I tried using a spray bottle to put 50/50 white latex paint on tree trunks in fall, and the spray bottle clogged up. You could goop blobs of paint on with a dish soap bottle, but it is messy. We can get free paint at a recycle place in St. Paul, so I can afford to be messy.
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@figsofcourse
This plastic bottle with brush applicator .,
may be a good solution
, can add the paint of your choice ,
Small,
Convenient
Could carry around with out spilling
Brush wonât dry out between use.
Donât need to clean after use.
Should make a nice size mark ,just where you want
Inexpensive
I am going to try some
Thanks
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Thanks, figs. I just ordered some empty rubber cement bottles. Great idea.
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So thanks for all the ideas here this has helped a lot so far.
To summarize so far:
Spray paint
Any old paint
Latex paint
Latex paint 1/2 water ( old standard )
Exterior latex enamel - tru-test
Shoe polish ( untested)
Paint marker pens
Touch up painter ( needs washed after use)
Bottle with brush inside ( empty rubber cement bottle) add paint ,Good idea !
Hand pump spray bottle ( may clog)
Paint brush
Tags
Masking tape
Doc Farwells
And so far âŚno reports of any tree damage.
So maybe ? I am worrying too much about damage from paint.? Yet this is one of my main concerns.
Do no Harm
These reports / ideas are very helpful , and reassuring .
Wire is the problem with aluminum labels. It can kill a peach branch by girdling it (apples and pears seem capable of growing around it)- Iâve even decapitated trees where I loosely wrapped a label about a peach whip in spring and it grew rapidly. The wire also often breaks in the wind or someway or another.
I have far too many trees in my nursery that I canât identify because of lost labels- nowadays I use 2 labels and replace lost ones to never depend on a single.
One way to keep track of grafts on your own orchard trees is to stop going crazy by grafting too darn many varieties- but thatâs like telling a smoker they should quit.
I use spray paint on grafts just so I donât accidentally cut them when Iâm pruning- it would be complicated to develop a color code that defines varieties and writing words down on the wood probably wouldnât last any longer than labels usually do and would be more time consuming than just adding a second label.
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Once the wood is big enough it can tolerate a small nail; failing that you can nail into the trunk next to the grafted branch if youâre field grafting or topworking. Then you can wire your label to the nail. I use aluminum electrical wire, maybe 12 gauge or thereabout.
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As the tree grows does the nail stay put?
I havenât had a nail get grown over yet. But my apple and pear were both several years old before I started doing it, and donât grow very much now that theyâre both bearing. Wind doesnât seem to bother them (although with this winterâs wind I might learn differently!).
I use stainless wood screws which give you a lot more control. Works on any sized tree or branch and you just loosen it as they grow.
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I use these little staples on some older trees to hold the wire for aluminum tags, placed vertically , driven flush, tree will grow over it in one year. Leaving several inches of wire sticking out .
A wire sticking straight out of the trunk causes no damage.
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Like this
This will allow the tree to grow several inches before any attention is needed.
Assuming the wire / tag lasts that long.
Could use a better wire / tagâŚ
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Those are excellent ideas and I like screws. Zip, zip, and done. Very neato!
Dax
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I think theyâre all pretty workable approaches. Seems to me I first heard about using a nail from @scottsmith a couple of years ago, but that could be wrong.
If the branch is big enough, I drill a 1/16", or slightly smaller, drill bit straight through. Then I thread a 17 gauge steel wire through and end bend over the upper end. The wire is tough, but I worry about the tags getting whipped around by strong winds. They could get worn off from wind if the tag material isnât strong enough.
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Regarding Alanâs issue with tree identification from lost labels. I hang one label with a loose wire loop to prevent girdling and bury a second label 12â due west of the trunk center. The second wonât get lost and I know exactly where itâs at.
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Yes, burying a tag often saves the day ( name)
Some times I use this vinyl Flashing cut into strips.
Use a garden marker brand marker , write the name on the top and on the bottom.
I burry the bottom writing so it will not fade in the sun.
But leave the top exposed so I can see it.
I use this mostly on potted plants.,âŚbut also in ground.
Here is one that was burryed to the line for one year,
You can see the top is fading ,but the bottom still looks fresh.
I often put 2 tags on most plants, for back up.
If Iâdont know what it is ⌠I donât want it.
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I think I posted a link to someone using nails. But I use a staple gun. I use copper wire to attach copper tags which will eventually get embedded in the tree as it grows; the staple is just to prime it. Copper lasts for 40+ years, those aluminum tags start to disintegrate in 5 or fewer years.
On new grafts I paint with Doc Farwells. This winter I discovered I had mistakenly let the stock grow out on a graft I did 5+ years ago. The Doc Farwells was still intact telling me which branch was the scion I meant to keep (yellow) and which was the interloper (no paint). Of course I should have noticed this a few years ago ⌠thats the problem with doing too many grafts!
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Has anyone ever tried asphalt paint such as this:
Rust-Oleum 2391838 High Performance 2300 System Inverted Stripe Paint Spray, 18-Ounce, White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003M0BE3W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_lirGCb8W7GNB5
Again, not sure if itâs safe for trees, but it certainly lasts a long time.
Sounds like Hillbilly already has his answer, but I use simple latex paint to mark where Iâve grafted. I donât dilute it. I use any color that I have left over from painting in our house. I paint it on with a cup and an artists brush. Sometimes I keep the cup covered with a piece of tin foil to prevent the paint from spilling. Of course thatâs not as spill proof as having it in a contact cement bottle with brush inside. And you canât keep the cup in your pocket.
Iâve painted whole trunks before to help protect from rabbit gnawing. Doesnât seem to faze the trees.
One other idea Iâll add to this thread is livestock marker. Itâs a grease paint. We used to use to mark pigs. Of course it only stays on pigs a limited time, but they are constantly wallowing each other around and rubbing against each other. I think on a tree it would stay a long time.
https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=30E0767E-7B6A-11D5-A192-00B0D0204AE5
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I like your method for light tags but havenât the time when dealing with scores of new trees every year. I just wrap the wire around mostly temporary limbs (the wire will kill a peach branch if it girdles it) but sometimes when the branch has partially grown into the wire I will untie the free part of the wire and retie it so it is held in place by the wire to bark âgraftâ but can no longer girdle the branch.