Are you making your own plant tags? Maybe you call them name tags or garden labels—whatever the term, they're handy for plant lovers. Of course, if you're just growing one or two succulents and treating them all as "my succulent plants," you probably don't need tags. Most shops will stick a standard name tag on for you, and there's nothing wrong with just using those. But, if possible, wouldn’t it be nice to make your collection look neat and stylish with matching tags? A sleek black tag could really up your plant shelf’s design! ♪

This article is for my beginner-gardener self—back when I struggled to find the right tools and materials to make great-looking black tags. If only I'd known then how easy it could be with the right supplies! So, to anyone in that same spot, here’s my advice: just get these, and you’re all set! I hope this is helpful to you, too.

Labels

First up: for black tags, grab the “Gold Label” brand. Surprisingly, I couldn’t find it in the usual home centers for ages, and only tracked it down at a specialist shop when I first started out. Thankfully, Tokorozawa Flowerpot Center always keeps them in stock, so just order from there! I use the 9cm x 1.3cm size for my tags, but if you’re only writing a name, you could even go smaller.

White Pens

The Results

"PILOT Juice Paint Extra Fine" Wins by a Landslide

This pen is a game-changer. The other four pens struggled to write small enough—barely fitting one line onto that 1.3cm-wide label. But with Juice Paint, you can neatly write two lines on that tiny tag, thanks to its super fine tip and strong, vivid color.

To be fair, none of the pens (including the Juice Paint) are perfectly waterproof or weatherproof—after a while, the writing will fade somewhat. But that’s just how things go with these types of pens, so don’t stress too much. For the record, the only ones strongly claiming to be “oil-based”—Mitsubishi’s "PAINT Marker" and a Chinese "PERMANENT" brand—did hold up a bit better in water resistance.

Finished Black Tags

And here’s the end result: the finished black tag! What do you think? Pretty cool, right? Of course, for garden labels there are also bigger sign-type tags out there, but I personally really like these vertical labels. Gold Label actually comes in lots of colors, and color-coding can certainly help you organize. That said, adding too many colors often just clutters up the look, so I’ll leave it to you—function or fashion? (lol)

But Honestly, “TEPRA” Label Makers Rock

Maybe you hate handwriting altogether. In that case, I highly recommend getting a “TEPRA” label maker by King Jim. I wouldn’t go with other brands’ lookalikes, since only the real King Jim TEPRAs let you use "matte tape". If you’re going to stick it on a Gold Label tag, choose the non-glossy (matte) kind. Go for the 12cm matte black tape—you can get compatible versions on Amazon and they work just fine!

In this article, my goal was to keep things quick and handmade, so I’ll save a more detailed TEPRA guide for another time.