Could I take my seeds with me on the airplane?

LOL! I made the subject line sound like I can't go anywhre without my seeds, but I am going on a vacation where I will have some time stuck without a car. My great idea is to sit down and file my seeds, but I'd have to fly them back home with me and I wondered if they'd go through the xray machine ok. Do you think those guys who go through your luggage would wreck my perfectly filed seeds? Or should I do a carry on?

Suzy

I don't know the answer to that, but I do have a fun story! My MIL LOVED daylilies. Her father worked for Brookhaven Labs, and until he retired MIL used to send him daylily seeds and he would irradiate them and mail them back for her to plant. One of my husband's siblings has her painstaking journal of those seeds, how much radiation they received, and what happened to them when (if) they bloomed. One of these days I want to track down that journal and read it. :-)

X-rays are not the same thing at all, of course.. Your message just reminded me of that. Hopefully someone else with more information and less trivia will come by next. ;-)

Having flown a bit since 9-11, I can say - please do not try to take anything "carry-on" that could be in the least bit considered dangerous unless you want to spend a long time being throughly searched etc.

My DH works for a major airline. He said 1) It's illegal to take plants over boarders (yeah - okay! snicker snort snort!) and 2) if you just HAD to take them - do carry-on. He said preferably don't take them.Good Luck!

I think what your DH is talking about is actual plants, not seeds. Seeds are usually much less problematic than plants because they don't harbor nasty little bugs and diseases that states are worried about accidentally importing. To take plants across the borders of many states you need to have phytosanitary certificates which say that the plant is bug-free but they usually aren't as picky about seeds. I would still probably leave them home unless they're seeds you know you can easily replace if they get lost, confiscated, etc.

I'm sure it depends on where you are going. When traveling to/from Hawaii, many Pacific Islands, Australia etc. there are big time restrictions on what "produce or agricultural products" you can take in/out. You may end up with major hassels about "I brought these with me" . Best to keep your vacation hassel free and not even try it.

Suzy, don't take them. You are at the mercy of people who do their extremely low paying job according to how their day is going. If they are having a bad day they will take your seeds. Plus, if you have seeds on the invasive list they will confiscate them. It's not worth it.

Might I suggest going to your public library and checking out a book called "The Darwin Awards". It will keep you laughing the whole time.

Here is their website.

A Chronicle of Enterprising Demises Honoring those who improve the species...by accidentally removing themselves from it!

http://www.darwinawards.com/

Xeramtheum

Don't take the seeds. Just think how hard it will be to explain what each seed is and that is isn't a drug of some kind or what you would feel like it they went into the trash.

Hmmmmm..............

I am not sure that seeds, transported within the US, would be such a big deal. You don't have to carry them by hand. Pack them in your luggage. There are airports that go through everyone's luggage--totally, but they are NOT looking for seeds in an envelope or something.

Last summer I traveled from Alaska to Seattle to Detroit and home to Baltimore. The whole time I hand carried a plastic bag full of cuttings and dug up Raspberry rootings--in plain view--and no one ever said anything. They just went through the X-ray machine with all my other stuff and shoes etc.

I DO know California and Hawaii (and maybe other states) have bans on plants and fruits being brought in. WHERE are you going??? I would call that state and check on their laws.

Gita

As it turns out, there was no room in the car for my seeds anyhow. No big loss since there was also no extra time as I had envisioned. In other words, they are just as disorganized as they were before I left, but I had a really fun time.

While I was at the sirport, I didn't even find out if I could have brought them back with me, which was sort of dumb.

Suzy

Well, I could hear you saying "honestly, officer, they're FLOWER seeds! no, really!" -- so maybe it's for the best.