USDA chopped my imported plants from Thailand!

I have heard others talk about their experiences with the USDA, and I had a similar experience and wanted to share my story. The plants were pretty pricy and from Thailand. In the end I’m happy they shipped through, but the USDA cut some of our imported plants in half because they exceeded the 18” size limit.

So now I have about 50 plants that are rootstocks (the center cuttings with roots).

It’s really a shame such beautiful plants would be butchered this way and they were expensive too. It can be so frustrating importing plants, the delays and the miscommunications, everything. Has anything like this ever happened to anyone here? I'm glad I received the plants, but upsetting they turned a beautiful plant into a stump. The varieties were Elsie, Muang Jack and Violet Queen.

Find a US based supplier of Thai Plumies like Lopaka
There is an ebay store selling Thai plumies that He ships for.
No chop chop there. ;)

You are lucky that they didn't toss the whole thing for exceeding the size limit. I think the import certificate rules say that rooted/grafted plants cannot exceed 18", but cuttings can be up to 36". I can't remember now and will have to check my import certificate. I sympathize with you, but at the same time, I believe in following the rules of the USDA. I've never had any problems receiving imported plants from Thailand, but I know others have.

Michael, PlumeriaGallery is a business and probably buys wholesale for resale like Lopaka's supplier.

This message was edited May 8, 2007 11:07 AM

Disregard this post.

This message was edited May 8, 2007 11:22 AM

no fun! you're not planning on using the mid-branch cuts as rootstock or you?

I just read that the USDA Ag. Dept is not allowed to cut and will toss out oversized plants or cuttings so I think it was your source in Thailand that did the cutting to meet the requirements.

clare i think i hear that about a large shipment that came from overseas years ago. it was actually the supplier.

dete

Yes, I agree with you, Dete. The Ag Dept. says it is not allowed to cut down to the size limit. I think this must be a miscommunication between buyer and seller.

Someone else had a plant from Thailand chopped in half by USDA; they even called her, said, officially we are supposed to destroy it, but we'll let it get through this time. So - it does happen.

Why do you not grow the cut plants out and have 1 extra set of Thai plants?
Mickey

I will buy some of the ugly half of the plants if you want to sell them, and the price is right.
Davie

Mickey, that is what I would do.

Hey, guys! If you don't mind, let's stick to the no solicitation, no selling rule that Dave's has. It is so nice to have it that way. Feel free to contact each other off Dave's for buying/selling discussions.

Sorry all did not know that such a rule excisted. My bad! willl not happen again.

No worries, Mate! Thanks for understanding;-)

What about all the props and advertising for Florida Colors and the others that you reccommend? Is this not a form of advertising for a company? You directing them towards companies, that you feel are reputable, for purchase of plumerias? You even provide the links. As long as we are talking about it.

Davie, my understanding is that you can recommend sellers here without any problem as long as you are not the seller and not associated with the seller in any way. So I can suggest reputable sellers that I have dealt with as long as they are not me and as long as I am not associated with them in any way. I don't advertise for those sellers that I recommend. I just help people by steering them toward a business that I know to be honest, reliable, and trustworthy because there are so many sellers that aren't in this business.

The mention or solicitation that "I have this for sale, or I will be selling soon..." is against Dave's Garden's rules. This site is supposed to be free of solicitation and free from the talk about the exchange of money. I've seen posts pulled that were about "Cuttings for Postage." Those are the rules here, and I am glad that they are in place because it seems like I get hit up and solicited everywhere I go. I'm glad this is one place that I can go where I don't get asked to buy something.

There are several subscribers here that own businesses, but they are careful to share only information and to not promote themselves. There are now forums for selling, like the Classified Section Forum, and it is appropriate to advertise there if you are a seller. There have been some subscribers that seem to offer cuttings for free and then ask for money for them when contacted by dmail. This is against the rules too from my understanding, and they are walking a thin line by doing this.

Thank you it is clear now.

Mike has it right Clare there is no reseller between me and my partner!
We are not a reseller but in fact the supplier..
I say we because currently i am her partner..
If i want 100 thai plants i get them in a week for free it is that simple..
I can wholesale to anyone and choose not to promote this because my partner has a few sellers she supplies and wishes not to flood the market..
Currently there is no one in the US that can get as many plants as i can and to get them for free..
A reseller won't send you 100's of plants for free..
Currently with this new shipment i will have 600+ thai varieties..
Like i said before i am not a seller but a stocking house use for her ebay and wholesale dealings..
It is a hobby with me first and i will walk away if it gets to be too much..
I am glad that my Nursery fees are still cheap but to tell you the truth I HATE SHIPPING it flat out stinks!!

Love the pics Clare please keep them coming i enjoy looking at them..
South Florida is in a real bad drought and this week we are going to phase III which means for me Sunday is the only day i can water my grass between 4am - 8am.
To top if off the darn fires are killing me because of all the smoke in the air *cough*
Here is the Real Time Satellite Fire Monitoring and as you can see the grey is the smoke and the red spots are the fires..
All of central america and cuba are burning too..
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/FIRE/hms.html
When the sun comes up you can see the smoke live and where it is going..
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/FIRE/fires-fl.html


Talk to you later friends i got to get up early to fight and capture a new beast in my nursery who is eating every darn plumie i have in a pot..
Anyone know which kind he is because i never thought i see a overgrown lizard devour a plumie tree..
He is eating a dozen leaves a day and breaks that many leaves climbing the plant because of his size..
He is around 3.5 feet and his belly is so fat from my plants..
Errrr....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lopaka/493363284/

Iopaka,

The iguana is becoming a real pest in SE Florida. At Fairchild Tropical Gardens they no longer have tropical hibiscus because the iguana eat them until they perish. Just another invasive specie with nothing to keep their number in check. They got a start when people let their out of control 'pets' loose into the landscape. Cruel as it may sound I would shoot the invader, the local animal control people destroy them. I know someone will scream 'Murder', but, those same people have no problem getting rid of scale or aphids from their landscape. A pest is a pest, no matter what size.

wow.. that really is a beast. I understand Fl has lots of troubles with them. The largest critter I see around here is a gecko about 2" long. Had to save one from my cat yesterday.. so tiny I could not pick it up. Chased it up the wall out of her reach. She will eventually find it. so far, it still has a tail.. that won't last long.

sorry to hear about all the fires and smoke... can't imagine only watering 1 time a week. Everything here would be DEAD. It drives me crazy to see water wasted around here. Sprinkler systems on during huge thunderstorms... I think individuals and business should be fined when they don't turn them off. It just wastes the resource for everyone.

I was at a small local plant retail place yesterday and a lady came in asking where to buy plumerias. Absolutely no one around here has them and rarely if ever get any either. so sad.

Tammie

This message was edited May 11, 2007 12:27 PM

So far, we haven't had any restrictions put on our reclaimed water but I'm sure it's coming.
I'm considering getting some rain barrels to fill up now as backup for when the time comes.

Because of an accident involving a main water line that will take weeks to fix, combined with the ongoing drought we are now on water restrictions. I have had one rain barrel forever but I have just added a couple of (new, clean) trash cans in other collection spots around the house. Now I only need some rain. Tropical Storm Andrea was a fizzle here.

Guess what! After getting skunked last year, I FINALLY have an inflow on one of my plummies. It is on a white one I traded for with PalmBob. Yippee!!!!!

I am glad I live in the country and have a private well! My area is very rural and we have a huge cavern of fresh water right under us called the 'Geneva Lens' by the State. The locals call it the Geneva Bubble. It is some of the best water in the State, and because development here is strictly limited, it isn't in danger if running out anytime soon. This phenomena exists only under our village--the rest of the county is eitheron city water, or, must use the water from their more shallow wells, which is often quite sulferuous--sometimes a little salty. My plants love the Geneva water and this was one of the research facts I learned before deciding to move here.

I have a well in addition to the reclaimed and city water but it's not hooked up to the pump right now and if they restrict wells along with the city water anyway. I may hook it back up with water restrictions get bad enough and I have to "sneak" some extra water for the back yard.

Brad, that is so cool that you have your own aquifer. No wonder you grow such beautiful plants.

Dale, I am a big animal rights person, and, yes, I do draw the line between killing destructive insects and animals. I relocate my pests when I find them to nonharmful places. I hope Robert will do the same with this animal. There has to be a place where he can live without hurting anyone or anything.

Robert, that is terrible about the smoke and the fires. Do take care not to breathe it in if you can. I am sorry about your water restrictions too. By the way, since you are now associated with a seller, you will have to be careful not to promote that seller on Dave's to be within the AUP guidelines. I know that won't be a problem for you as this is your hobby first and foremost.

Congrats, Alice, on your inflo! Yay!

Thanks Clare, I am excited about my plummie. Hopefully the others will join in soon.

About that critter though, I think I read where they are called a Tegu, and they can be very agressive. That thing is large enough to harm a small child and where on earth could one reasonably relocate it? They have now moved into northern FL so cold weather is not stopping them either. Fences won't keep them out and they are not scared of humans so what is one to do? If one of those nasty critters got one of my fur babies or worse, I'd call on Dale to help out. LOL

Alice, I hope you will post pics when it blooms! I have a humane trap, but I just use a good pair of leather gloves when I have to catch a critter. We have several forests here so that is where I relocate animals that are garden pests. They may end up being part of the food chain, but at least that have a chance to live out their lives. There must be places where one can relocated animals in every state. The problem is that no one takes the time to look into these things. It is so much easier just to kill an animal. It is a shame in my view. I'm 100% sure that there are organizations in Florida and in your state that will help to relocate animals which are deemed to be garden pests or a danger to other animals or property. If I were in Robert's shoes, I would start by calling the local Humane Society to see if they have numbers of organizations that will come to collect the animal and relocate it. I also belong to ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and I'm sure that they could provide information about these types of things.

The problem Clare is that exotics that are released or escaped here often come from a place where they are not top of the food chain and so their population is kept in check. Unfortunately, many come here and become the top of the food chain and do away with the native critters (and plants) that are not large enough or aggressive enough to overcome them. In order to not destroy or upset the balance of the native habitat, it is imperative that these escapees be recaptured and either placed back in captivity or humanely euthanised. Here in Florida, our little anoles were overwhelmed by the larger more aggressive lizards that hitched a ride here from South & Central America. Back in the 60's & 70's they were abundant and could be seen everywhere. It is to the point now where I have not seen one in the wild in many years. The same is happening here with the wild parrot colonies that have become established and are taking over territories and food sources from the native birds and driving them out. It has to stop somewhere.

I understand what you are saying, and it sounds like it is a problem, but I just can't condone killing animals when other solutions can be found. There has to be an animal rights group there in Florida that will capture and then, as you said, either place in captivity or humanely euthanize if there is no other option. Killing an animal just because he/she is a pest is morally wrong in my book. Trapping humanely and allowing them to live out their lives in captivity is a better idea. I bet there are rescue organizations that do just that. I'll get off my platform now. Animal issues are important to me as you can tell.

You are allowed to be passionate Clare. LOL All of us with pets understand. It is just that the Southeast coast is so close to the Caribbean and it is so easy for non native species to be introduced here. In addition to the highly irresponsible people that release these animals into the wild, they arrive on ships (just a few hours) or planes (just a few minutes) and zap, we have a problem. Maybe someone needs to organize a round up and then fly these critters back to whence they came.


(edited to correct my atrocious spelling) I promise never to try and type without my glasses or contacts again.

This message was edited May 12, 2007 1:37 PM

Thanks, Alice. That sounds like a good plan. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if there was already an effort in place to do just that. I think that, if I won the lotto or became so wealthy that I didn't have to work, I would be running around the world solving animal-related problems. For now, I just give money to the ASPCA and hope that they are working on such things.

If you caught the Iguana I wonder if a pet store would be interested in letting it be adopted by a new owner who wanted it. I often see cats and dogs up for adoption in front of the Pet Stores around here????? Just a thought. It would take more effort that just letting it go somewhere; but then it would be some kids pet and not a pest to someone else where ever you let it loose.

Honestly, I would think a wild Iguana that large would be impossible to tame and they have very nasty dispositions. That large can be dangerous. The pets you see have been raised since babies and even then can be unpredictable. I love animals of any kind and hate to see anything put down but these critters just don't belong in this ecosystem and there really is no place for them. Re introducing them into their native habitat would be prohibitably expensive and it would then end up fighting for its life with the current territory holder.. most likely lose since it would be the newcomer.

They are soooo cool looking and I love seeing the pictures of them. If one showed up in my yard it would be interesting and fun until I got tired of the damaged vegitation and health risks having them around. Yes, they carry bacteria that is not safe for us. They can inflict a nasty bite too... your pets would not be safe around one that large.

JMHO

Tammie

This message was edited May 22, 2007 2:59 AM

These things are--YUK! Sorry---I was at Fairchild Tropical Gardens last time and these giant ones were everywhere eating the flowers. Some were huge and downright frightening looking! They are about impossible to catch--if you wanted too-LOL, and, they would often dive into the water and swim underwater to get away. I understand in S. America they are eaten as commonly as chicken here. Perhaps they would make a good food source if trapped humanely, for starving people in other parts of the hemisphere> Catch, freeze, and ship. Freezing is very humane for reptiles. Anyway, I never understood the scope of the problem this invasive and non-native species is causing until I went to Fairchild that day. Now I understand. When you see something like this that is out of place and obviously running about in nonsustainable numbers, you figure it out quickly. Florida has become a dumping ground for exotis from irresponsible people. In the Everglades there are now HUGE pythons they cannot eradicate that are killing off the native wildlife, and then, moving into neighborhoods and eating peoples' pet dogs and cats. Cobras have been spotted in the wild, and the Nile Monitor lizard is making life near the Naples area quite interesting, I hear. This bad boy is just a little smaller than its relative the Komodo Dragon. One bite from its mouth can kill you because to fhe FOUL bacteria that reside there. Oddly, feral dogs and cats that used to be nuisances are becomg food for these beasties. True, I love animals as much as the next, but this is getting out of control here and I think you really have to have lived here recently to appreciate it. I am fortunate in that I live a little further north where we do have some cold weather. it has thus far kept these critters out of here, Thank God. Oh, onmelast thing on iguanas---they spread salmonella bacteria, and can cause nasty infections by scratching you with their razor sharp claws if you are unfortunate and get too close. I never knew an iguana could move so fast until I saw one do it. Man--these things can MOVE!

we have a problem with feral cats in our neighborhood! it bugs me to no end. i know it's not their falt. unfortunately, the animal is the one that most likely will pay with its life. can you believe there is a fee to turn in a feral cat. how insane is that! coyotes are our answer.

You sound like my mother!
;=)

Oops, sorry about that, Dude. I just got warned about doing the same thing so I thought I would give you a heads up so you don't get a warning too;-) Didn't mean to sound like your mother. Hugs,

i like how she through "dude" in there. haha! you two are funny!