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NTC Tagging System
In order to more definitively record the many trees we are growing at the Heritage Tree Center, we have updated the way we label the plants in our nursery. Historically, we have handwritten plant information in pencil on plastic tags, but this information would often not be readable after being exposed to water, soil, and roots. We also lacked a consistent format for recording information on tags, like propagation method or where it came from. Lastly, we lacked a way to individually assign a number to each plant, which is important when dealing with many plants produced in different ways and sourced from different places. In 2023, we revamped our digital plant inventory, called the HTC accession list, giving each plant in our collection a unique accession number. An accession number is specific number assigned to an item within a collection that allows it to be located and identified, while also providing some information regarding the item. Institutions such as museums, libraries, botanical gardens and arboreta commonly accession the items in their collections. In 2024, it felt like a great time to connect and transfer the accession list information to a labeling system, assigning each of the several hundred containerized plants a name in the process.
It started with purchasing a highly advanced label printer and a few thousand plastic tags. Using the software program designed for formatting the printer, Plant production Manager Morgan Palmer was able to transfer the accession information into a ready-for-print format for every accessioned plant in the nursery, which at the time was 462 items. A format for the tags was conceived, displaying all of the pertinent information like botanical and common name, number, source, and type. The NTC logo was added to the back of the tags as an organizational signature. And with the press of a button, the fresh new tags came to life! When placing the tag in the respective container at the nursery, each tree was officially numbered, completing the multi-year project and greatly improving our plant record keeping system.
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