I will be tagging all of my irises this year. In the past couple of years I’ve tried doing this with a variety of different tags and they all pop out of their location after the ground froze. Dave bought me some nice tags to use this year. The only problem was there were only 20 tags in the bag. Then after looking at these tags, I discovered they were made in China. It’s hard not to buy products anymore that aren’t made in China or somewhere else. With the Whirlpool Corporation recently closed here and moving their production out of the country, I am again reminded that when I purchase something from outside our country, I’m depriving our workers a chance to earn a living. And not only did we lose those jobs, those other companies who did work for them, including the Blind Association have cut employees. I am not boycotting China. I am just striving to be more conscious in my buying choices.
So I set about looking for some tags. I wanted some similar to the bag of 20 Dave purchased. They needed to be aluminum, have wire ties, and be made in USA. After googling a bit, I found them! They also ended up, even with shipping, cheaper per 20 count than those made in China.
I purchased two boxes of 100 which should be enough. These tags are a nice size: 3 1/4 x 1 inch with 8 inches wires. They also are sturdy and easy to write on with a pen or a stylus and can be written on both sides. The package says they won’t rust or deteriorate with age. I found them at Here.
I’m excited because this fall when I’m digging irises for the spring plant sale, I’ll know what they all are. I also want to eventually move certain irises to other areas in the yard.
Meanwhile, I’m still waiting on #3. I’ve got lots of buds ready to open. Also, I don’t know the name of many of my irises since they were here when we moved in. If you know the name of one of my “no-names,” please let me know. Lynn of Wood Ridge identified #1 iris as Cherry Pop. It’s so nice to have a name to go with that sweet dwarf iris.
Oh, and by the way, Happy Earth Day! I’m off to spend some time mulching before the rain comes.
Thanks for the tip on the tags…I’m going to order a box right now! I don’t have that many iris but the ones I have I dearly enjoy!
Penelope, Thanks for dropping by. I hope you’ll post pictures of your irises so I can enjoy them too!
Perfect timing! Tagging my Japanese Maples and Hydrangeas is next on my to-do list. The tags you write about should work very nicely. Kudos to you for finding ones made in the USA!
Linda, I love both of them. We have one Japanese Maple and just bought an Oakleaf Hydrangeas.
I’m with you on the Made In China issue. I try not to buy anything from China and will always buy American-made first.
Have you ever made tags using aluminum cut from soda or beer cans? It works! You will need heavy duty scissors or tin snips to cut them to your preferred size, then use a hammer and nail or awl for the holes. Recycled tags for free!
Lynn, What a great idea! I love to cut them up for crafts but DUH! never thought about them for tags. Thanks for the idea.
Oh, we were thinking about getting a toaster oven to keep from turning on our stove to toast stuff but they are all made in China so looks like we’ll make do.