sending seeds to the USA

Brook scared me today, as I am packing seeds for several DG friends in USA.

http://davesgarden.com/showthread/321519.html

Do you know anything about it ??

Dimitri

Pack the seeds so that they don't make noise in the envelope... :}

yep I agree and send them in an ordinary envelope with an A4 page folded inside to look like a letter. put the seeds into the smallest piece of paper so they dont rattle.

lemon squeazy comes to mind (rhyming slang)

I had one package confiscated and it was a regular envelope. I think I was just unlucky and haven't heard of anyone else losing their seeds. It's a risk when trading with the US but I'd say it's worth it, although I wouldn't send really rare seeds myself. Good luck!

debylynn - if it gets confiscated do they get in contact, would they fine you?

Hi Lilith, all I know what happened is the person I was sending to received my letter with a letter from the Department of Agriculture stating the seeds were confiscated due to ??? Can't remember if they said they had a bug infestation or what. :-( No fines, as far as I know, just no seeds for my friend. I know there were no bugs in those seeds too. The letter was being sent to Texas, although I don't know if the state makes a difference or not, probably not. I haven't heard of anyone else losing seeds but apparently it can happen. Kind of stinks since the seeds actually were a gift for a friend. Darn rules!

I've had seed confiscated too but only one envelope out of a bundle I've posted in the last 6 months. Luckily I'd kept a few of the seeds back just in case, the second lot went through ok.

Also meant to add that it's always worth keeping up with current rules and regulations involving the movement of plants and plant material. Sending restricted and prohibited material to another country can carry a fine and a possible prison sentance. This is the DEFRA website on this topic

http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/impexp.htm

Scroll down to find the DEFRA - seeds to USA note

http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/oldnews.htm#united



This message was edited Tuesday, Aug 13th 9:15 AM

I have spoken to DEFRA myself this week relating sending seed to the US through my business and they stated that due to the recent anthrax scares all air mail is now irradiated, which means seed will be killed off. The only way in now is through courier, and you will need a phytosanitation certificate for that.

I was concerned about irradiation last winter when I ordered seeds, but found that few post offices were actually doing it. Some seed companies marked the packages with "Live Seed", so they are aware of the problem.

I have no idea what precautions are being taken for mail entering the United States, but I received live seed from overseas last spring and the seeds were viable. The packages were not marked as containing seed, and there was no tampering of the envelope.

I received a bare root plant recently from Alabama, and the manilla envelope had been torn an soil was leaking out of it, yet I received it, root and all.

From Alabama to Alaska OK, even from Canada to USA, irradiation wouldn't solve the problem, but from Europe,
if all seds are irradiated, what is the point of sending them..

All feedback welcome - it is vital to know if we are wasting our time with seeds going to US..

Dimitri

Apparently blanket irradiating has been tightened. Seed and plants coming into the US must now have either an entry permit or be couriered in with a current phytosanitation certificate. (from DEFRAs mouth) just how much is irradiated and where I do not know.

As they say in the carnival circuit... "You pays the man and you takes your chances."

ill send you some weezin,a few at a time to see

Psilo, is it possible to get the phytosanitation certificate ?
what does it involve ??

Dimitri

You can,but at a price. Im not sure what happens in crete, but in the uk DEFRA come out and take samples of your seed for testing and when it is cleared (after 2/3 days) you can send it via courier to the states. All seed going into europe from the UK however does not need one. DEFRA also say there is a small charge to pay £30 though you may get it for free at first. You need to send a largish order out though to save everyones time and money.

That's ridiculous

In deed it is. Incidentally if anyone is interested in seeing a new website selling Hardy Geranium and Aquilega seed then send me an email, as I wouldnt want to advertise directly on DG's web.

Oh folk...

Consider, when you mail stuff to the US it costs a popstar's ransom anyway. So you need lots of stamps.

Indeed, you could probably festoon the entire front of your envelope with low-unit stamps.

Under each stamp you might secrete a half-dozen little seeds - currant tomatoes, onions, poppies, whatever.

Your recipient need just soak them off - or plonk the whole stamp as it comes, in a seed tray.

But I do concede - legumes might prove a problem.

In that case, I swear by hollowed-out paperback novels. (Sherlock Holmes seems to work best.) Or just a knitting magazine, with the seed packet enclosed.

Don't worry about the ethics of this. A law that is not explained is a law that is not justified.

I'll join you in handcuffs.

John

John, but when the stamps are marked, what do you think happens to the seeds? =) It costs only 60 cents from Here by airmail for letters under 20 grams so I don't need many staps ;)

Anyone concerned about this should see my new thread, A Tempest In A Teapot, detailing an on-going test of the phytosanitary certificate requirement.

In a nutshell, it's all blue-smoke and mirrors, with no meaningful effects on us traders.

The link to said thread: http://davesgarden.com/t/345806/
This is an interesting discussion....Wow.

John I love your cloak and dagger stuff very amusing.

I had a cutting from Canada sent to me and it was confiscated. I received the empty package with a sticker on it saying it was infested! This was the only time of many that anything was opened. No other explanation! At least we can send seeds to Europe without any problem.

I saw a program on Animal Planet that had a segment on seed sniffing dogs. These dogs are trained to sniff out plants and seeds sent by mail. I'm sure that they aren't available to all P.O.'s, but it might explain some of the random confiscations. As for "infestations", I doubt anybody examines the materials that closely. It's probably their standard explanation for confiscating them. It think it is a cr*p shoot... don't send anything you can't afford to lose.

Oh, shucks, just do it!

Doesn't the US administration - with Sept 11th still in mind - have nothing better to do?

And don't we have nothing better to do, than to pander to its paranoia?

I personally am shipping stuff to the US almost daily. No problems. If a federal marshal turns up in a white hat, (or even a UK thug from MAFF - as it was once called), I'll say "excuse me, sir, will you wait a moment - while I arrange a photocall here with my local news agency?".

I promise you, he won't stay a moment...

And yes, I _have_ been that route, before. Several times. And it works. Bureaucrats, being phagocytes, cannot stand the heat and light of media publicity.

Luck!

JOHN

John: I don't think any of us are particularly afraid of being hauled away by the plant police, but rather the loss of seeds of value. Confiscation seems to be the only repercussion on this side of the pond, but I'm not so sure that applies to cuttings. I have a friend who traveled to the UK and attempted to bring back cuttings. She is doing battle over a $10,000 fine. It may come to nothing, but it certainly keeps you busy meanwhile.

So my philosophy concerning seeds is still "Don't mail what you can't afford to lose."... that's pretty much the case with anything you send in the mail these days, unless it is insured, and that has its problems as well.

Dear Weazingreens

Of course, you're right. I'd never counsel someone to do anything that might lead them into legal battles. Life's too short!

That said, it's not too short for bureaucrats to create work for themselves. And nobody has yet made clear to me why the phytosanitation laws were clamped down so draconially. Was there a test case last year wherein some imported seed released a fearful virus or kudzu-type infestation?

If so, all us seed sharers should be told. If a law is explained, I'm sure we'll all go along with it. Till then, smacking our wrists for an offence we don't understand is neither reasonable - nor effective.

John, I haven't the foggiest notion why seed mailing is being restricted. Even within the US, however, there is some issue with introducing "exotics" into environment where they may become a problem. Even in Alaska, we've had problems with plants that were introduced to this area only to have them endanger native species.

All that aside, I, too, don't take all this fuss too seriously. My suggestion is to send seeds and shrug your shoulders if they don't reach the destination. I certainly haven't heard of anyone hauled off to jail for sending seeds... just confiscated seeds.

When it comes to bare root plants, I think there is an issue of introducing diseases, but that is just my guess. I do believe they are a bit more strict about bare root items. I know it is very difficult to ship plants from England to the US legally, but I'm not sure which country is raising the fuss.

The US certainly wants to make sure that plant diseases aren't imported with the plants, but I'd be more likely to believe the UK would have an issue with our whisking off their plants... particularly native ones. I'm sure it's pretty much the same shipping plants from the US to the UK.

I have received seeds from the UK since 9/11 without incident, so I imagine I will have no problem the next time. I plan to send some seeds across the pond soon, and I think they are likely to get there without incident.

For the average gardener, it is very frustrating to deal with these laws, however well-intentioned. I entirely agree that it is absurd to set seed sniffing dogs on some old lady's hollyhock seeds, but I have little control over all that. I just figure that it is one of those gray area laws that is meant to be broken.

WZ

The UK has a £5,000 fine and a 2 year prison sentance if caught importing plant material that is restricted or prohibited. Shipments of plant material also requires a phytosanitary certificate as with most countries but the smaller packages seem to get through without a problem, which is, in a way, worrying.

Thanks for the info, Baa. Yes, rather worrying, considering disease could be as easily spread by a plant or two. I've just become more ecologically conscious of the problems that can occur just be importing an "exotic" into a new environment. There are many new "weeds" here in Alaska, simply because somebody who builds roads decided to plant some form of clover, etc. on the roadsides to prevent erosion.

However, it is such a disappointment to gardeners like us who love to share what we grow with friends we've made across the pond. I prefer to grow from seed, but in the case of hybrids, cuttings generally work better, so it is so tempting to just tuck a few into the package. I don't think I'd take chances with cuttings, but seeds seem less risky.

I mailed some seeds in an ordinary envelope with one layer of bubblepack, and the sorting machine crunched them into meal. Next time I'll pad them better and we'll see what happens.