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 .

If you have them growing in an open, loose, airy soiless mix such which drains well, such as a gritty mix, or one with very little peatmoss, no worries.. If you have them planted in something else, I would do a wait and see approach..You might have nothing.. That is until you see a problem crop up,then tackle it.. I have yet to deal with bugs inside the soil when brought in. I have never had to treat it. As for leaf pests, different story. But I am not going to spray any chemicals or worry about it, until I see a problem this time. Just a nice bath with soap and water is all they'll get..:-) As for the Palms...It depends what kind you have.. Some tolerate and need lots of sunlight, while others like just light, while others don't like much light at all. Find out the type you have, and then many will help you with the conditions you need to keep them healthy..I think there is a palm forum here somewhere on the garden web.. Hope it all works out for you.. Mike

I agree with all posters. My own personal experience has been that Dieffenbachias and Scheffleras respond poorly to being exposed to very cold temps. You may not notice the injury until after a few days have passed. My Dieff sprung back within a year and is thriving today, but the Scheff never did recover. During the colder months, I only buy plants from independent nurseries where they will wrap the plants for you in thick brown paper. Shop at the box stores and you're on your own. Shame, but that's the way it is.

Thanks for finding that pic, PopMama! I looked thru several pages and if it came up on my search I completely missed it! Liz, what you described at the swap was "more pink," so I hope what you remember is right! Please don't spend all your time looking for your pic, but if you should happen to run into it sometime over winter I would enjoy seeing it! If you don't run into it I will--hopefully--get to see it up-close-and-personal in spring! When that happens I will definitely be taking some of my own pics--however since google catastrophized WebAlbums a month ago I don't know if I'm even able to post links to my pics anymore! You mentioned that one of the Iris I got ['Superstition' and 'Abigail Provides'] was "shorter" than "others"--I think! If you did, was it 'Superstition' that was the shorter one? In the last couple days I got some big (2-3' X 18") patches of the "bad dirt" dug out along the walk by the side of my deck and, saving the more friable soil that was there, I've added a whole buncha home-grown, almost finished, compost to what was left! Have a "decent place" to plant both Iris now and am planning to get them in the ground tomorrow! I also saved some of the "better" natural soil to use when I dig out the potter's clay by the front walk where the peony is going! Will be completely removing the potter's clay, replacing it with my "saved" "better" natural soil, and then adding a WHOLE LOT of compost out there--including some that isn't quite so "almost finished!" Will be transplanting some worms too! I'm gonna make a Good Home for that peony! When I looked up the pics of it, one of the Way Cool things about it was how very different all the pics look--and, remembering you had said how much it "changed" from day to day, I'm really looking forward to seeing a few flowers on that too! Will be surprised if I get any next spring, but, with "good soil," I expect it to be taking off by the following spring! Can hardly wait! I had to water it in when I put it in the pot--my store bought soil is just "moist" when I use it, but, except for watering it in to "settle the soil" when I put it in the ground I'll leave it alone all winter--unless we get an extremely dry winter! Part of my reason for improving the soil in a pretty large area is so I'll know it has good drainage, so if we should get a snowy winter I won't have to worry about it sitting in WET CLAY! Thank you again for bringing such "cool" plants! (Yes, I realize everybody's definition of "cool plants" is different!) to swap! Since I already have so many things, and since people have started to bring things they originally got from me I don't often find many things that I want or don't already have, and this is the first swap in a long time where I was salivating and waiting to "pick!" BUT! I'll have you know that you created quite a "problem" for me!!! With my tiny yard I really did need to do some thinkin' to figure out where to put my new booty! "Problem" and all, thank you, Liz!!! >>> APS = American Phytopathological Society! Egad girl! Are you seriously into this stuff or what??? Did you REALLY go to a plant pathology convention????? Skybird