Topic: Receiving seeds from abroad to the UK

[GrowingChillis]

Hi

Someone in america has offered to send me some chilli seeds
is there anything i need to do to be able to receive them into the uk?

thanks

 :)

[Biscombe]

I get lots of seeds from the states, Its better for the sender to fill in a  CN22 customs sticker and mark seeds. None has ever gone astray. I live in Spain but I dont think that will make a difference!!

[GrowingChillis]

Thanks for that,

has anyone in the UK used the CN22 form?

I am worried it may not be the same for Uk as it is with spain.

thanks

[MonsterMum]

If you contact Defra they will give you all the info you need.  I believe that there are restrictions on chillies

[Merry Tiller]

I have ordered seeds from the USA many times over the last 5 years, including chillies. I've never had to fill out any forms whatsoever

[GrowingChillis]

So they just sent them to by normal airmail?

I just don't know if contacting people will make me
more problems than favours.
if other people have had no problems then maybe just get them
sent normally.

thanks

[triffid]

The problem with importing chilli seeds from outside the EU is that the seed could possibly be carrying Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid (PSTVd).

The same goes for plant material of any kind from any of the Solanaceae family (tomatoes, spuds, deadly nightshade...  ;) )... but seriously...

PSTVd is a notifiable disease in the UK, and outbreaks (very very rare so far thank goodness) are taken very seriously.
(see here)
http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/newsitems/pstvnews.htm

As a result, strict rules apply to imported plant material from the whole Solanaceae family. (Basically, as I understand it, a ban on imports from outside the EU unless the stuff carries a plant health certificate ('phytosanitary certificate'.)

Here's a bit specifically about chilli seed from the US:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/import/capsicum.htm


And some info on the effects of PSTVd on potatoes and tomatoes: 

http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/pestnote/pstv.htm
and
http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/pestpics/qic2004/QIC68.pdf




Eek. Just realised how dour and grim this post looks. Sorry!

[GrowingChillis]

No worries, just good to have some help,

so basically contact them and explain the situation.

I just hope I won't have to pay too much.

Thanks for everyones help

[growgirl]

I exchanged a few seeds with someone in the US  :o Have me a bit paranoid now.

If you're looking for chilli seeds, Plants of Distinction have some lovely ones in their new catalogue.

[triffid]

Oh poor GC!

Lots of lovely chillies here...

http://www.simpsonsseeds.co.uk/

[Merry Tiller]

I received this from Texas in August, no form filling for me  ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

I had a package clearly marked 'Trillium seeds, no value' arrive safely from the States a couple of weeks ago; the only one of that batch which appears to have been intercepted went to NZ, where they're super-cautious about these things.

[triffid]

Hello, Robert!

It's not the importation of all seed from the US that's banned here in the UK; it's solanum family, because of PSTVd (see my earlier post). So there's no reason why your trillium seed shouldn't have arrived.  Merry Tiller's parcel is another matter...    *shrugs*.

The point I was trying to make is that as gardeners/allotmenteers, we shouldn't be trying to import tomato, chilli etc seeds from the US because of the risk of turning what is at present a rare problem with isolated outbreaks into an endemic nightmare for amateur and commercial growers alike.

Of course, as a beekeeper, you may well think, like I did, 'varroa' ...
Once upon a time it seemed a clever idea to import queen bees from overseas...  :(

[Merry Tiller]

Seeds saved from plants grown from imported seeds are everywhere now  >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(

[Robert_Brenchley]

It might be better to look for a UK source if there is a danger of importing a serious disease. Trouble is, of course, as with beekeeping, laws are ultimately unenforceable. I know for a fact that there are large-scale beekeepers out there importing queens illegally; last year some bees which were imported illegally to Spain were carrying small hive beetle, which has become a major pest in the States. That time, it was caught before the beetles spread, and they seem to have got them all. Where seeds are concerned, I believe it's possible for people in the States to get a license to export seed, but i don't know whether it applies to all seeds, or whether there are exceptions.

[triffid]

Robert_Brenchley wrote:

I know for a fact that there are large-scale beekeepers out there importing queens illegally; last year some bees which were imported illegally to Spain were carrying small hive beetle

*is typing this between bouts of knocking head on wall*

Yeah, cause small hive beetle is really going to make life a beekeeper's dream  :( ??? >:(


*jumps up and down tearing hair out*

Will no one ever ** :-X** learn??



Sorry, Robert -- just had to let off steam!!


I think it was Terry Pratchett who said that if at the bottom of the deepest darkest cave on the remotest island on planet Earth there was a small red button marked with a huge sign saying 'End Of The World Switch: Do Not Press!' you just know some blithering human would come along and think, 'Well I'll only press it once...'

[Robert_Brenchley]

It's going to get here, no doubt about it. It feeds on decaying fruit as well as in beehives, and if some idiot doesn't import it with bees, then it'll arrive in fruit. The one hope is that it's mainly become a pest in the southern States, and the last I heard, nobody was sure whether or not it would become a major pest in our climate

[Columbus]

Hi all,

My wife is an American so we send and receive lots of parcels to friends and
family in the states. We always use a green sticker CN22 when sending and the parcels we receive have them too. The post office will issue them without any difficulty.

I wouldn`t try to get seeds other than unopened retail packets through customs,
and I`d always fill in the declaration properly. They are very strict about food parcels and when gettting off the plane.

Col

[wahaj]

don't worry i never really bother with that. I usually read a lot about the plants i sow before i grow them for my garden. If it does ay anything about how invasive the plant can be...i always look at how similar the conditions are to our country. If it's a plant that likes warmth....it's going to find it difficult to establish enough to spread like wild fire in our country due to frosts.

There laws as to which species are a threat to british flora but i've no idea how to get hold of the list.

after all....japanese knotweed was intentionally bought to this country by people who thought it wasn't going to be invasive. It was used to hold the soil together on the banks of the welsh valleys along rain tracks so there was less erosion onto the tracks.

[Robert_Brenchley]

That's interesting; I'd always heard that it was introduced as an ornamental. The railway track idea would make sense though, given the nature of the plant. Speaking of railways, a classic example of an introduced plant is Oxford Ragwort, which was first planted in Oxford Botanic Garden. The seeds are extremely light, and wind dispersed. As the plant flourished ther, its escape was probably inevitable. Once it reached the railway line a mile away, it spread all over the country along the tracks. http://www.bio.bris.ac.uk/research/plantrepro/oxford_ragwort.html