Isn’t buying something new fun? It is in great condition, it is new to us, and it still has the tags on it. Something that is often overlooked when it comes to a new landscape is the tags on the plants. But the plant is new, why not keep the tag on the plant?
Back when I was in school, this question was asked about leaving the tag on the plant. The professor had a great response, “Do you leave your tags on your clothes?” I thought that was a great analogy. The first thing that we do when we wear a new shirt is take the tag off. The same should be done for the plant. Once it is planted in the ground for good, the tag should come off.
Not only does the tag not look good on the plant, it can be harmful to the plant if left on for too long. As the plant grows, the diameter of the branch grows, but the tag stays the same. That will eventually cut into the bark and cut off the flow of nutrients causing damage to the plant. The same idea as leaving stakes on a tree for too long.
I have also heard “but I want to remember what type of plant it is”. I can understand that. However, the tags that have been on plants for quite some time are usually faded and unreadable. So it would be better to write down somewhere what type of plant it is and keep that in a safe place because the tag will not be readable after so long.
It is best to take the tags off of your plants right away. This not only makes the plant look better, it is better for the health of the plant. And do not fear if you find a tag that has been on the plant for a while. If you find an old tag, take it off to stop it from doing an more potential harm to the plant and allow the plant to start healing if it is needed.