quarintine for 2 days. i got a letter the other day from customs. my hubby went to the po st office on his way to work and called me saying there was a letter from the gov. i told him to open it and see what it was about. it was telling me something was in customs and in quarintine till monday when they would be sent if all checks out.
now here i am racking my brain to figure out did i order anything from out the country am i in a trade i forgot about or what did i forget about thats could be in customs.
well so for three days i am trying to figure out what this thing is. hubby just got home last night so if i am brave enough i will try to look for letter.( 5 guys practically live in the truck on the raod( hubby paves roads for a living). so you can imagine the trash and junk in this truck. hehe
but anyway the package came today and it was my brugs from AlohaHoya from Hawaii.
i called them up this morning to ask why they sat in customs when they were coming from the USA.
what i was told was the dog picked up the dirt in the package and they had to hold them to verify everything was okay. standard procedure for inspections of mail packages.
anyway they look a little weepy so in water they are sitting for a few hours then will be planted.
my poor babies. what a trip they have had.
my babies sat in
So the dogs can pick up dirt??? Amazing. I hope they all perk up for you. What a shame if they get sick from being held.
Yes...and they can pick up plant material as well....I sent the cuttings sans dirt.
So...here's the deal! There is a law that all plant material has to have a Phyto Sanitary Certificate before being shipped to another state...but what state really cares (CA, LA, TX and AZ - also HI, because they have a very strong agricultural lobby) or has the money to fund such antics. I can understand Hawaii's position: we are on small islands and stuff that is sent in has been destroying ecosystems for years: invasive plants, insects, fungi, frogs etc.
Legally all plant mateial received in Hawaii should be taken down to Hawaiian Ag. to be inspected. Legally. Conversely, all plant material sent OUT of state has to be inspected or be Certified by Agriculture to be free of nasties. They follow CAs proceedures to the letter.
SO...for a couple of years when I started my little hoya business and trading with friends, I schlepped all the plants, boxes, tape etc. down to Hawaiian Ag. Inspection station for their stamp of approval. It was a drag!!! When DH built me a big greenhouse, we decided to build it to conform to their Certification standards: plants min. 18" off the ground, separated from vegetation by 6', water not accessible by animals (I have a huge closed tank) etc. So, I am Certified to ship out to the mainland AND the 'Big 4'. Randomly California will open boxes, even WITH my Ag. Stamp on it, to see if it really IS clean. The other states look to CA. to be the police here. There is a fine of $1000.00 if a box is found to have plant material and is NOT Certified. ALL boxes are X-rayed upon arrival in CA whether it be USPS OR a private carrier. USDA is one of the Golden Departments of our Government.
I have surprise inspections, a regular inspection every 6 months where pieces of root are cut off to see that I have no root nematodes, they look for diseases, ants etc. Any cuts I take I have to PROMISE they are taken from 18" above the ground.... AND I do everything to the letter AND I have EXTRA high marks on all my inspections....
It's not easy being green.
I have only had one box go to the Ag dept and sit for 3 weeks before being notified, and it had a nursery inspection sticker on it. Poor daylilies, most were white and shriveled but all survived, they are one tough plant!
I understand the main thing about shipping to CA is, no dirt! Send very clean. Even then, I have things from traders come thru no problem. But guess they get one here and there.
A box from Australia was stopped by California Ag...with Australian Certificates and everything. They SAID they found a live aphid. NOT possible...not after what I have seen the shipper go thru to ship plants.
Some suspect the inspectors are plant collectors. End of story.
Carol
they are perking up so all is well even though they did sit for awhile.
just scared me for awhile as i didnt know what was in customs.