The Best Fade-Proof Marking Pen for Plant Tags

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Looking for the best marker for outdoor plant tags? I tested several to find one that stands up to sun, rain, and snow without fading year-round throughout the seasons.

If you want to reduce plastic waste, this tells how to remove marker from plant tags so you can reuse them.

Different types of marking pens for plant tags.

The Best Marker for Long-Lasting Plant Tags

A while back I mentioned I was testing various markers (marking pens) for plant tags to find out which ones work best in outdoor garden conditions.

It’s now been over six months, and after exposure to all sorts of weather, I can already see which option is best.

Because there are so many different plastic surfaces—even for tags that appear identical—I can’t be certain you’ll get the same results I did, but this information should help narrow down (likely) best options.

Oil-Based Versus Water-Based

Two types of marking pens used for writing plant tags. — Oil-based paint marker (top) and water-based Sharpie (bottom)

I tested two basic types of markers (water-based and oil-based) on these surfaces:

Plastic
Wood
Glass
Metal
Stone
Ceramic

I put all the items in a container on the ground in the garden.

Testing plant tag marking pens. — Testing an assortment of marking pens on different plant tags and other surfaces

Fall and winter kindly did their thing and the tags were exposed to direct sun, rain, sleet, snow, leaves, and sitting water.

It’s been over six months and there is one clear winner: the oil-based paint marker. There are lots of brands and they come in all sorts of colors and tip sizes.

Marker Test Results

Plant tags testing different marking pens. — The oil-based marker did not fade or smear while the water-based ones did.

The oil-based marker (“Paint Marker” in the photo above) has kept its intensity while the water-based marker (“Sharpie” in the photo) has already faded.

I’m assuming the sun has the biggest effect, causing the water-based marker to fade quite a bit while the oil-based marker did fine.

The water-based Sharpie marker is still visible but that’s quite a change in this amount of time. One summer of direct sun and it may be hard to read.

The only test the water-based Sharpie passed was on ceramics, otherwise it faded significantly.

Long lasting plant labels and Brother label maker.

Shop for Oil-Based Garden Markers

There are several brands of oil-based paint markers (also sometimes called ‘paint pens’).

These are the same markers that work nicely for stone painting.

Look for:

Oil-based (not water-based)
The right tip size (I like extra fine)

The ones I’m currently using are:

Jiffy Artline 400 with a 2.3mm tip. Check art supply stores or Amazon. I prefer a finer tip than that but couldn’t find one at the time. This brand is not always available on Amazon but any other oil-based marker should also work (see links below).
Sharpie makes both water-based and oil-based markers so check the details to be sure you’re getting the right type.

These ones are all oil-based:

Resources

Erasing Plant Tags

Oil-based paint markers are sold as ‘permanent’ and ‘indelible’ but, good news, you can intentionally remove the marker from most surfaces including plastic plant tags and use them again. The fewer plastics we dispose of, the better.

This shares which products work to clean off marking pen on various surfaces.