Labeling Strawberry Jars

City Sylvia asked me about how I labeled my strawberry jar. This is one I planted last year from several small or tiny hosta I had around. Some were declining and I am hoping to save them with better soil.

Here is a photo of what I am trying this year. Over winter, I had a bunch of white plant markers poking out all over the place. This seems easier, but if I had been smarter I would have shortened the wire prongs some before poking them in as if you don't get the right angle, the tag sticks out because they hit the other side of the jar. These are copper tags I've had for a couple of years and I'm reusing them for my hostas. I'm in the process of replacing them in the garden with eon markers, so as I recycle them, they will go into the strawberry pots I'm using for my minis. I suppose you could paint some smaller eon markers to blend with the pot color and after sliding the plate on, bend the prongs. I may get some for that purpose during the next eon coop. These are a bit large and the ones above may be blocked by leaves from below, not that that is a big deal.

I can see already one of these will have to move one hosta to a larger pot (an unnamed one around the "corner" from 'Little Sunspot'). I think in the future I'll be buying the pots with the "shelves" in them.

Here is another view of this pot, gosh this side is dirty from rain splash on the ground!

I bought two of these pots this spring. I spray painted this pot black and just put in H. 'Flemish Sky' last night. I'll add something frilly or some succulents to the bottom and maybe a mini or two. It has four pockets on it. It will be tougher to plant them after the fact, but I'll manage!

Laura

oops, forgot photo.

Wow Laura! Awsome! I never thought painting one. my ltiitle pot is red, I am going to send pic when I get home from work , I think my jar with plants is about two years old and they are running out the pot. :) I got a beautiful big royal blue jar I bought and I put Rosemary in it....the rosemary is coming out this weekend! I love the way your tags look in the jar. Are those the tall tags we got from Susan?
How did you shorten them. I got the little flag tags from Susan too ... forgot I had them ... hope I can find them. I will have to change the font on my printer to use them because they are so small.

Those tags are some I got locally, maybe Target. They were 10 to a pack and not at all cheap. The eon markers are much better made. Disadvantage of bending the prongs on the eon markers is trying to get the tag part off later. I suspect the copper will separate from the wire sooner than on the eon markers. They just don't seem as tough.

I haven't shortened them yet, but a pair of wire cutters will do the trick. Don't dull your pruners! I'll probably trim the prongs this weekend so they don't stick out. Using a pair of needle nose pliers to do the bend would make a nicer bend, but I'm not picky.

Laura

Thats a nice big jar. I saw one like that at HD. Painting the pot black will surely make the green plant stand. ... Its a strange thing, but I cant get anything to grow in the top od the pot. Wonder why ?

Probably dries out the fastest in your heat. I hope I don't have that trouble as I put one of my favorites, Fragrant Blue on the top. Hmmm, maybe I should pot that one larger as it can get big, and put an annual or something on top like a succulent.

You might try some hens and chicks, they always look nice in a strawberry pot.

Laura

Laura, good use of the pot. I had a similar pot a couple of years ago, but I couldn't get it evenly watered. Gave it away.

Is that REALLY Ginko Craig? Mine has much more white and larger leaves. Mind you, the pics on Plant files look like at least 3 or 4 different varieties.

Ann

You know, I'm asking myself the same thing today. I went to one of my local nurseries and they had some beautiful hostas...and ginko craig. I bought one and it doesn't look anything like the one I thought it was, lol! Guess the tag is coming off that one and it will go under the unknown category. I didn't label many the first or second year I bought them and *thought* I remembered what they were. My soil in the area where they were planted is fairly poor, so some hosta don't get as big as they normally would.

Oh well! I have one now, it just has to go in its own pot as it came from a different place.

Laura

We've all been there. Actually, when I started labeling mine, I knew I had Ginko Craig because I had the plastic marker, but I originally assigned it to Undulata Albomarginata. It was only when I seriously started comparing mine to Internet pics that I sorted that out.

Ann

Great use for a strawberry pot. I too had one and gave it away. I wish I still had it.

I saw some at a local nursery that were glazed, and consisted of half pots attached at the holes, so it had "balconies", that would really look nice. They also had a bird feeder with planting holes, really pretty.

The strawberry pots were in the $35-$40 range, the bird feeders were over $100. I'm going to go back after a blue strawberry pot. Like Sylvia, I put some of my favorites in blue pots!

Laura

Ohh I filled my blue pot today! :) I put Stilletto, Little white Lines, Eola Salad Bowl, Lakeside Small Fry and something I cant remember. I started to put a Clemitis in the top, but I thought it looked too skimpy, so I put in running Lithodora .... I might still do the clemitis ... just worried it might get enough sun ... it was such a mess out there I decided not to take a picture ... then again its a big pot and I didnt think I could get it up on the shelf so you see the details. Will do tommorrow...

Clematis has humungous roots and would compete with your hostas. I don't know about the other one.

Laura

My designer jar from Martha's Bloomers.
Good thing I decided against the Clemitis. I bought about 20 pots of this Lithodora from Lowes. ... they had it on their markdown shelf for fifty cents each.

http://www.paghat.com/lithodora.html

Oh my I forgot the picture of the pot.

herw is my old red one ... notice how the Hosta is growin thru the top, anything planted in top dont make it. dont ask what the name of those plants as I dont remember. I just remember pinching off a piece of some other minis. Would'nt it be exciting if they bloomed?

Those are nice strawberry pots! I like the nice size "balconies" for the plants, I think it helps them grow up.

Laura

the blue one is much larger that the red one and it has six balconies and it saturates a lot better.

Anyone think the one mislabeled as "ginko craig" might be "dixie chick" instead? I planted both near one another, and lost at least one of them.

Laura

Sylvia, I can tell we have the same taste in pot colors. Works for clothes too. If I see something in a store that's dark blue or purple I haveto atleast go touch it and say "OOOO".

Marylee I bought that blue Pot at Martha's Bloomers the last time I was at College station. I bought some of that trailing rosemary to go in it too. btw on the trade thread some one asked if anyone had any of that Rosemary from MB, but I cant find it now.
Laura is that not Gingo Craig in your pot? I've had my Gingo Craig for over a year and its barely there. I might just move stilletto from my SP and put GC in there. yours look lovely.

Sylvia, I have trailing rosemary, but I took cuttings of an upright that I have instead. What kind of paint did you spray your pot black with?

Marylee Laura is the one with the black pot.

Oh, OK. Laura, what did you spray your pot with?

Cheapest plain black spray paint that Ace Hardware sells! One of they guys that worked there said he used to do some for his mom and that is what he used.

Laura

This message was edited Apr 23, 2007 10:45 PM

Was that a clay pot? That's a great idea! I am going to buy some purple paint tomorrow.

Yes, a terracotta clay pot.

Laura

thanks for the idea Laura. I always drool over those ceramic colored pots and then go buy a plastic one.:)

Marylee if you dont use all your PURPLE paint ... please bring the rest to the RU. I had some stuff to paint over it and make it shiny... cant remember what is was.

Well, it doesn't look like I'll get to it before the Ru. Too much to dig up.:) I'm trying to plant asiatic lilies from the coop too. I promise I'm not nuts, but I want to put one of my hostas in a purple pot.

I'm not a big fan of purple, but I'm sure it will look great! Why not try what you love?

I love purple .... I painted my previous living room a sort of purple.

Just in the last 4 or 5 years, I've started craving purple. Even bought a purple jacket, and then a second one.

Laura,
What a nice idea using hosta in strawberry pots, mine are sedums. Nice pix!!! I have gingco craig from few years ago and mine looks like yours. Your hosta are nicely labelled, I just bought a labeller and had not figured out how it works. Had not had time to read instructions.

Sylvia,
I like your painted jars!! It beats buying the ceramic glazed ones that are too pricey to me. I would rather invest my extra $ on plants. LOL!!!

Great idea on the painted pots. Getting tired of a patio of terra cotta, only so many designs they can come up with,and the wallet isn't limitless-unfortunately. Purple always makes me think of Donny Osmond.

Or Prince.

I have a question about painted terra cotta pots. If you leave a clay pot outside for the winter and it freezes, doesn't it crack? That's what I heard anyway. I won a painted clay pot at the Tx RU yesterday and wanted to put a hosta in it, but I don't want to find a cracked pot in the spring. It's a beautiful green and I want to put a Cinnamon sticks hosta in it.

I love the idea of planting hostas in strawberry pots. I have three that I bought at WalMart several years ago; 1 pinkish, 1 lavendar, and 1 a light olive green. I think I will order some minis to plant in the pots - I can just visualize how pretty it will be.

Thanks for the idea.