I was sending a brug cutting to Canada. After I read thru the customs form, I'm not sure it'll make it. So I brought the stamped envelope with brug inside home instead. I'm sure someone here has more experience than me. I just don't want to get in any trouble. 'Read thru the old threads about mailing, but they didn't quite address my question....can I do it legally? Thanks...Sandi
Cutting to Canada?
i had someone ask me about shipping and learned from my Ag Inspector that as of Nov 1st this year, canada requires both an import permit (the person receiving has to apply for it) and a phyto on all plant material including seeds.
Since i hold a nursery license, i wouldn't risk it to ship without documentation. as for private persons shipping, the package may or may not be confiscated in customs. what happens after that i don't know.
Thank you for information. I appreciate it. I replied earlier today, but must have not hit 'send.'
Sandi, I remember reading that in addition to having the cuttings confiscated, you could be fined rather heavily. It doesn't really take that long for a person, at least here in the US to get a permit and forms especially if it is done online. Things are probably similar in Canada. I believe that someone from the Ag Dept has to sign off on the phyto certificate. Something else to think about: even if the cutting made it to Canada, it would probably freeze along the way. Yesterday I received a potted Brug I bought through eBayThe plant was very well wrapped and packaged. The stem was at least 5/8" thick so it survived, but most of the leaves suffered frost damage. My plant came from Oregon.
I found this information about import/export plants from US to Canada:
"To be perfectly honest...... I wouldn't worry about a few plants being
tucked into a padded mailer and being sent thru the mail to a buddy in
Canada. Neither of you is likely to get arrested. But if they are VALUABLE
or RARE plants, I would recommend that you follow the rules and get the
Phytosanitary Certificate from your local State authorities and label the
shipment appropriately. You say that the Certificate is free, and a properly
certified shipment can clear the regulators at the border in 3 hours."
The site is:
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/import.html
It's about 3/4 of the way down.
in the US, the federal phyto for canada costs around 50.00.
Thanks, bettydee...I had tried to find that thread. I remember reading it last year.
Teresa, I ''googled" the site you posted and it was written Aug 20th, 1998. I believe
Love2Garden stated the regs changed Nov 1st, 2007. It's not worth risking a nasty letter (or worse) from the govt. for a few brug cuttings.... and I'm not comfortable "fudging" on the custom declaration by stating that I'm sending "craft items or Xmas gift," as was suggested.
Someone in my MG class said you could grind Brug seeds, soak them in olive oil, apply extract topically and obtain some sort of high from it. Is this true and could it be one of the reasons for tighter regs?
Ooops, Bubbles. I guess I should have checked the date on that before I posted it here.
Naww renwood. All parts of the brug are poisonous and some kind of high can be obtained - if you really wanted to risk it. Sending seeds is not an issue.. it's the cuttings that we're talking about here. You can send seeds internationally. ;-)
Here in the states, importation of seeds also require permits. Small lots of seeds are allowed with a permit. A phyto certificate is not needed. Exportation of seeds depends on the country where the receiver lives.
Betty, I've been sending seeds to the US for years... clearly marked as "seeds". I have also been receiving seeds from around the world.
Do you have a link to recent information about sending/receiving seeds? I'd be interested. Thanks Betty.
Teresa, I can provide a link to the USDA site I used to obtain my permit for "small lots of seeds". That's where I received the information on what can be imported. I haven't used any of my labels yet. I need a good source of Brug seeds not found here in the states. The reason for this precaution is to prevent the importation of pest and diseases. I'm not sure how effective this is. Not too long ago, I read about a parasitic vine that is decimating several tree species here in Texas. The vine seeds are though to have been brought in from Asia where the vine is a delicacy and doesn't seem to cause any harm. The vine first escaped cultivation in the Houston area and has made its way to Austin in the 3 years since it was first identified. The vine is filamentous, works its way past the bark and kills cambium layer. No effective way to kill it. By the time the tree dies, the vine has seeded and released the seeds into the atmosphere.
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/