Please check your countries import regulations and you will see that we in the UK are not allowed to send you seeds without costly ($30) phytosanitary certificates.

Nor are we allowed to post on the USA swap board because of this.

Sorry.

Hi DeeDs1
I exchange seed with contacts in the USA, no need for phytosanitary documents for seed, only plants.
Hope this is useful.
Mike

Mike, import certificates have always technically been required for seeds but this was never enforced. A couple of years ago, the rules were changed so that certificates would also be required for seeds. The only reason that you, like me, have continued to get seeds through is that it is impossible to check every letter and package. I haven't checked the rules since that change, but can't imagine it would have changed much. I believe there were exemptions for small quantities of seed being carried personally, but don't quote me on that. The USDA website will have the latest info.

Xtal, I don't know of any sources for that seed although it does apparently come true from seed.

Thank you all for educating me on this. I had totally overlooked any regulations for bringing seeds into the states. I should have known better.

I appreciate all your responses.
Xtal

Hi Mike
Since 9/11 the Americans have tightened up considerabley on seed imports, and a phytosanitary certificate is required for all seeds and plants. Some plants and seeds are banned from import to the USA as well, with good reason, untold damage can be done by importing proscribed plants.

DeeDs, it was before 9/11 that the US started their enforcement of the existing rules.

Apparently there was a meeting of top scientists, botanists, nurserymen, etc. from around the world, at Kew, I think, following growing concerns about invasive plants, intending to tighten regulations everywhere along the lines of the Australian scheme.

The US Government only sent a couple of pen pushers, and a week or so after the meeting, when it was apparently agreed that everyone should go off and work on a comprehensive scheme based on scientific principles, the US unilaterally imposed their new regime, much to everyone's surprise. Said scientists, botanists, nurserymen, etc. have been lobbying the USDA ever since to try and get them to introduce a proper scheme which is workable, as have all the international gardening societies which have seed exchanges, as obviously the current regulations are rather inconvenient to comply with, as well as making fewer seeds from US gardeners available to members everywhere else in the world.

Amongst the new proposals they're now discussing is that only seeds already imported into the US in large quantities (i.e. by large seed houses) will in future be allowed into the US, which is causing quite a lot of concern to smaller botanic gardens and specialist nurseries and seed suppliers, who rely on being able to import small quantities of different seeds for their businesses.

I think there is also a proposal to allow small quantities of seed into the US without a phytosanitary certificate unless the species has been proved to be invasive, which might mean we will eventually be able to swap seeds with people in the US again.

Hi Xtal

You will be lucky - irrespective of regulations. I believe that particular Cirsium is sterile - there are no seeds. I have the plant growing in my garden, and I asked at a large North of England 4 day flowershow why I never saw any seed for sale, and was told this, by more than one exhibitor.

There are other cirsium varieties that you can get from seed, but they do not flower for so long. Mine was in full flower for 21 weeks in England last year and partial flower for another 10 weeks.

Hi Mary,
Thank for that info, I must say there is quite a lot of sense in what they are doing, but as usual it seems like a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

I read an ansolute horror story regarding importing plants on the Hellebore forum, about a poor American chap who had done EVERYTHING right to import some special plants from the UK, even had the DEFRA official in the UK helping him to wash the soil off in his hotel bathroom! took them in his hand lugage with all the needed paperwork, and the plants were still confiscated and destoyed because US customs couldn't be bothered to inspect them. What a nightmare.