this is really a 2 parter. i want unusual seeds from u.s. suppliers and i want to know about getting seeds directly from other countries.
i am looking for online sources or anyone that might have a paper catalog of uncommon and unusual seeds. also, does anyone order seeds from other countries? is a phytosanitary certificate needed for seeds? how do you pay for them?
i have received seeds from chile, canada, england, pakistan and puerto rico. i have received plants from puerto rico and pakistan. someone from canada was sending me some iris but the u.s. would not allow it without phyto certificate. she got the iris i sent to her though. i understand that puerto rico is a territory of the u.s. but why can i receive plants from pakistan but not canada or england. i have sent plants/bulbs to canada, england, pakistan and puerto rico. if anyone from other countries is reading this let me you what you have gotten from the u.s. and what you were able to send to the u.s..........without phyto certificate.
thanks for any information. barb
sources wanted for uncommon seeds/non-native seeds
You can't have my english plants because we have the plague!!! Lol
Seriously there is a website somewhere about what plants you can import and export to the us. But actually having a list of what is what is .... well neddles and hay stacks spring to mind.
My advice is of course completely illegal but here goes........ don't tell anyone whats in the parcel!
The problem there trying to stop is any invasive plants getting into the country and any rare ones getting out and any bugs getting in and out.
Alot of countries don't care and ones like mine are very strict. We are an island so it means bugs can wipe out whole crops if not noticed in time.
But so far i have only had one packet go missing on its way to me. As you have found out the most that happens is they confiscate your plants and you don't get your money back or a letter telling you. You could find out who runs the customs department and take them back from there greenhouse late at night! Lol
Hope that helps
Mike
mike is there a seed company in england that ships to the u.s.?
and i am not against doing a little illegal stuff mike (teehee) but you know i would not be able to get over ruining an entire country if i sent the wrong thing. have you ever got a plant into the u.s. this way...............hypothetically speaking of course? what do they do to you if you lie? nothing if they don't catch you but what if they do? that's my fear. being hauled away to some federal penitentiary while my family's name is drug through the mud and my kids are ostracized at school after they get rotten fruit thrown all over them. lol.
i guess i would rather find some seed sources for the kind of seeds i would like to try. but how do i pay someone in england? do most of them take paypal and does paypal make the exchange?
This message was edited Oct 31, 2006 4:39 PM
mamajack, perhaps I can help here.
1) No seeds or plants are legally allowed into the US without a phytosanitary certificate. You can however apply to your authorities now for a small amount of seed to be allowed, but it is a lengthy process, with you filling out forms and the seeds being checked. If you really wanted to buy seeds from an overseas supplier it might be worth it, and of course legal. Chiltern Seeds here have been doing battle to be able to send seeds to the US, I think they will send them and ignore the rules, but at your own risk of course. They have a very good range of seeds, not many pretty pictures though, they specialise in the unusual.
2) Small amounts of seeds are allowed into the UK, I have read it is 5 packets, but this is a guideline for personal use. I have bought many more packets of seed from overseas with no problems, the number of packets isn't usually stated and isn't necessary. Most that sell overseas are aware of the rules and regulations and will avoid putting anything on the customs form which will cause problems. We also have a monetary limit from the rest of the world before taxes are paid on the value, that is £18 for most items. It is always wise to put 'nil' or a low value.
3) No plants are allowed into the UK without a Phytosanitary cert. Not even one, as you can imagine there could be all sorts of diseases and bugs and these need to be checked by inspectors prior to dispatch. That is why the high phyto cost. This does not, however, stop anyone from putting an item in a package, and sending a 'magazine' or 'ornament' or whatever you feel the package may look like you want it to be! This works both ways, and Canada does have it's laws separate from the US. You just need to be aware that you may not get the item, but generally you should as long as you do it well! Not all items are checked through customs, they can't cope with the amount that is sent through, but anything generally which is large, stands out like a sore thumb, etc., may stand more chance of being checked.
4) No need to worry about being publicly ridiculed, you don't need to put your name and address on, they will never know who it is from if it's discovered, and if it is only a plant then they will just confiscate it and you won't get to know about it, unless of course it's a highly illegal substance. The recipient will not know about it either, no-one is going to get hauled over the coals for a plant being sent to them, we are the 'stupid' public who don't know the rules and regs.
I hope this helps, and try to relax and have fun.
web addresses
www.chilternseeds.co.uk
www.jjaseeds.com these do quote in $ but are in Wales, so I pay in $!!
I had 12 packets of seeds confiscated by US customs from a UK trade :(
thanks to everyone. i will have time tomorrow to look at all the sites and re-read all of the comments. it's monster time almost at my house. happy halloween! thanks again. barb
Hi Barb, you just have to think of the Irish potato famine to realise what can happen if one diseased plant gets through. The consequenses can be very serious and that is why they do serious checks on soil and plants before allowing exports. I'm not saying that it was an illegal trade that caused the potato famine, just trying to give an example of how diseases and pests can thrive outside their own natural environments. I know that in US the government tests soil for nematodes before allowing a grower to export plants.
Yes Ev, it's not just the plant the customs men confiscate, is it? Rather the entire package and it's contents.
Mike, some customs man will have some really nice plants next year, wish I could see inside his greeenhouse, LOL
Terri
enya, do you think it was because there were so many? i got a nice little note from some agriculture dept. stating that the iris that i was getting from oltman could not be delivered and were being returned to the sender.
I ordered seeds from Chiltern's (UK) this spring, about 8 or 10 packs, and didn't have any problems. They are listed in the Garden Watchdog area and you can also request a paper catalog but it doens't have photos. Good luck.
Between you and me I have recently recieved two lots of seeds with bugs inside. I guess they hatched in the post, as i'm sure the traders did not send them knowingly.
To make sure the bugs don't infest my garden i keep all seeds in the fridge for a while. I also sow seeds from other countries in the house rather than the green house. You can kill some by putting them in the freezer over night. Not all seeds like that though!
Just becarefull and have fun
Mike
oooooooooooooooooooh! what kind of bugs were in the seeds? and they were from 2 different people? how can that happen as i sure don't want to send someone seeds with bugs in them........even if it's just my next door neighbor.... let alone thru the mail.
When I hear about things with bugs inside it reminds me of that news article a few years back. The one where a lady kept hearing (what sounded like) cheeping noises coming from one of her indoor plants. It turned out to be a nest of baby spiders (I think they were tarantulas if I remember correctly). In was inside something like a hollow bamboo or something similar.....eeeeeeeeeeww {{{{{{{shudder}}}}}}
I don't mind spiders outside, but wouldn't exactly like an entire legion of them in my living room (thud).
ROFL
Terri
Tarantulas chirp?! How cute!!! and yet so horrifying
ditto what gina_rose said except for the cute part.
Arrgh Spiders i hate them. Didn't used to bother me untill i was bitten by one. Then you sudenly get scared! Very scared!
The bugs i was sent where weevils in Hibiscus seed and also weevil inside hollyhock seed. Like i said not there fault how would they know!
I read somewhere 1 in 5 insects is a type of weevil so very common! They live for weeks in a sealed baggie even in the fridge!
Cherp cherp
Mike
Mike, what kind of spider bit you? I heard about someone else being bitten by a spider and until he told me about it I hadn't thought our little arachnids were at all vicious. If I heard one of my plants cheeping it would end up in the incinerator.
In our house we're more likely to be savaged by a tortoise (no, I'm not kidding!!)
(Cherp, cherp indeed!!!)
Terri
Sometimes what even looks the cleanest dirt free, bug fre e plant isn't. I have gotten bare root, dipped in bleach nice shiny white looking roots and had a spider walk out alive out of the tangle, and just a couple of weeks ago, got a package with beautiful cleaned roots that were oin a tangle and had a wiggler worm come crawling out in front of my face. Talk about giving a person a few more gray hairs. So sometimes even bleach dips and soap dips doesn't kill all the bugs and germs.
My sister has a tortoise. Its really old been handed down for generations. Even lost some of its shell to a jack russell dog once!
Now spiders urgh the one i was bit by was one of those big house spiders that come out from behind the telly when your watching a scary movie. It was more painful than a bee sting. It didn't last as long but made me stop chasing the girl i fancied with it. Lol
Yes can't blame the spider really but hey she was pretty!
maybe it should be cheap cheap like my jokes.
Mike
Bleech ...... soap.... you crazy dude. That would kill the plants!
I put 7 dust in with my hibiscus seed after I clean them, I hope this won’t hurt the seed but I’ve gotten those little weavels before too and though they don’t really bother me, the seed aren’t any good after they have their way with them lol
I found a black widow this summer and a big yellow egg sack, both are in ‘Spider Heaven’ now lol
I would be interested in finding out where to get seed for unusual plants too, I like the variegated foliage but want something different from what we have around here, also when I go to trade I don’t have anything different to trade, where does everyone get their different plants from? The plants are too expensive to buy from most places but never see the seeds anywhere. T&M are suppose to have seeds for different plants but I don’t think they have that many to choose from.
We don’t have any sources from the US? I know somebody out there orders cool seeds from the US, somewhere?
Lea
LeBug, the 2 sites above are very good, take a look at them.
If you want unusual in the US there is a place called Telos, their prices are very good and they have some plants I would love to have. Some seeds cost as much, and they don't always grow, also many take a long time to mature from seed.
www.telosrarebulbs.com
You might find some are not available until next spring.
http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net/
http://www.rarexoticseeds.com/ I've ordered from this guy and didn't need any phyto sanitary certificate.
http://www.seedman.com/
http://www.b-and-t-world-seeds.com/letters.htm I don't have enough patience to plow through their catalogs and try to figure out what all the abbreviations mean, but they sure to have a lot of seeds.
http://www.getnet.net/~richarde/cactusstore/Seeds.htm
http://www.seed-man.com/ This guy is in Texas
http://www.penyaseeds.com/
http://rareseedsource.com/
http://www.rmrp.com/ alpine seeds from around the world
http://seedrack.com/
http://www.driftwoodgardens.com/index.html
HHHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!! LEA! (lol) look at all of these places.
I have bought from b and t world seeds, the seeds germinate well but many are very expensive. Unless you really want them and can't get them from elsewhere I don't know how they sell very much. They seem to have hiked the prices much more lately.
Priced in euros, here one euro is about £0.70. Many seed packets are 10 euros, that's £7 plus 10% postage, a minimum of 20 euros order with 3e for post. At around $1.80 to £1 you are looking at $12.60 + 1.26 p&p. for one packet.
Symbols p = packet; s=seed; g= gram.
wallaby1, I checked one of the sites above earlier today and it was hard to read, my eyeballs were going cross-eyed lol Will try again tomorrow, rough day. I know some of them won't be available until Spring and I don't really mind if it takes a long time for them to mature, I would just be happy to get them to germinate lol And have something different, but yes I would love to have some to trade too, but if need be, my first priority is to get them in the first place.
Oh-my-gosh! $12.60 + 1.26 p&p. for one packet! Now that's not a little but a LOT steep for me! lol I could take a loan out on the house? lol I don't need them that bad lol Maybe I'll check some of the other sites out lol I never have tried to figure those 'other monies' out, too difficult for a simple minded person for me lol
hart, thanks for all of those links and yes Barb, we do have a lot of sites to look at now, don't we, thanks guys!!! I'm going to start checking them out tomorrow! Notice I said 'start' checking them out, this may take a while lol
I don't mind spending a little more for seed if they are different, don't know about $12 though, maybe if the seed count was worth it, probably the count is small or they don't even tell you how many you are getting...
Thanks guys!
Lea
Thanks to hart!!!!!!!
www.seedman.com has sooo many of the seeds I've been wanting, but haven't wanted to buy b/c there wasn't one site with so many of them.
That's awesome, thanks so much! :)
~Gina
i know this has been a very successful link. thanks to everyone. but keep them coming if you think of others.
There is one I know of that's not listed by Dave's, but is a GREAT site; I've found some unusual/exotic things there, but more appealing is that they seem to get seeds for new varieties/cultivars? frequently. I've found things there that I couldn't find listed on Dave's, and only found otherwise through using Google. They usually give a generous amount of seeds, usually at least 50 (as opposed to most sites that offer 25-30).
I had no problems at all when I ordered from them.
http://www.hardyplants.com