What Do Garden Plant Label Symbols Mean?
Plastic plant labels are stuck into plant pots and will provide you all the information that you need to know about the plant, characteristics of the plant and all the growing requirements. The plant label meaning will give you a good idea if it will fit into your landscaping. 
Whether the plants are annuals or perennials, tags carry planting symbols that will provide you with the information and understanding that information is important.
In the matter of Sun versus shade, plant growers will divide the plants into three basic categories.
- A complete white circle:
Means the plant needs full sun. The meaning of full sun for the plant says that at least six unobstructed hours of sunshine (no shade from any obstructions such as buildings or trees) everyday.
- A circle split in two:
One half white, the other half black says the plant likes part sun. Sunshine should be for at least half a day and up to three hours is a requirement. The majority of landscape, garden plants prefer morning sun. If your home is facing West, you should plan to have a bit more unobstructed sunshine in the afternoon, totaling about four hours so that this category of plants will be allowed to grow well.
- A solid black circle:
This indicates that no direct sunshine at all should be on the plant. It doesn't mean that it is total darkness. Keep in mind that all plants need some sunlight to grow. Best practice would be to not put any plant in this plant label category where it will have sunshine directly on it especially in the heat of the day.
- Watering plant symbol:
Water raindrop droplets or bucket symbol this shows the water requirements that are needed by the plant. Some plants do not need as much water and if you over water it will drowned the plant in the soil and create too much moisture which could lead to fungus.
Other plants they may need more watering and are not drought tolerant will dry up and not survived in the dry soil. You may also find that raindrops are used as a measuring meter and that one drop let you know to let the soil dry out before you water again. Two raindrop symbols will indicate that you should keep the soil moist at about an inch below the surface. If you find that there are three raindrops this will indicate that the soil should be Moist and not allowed to dry out.
- Plant size symbol:
Plant size or growth symbol will indicate the maximum size that the plant will reach when it is introduced into ideal growing conditions. The width and the height that are indicated on the plant tag is an estimated size of what the full-grown mature plant will be.
This part of the tag is very useful information as it allows you to visually see how large the plant will become when fully mature and how it will fit into your landscaping plans, allowing you to provide enough space for the full-grown plant.
- Blooming season symbol:
lets you know when the plant likes to bloom whether it's in the spring or summer time.
- Plant fertilizing:
Will let you know how often that you will fertilize the plant to get your best growth results.
- Soil hardness/zone symbol:
Will tell you what regions the plant grows the best in. The hardness of the plant will provide you on information about its ability to withstand conditions that are harsh as in a region that may have low temperatures. The number is the zone number which will indicate which areas of the country that the plant will give you best growing results.
- Animal resistance symbol:
Depending on the animal that is in the icon on the plant tag it will indicate which animal will typically not feed on the plant. If you see an animal symbol and it has a cross through it this will mean that the indicated animal will not nibble on the vegetation at all.
When plant labels have two symbols
Sometimes you may find that symbols on plant tags will have two symbols. It might show full sun and part sun. Another scenario would be part sun and shade. What the plant label is meaning is that the plant has the ability to grow in a range of different conditions. The tag may say that it prefers to be in full sun, but will survive and do okay with some shade. Or it might indicate that the plant is a shade loving plants, but it also does not mind some sun.
Hot tip for tracking your plants
Try to save your plant tags. Write down the date that you planted the plant on the top of the tag. Use a photo album with peel back pages that are transparent and put the tags inside the album. This is a great way to have access to the information on the plants that you have in your garden, landscaping. It's a lot quicker and easier than keeping a gardening diary.
Benefits Of Understanding Plant Labeling Definitions
Properly understanding all the information and meanings on plant tags will provide you the necessary plant care symbol information so that you can choose the proper plant for your landscaping design.This will allow you to prep for the right soil of the plant and the proper irrigation that is needed or not needed for watering. It's great information for flowering plants and colors of the blooms so that you can plan where you want to put them in your garden or flower bed so that you can spread the full-color through your yard.
