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Container Gardening

Are you allowed to bring Bulbs/Seeds from UK to US?

15 years ago

Hello, I wonder if anyone knows whether bringing bulbs & seeds (no live plants) back from England to the US is allowed. I tried looking on US Dept of Agriculture and US sites, but it seemed to apply to more commercial use or live plants, where you would need to pay for permits and have sanitary clearance certificate.

I would only use these bulbs and seeds in containers on my balcony at home in Colorado. They are extremely inexpensive compared to what I find at home (freesias & begonias, a few other flower seeds) which is surprising because usually everything here is so expensive! Obviously I don't want to have them taken at the airport, as that would truly be a false economy (and I don't want to cause any eco or agro-disaster by bringing in something illegal), so I wondered if anyone knew about this.

If it makes a difference, I just have one carry on bag, which these will be packed into. Thanks for commenting if you know about this!

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Comments (5)

phyllis__mn
15 years ago
In 2000, I brought bulbs, purchased in Netherlands, and seed purchased in UK, back through Heathrow. Really, I had not thought of any consequences at the time!
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
15 years ago
APHIS spells it out rather clearly. And you should also check with your local authority, as different states have different regulations that may be more specific.

Colorado Department of Agriculture
Division of Plant Industry
Lakewood, CO
(303) 239-4140

Here is a link that might be useful: APHIS - permitted plant material
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gringojay
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Customs is usually not too interested in an original sealed seed packet. A few of these "forgotten" in a jacket's inside/hip pocket have little downside.
Any live plant matter, root cuttings & bulbs are kind of hard to be ignorant about. You will get a customs declaration form, to fill out & sign on arrival stateside, that asks whether you are "bringing" anything like them in.
To expedite arrivals there is a lot of reliance on the honor system at customs, so sometimes there is a casual spot check of the "carry-on only" travelers' bag .
susanne_in_nl
15 years ago
I live in the Netherlands and travel to the US regularly. While it's a little more expensive, the bulbs and seeds sold in the airport are more likely to have the correct sticker to allow import to the US. I can't remember the name of the certificate, but it's a hologram sort of sticker on the packaging and says something about import to the US.

I'd look for what you want in the airport and go with those.
sister_k
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks everyone for the comments. The declaration card was pretty specific that seeds, plants & plant parts are all prohibited. I figured it was best to not be arrested for smuggling bulbs this year...

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