OneNote. I have it loaded on my mobile [Samsung Galaxy S6], my laptop and tablet. I can quickly pull up info on a topic or specific tree anywhere. I can add pictures while I am out in the field, at a nursery or club meeting.

 

[Robert E Holt]

I like OneNote. I have it loaded on my mobile [Samsung Galaxy S6], my laptop and tablet. I can quickly pull up info on a topic or specific tree anywhere. I can add pictures while I am out in the field, at a nursery or club meeting.

The same is true with EverNote. The only reason I changed to Evernote is that OneNote was slow in expanding to multiple platforms.

 

[Paradox]

I use an Excel spread sheet and it works great for me for tracking trees.

Computer records are only as good as the person entering them. Physical tags arent big enough to keep all the info I want to keep and trying to do that with pen and paper in a notebook would be more time consuming. I can find info on one of my trees faster in the spread sheet than thumbing through a notebook.

 

[Nybonsai12]

I used to keep track of my trees in a little notebook. Beginning of the year I outlined the planned work and then followed up with what actually got completed and when. Little hands quickly help remove pages and then I start running out of room. I was taking pictures all along with my phone anyway so I decided I need to keep a better illustrated record. Just this year I started creating documents describing what I did and when over the past few seasons illustrated with the photos I took. It's pretty cool to look back, even though it hasn't been that long yet. If just one of them turns out to be a really nice tree it will have all been worth it to have seen it from the start.