AJ, Sounds like you had a very bad experience, and that is what I am hoping to avoid. I was reading the AHPIS site with all its forms, and I could not understand why, if Flasks are exempt there is no general form for importing flasks. From your experience that you have to apply for the PPQ 587 - Application for Permit to Import Plants or Plant Products, and list exactly what orchid flasks you are importing.
--Tom /----------------------------------------------------------------------- | Tom Hillson Orchid Grower Specializing | [EMAIL PROTECTED] In Paphs and Pleurothallids | http://www.orchids.iastate.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |"There is always room for one more Orchid!!" On Apr 18, 2007, at 10:42 PM, Aaron J. Hicks wrote: > > Import through port of entry, with phytosanitary permit- > same as plants. Or, at least, that's what happened when I brought in > sterile tissue cultures from Australia about a year and a half ago. > When the permit read "Orchids/Orchidaceae," that wasn't good enough- > each individual species had to be listed on the permit. Nevermind the > fact that CITES specifically exempts all orchids in sterile tissue > culture, regardless of what genus or species they may be- although > the Office of Management Authority seems to interpret some of the > stuff about paphs a little differently than other countries (none of > the species in this shipment from .au were paphs or phrags). The > Australian embassy had to get involved (very efficient folks there), > as USDA APHIS/PPQ refused to manually transfer the names from the > individual species onto the permit themselves. > > As there was a substantial delay in processing, they were > good enough to refrigerate the shipment. Popped the entire box of > tropical orchids into refrigeration for over two weeks. > > Part of my astonishment lies in how a (presumably) > college-educated inspection agent of the US government can take live, > tropical orchids and deposit them in refrigeration with absolutely no > suggestion on the part of the label, the shipper, or the recipient > that they need, in fact, to be refrigerated. A+ for taking the > initiative, but foul, vulgar language for the actions taken. (The > agent got extremely defensive when I asked why he would refrigerate a > box of tropical orchids, particularly when there was no labeling or > request to do so.) > > More remarkable was how three of the species actually > survived. > > Cheers, > > -AJHicks > Chandler, AZ > > > At 02:47 PM 4/18/2007, you wrote: >> Can someone give me simple easy to follow instructions with what a US >> hobby grower needs to do to import orchid flasks? The AOS site has a >> PDF file on importing orchids, but almost no information on importing >> flasks. I am looking at importing a few flasks of species that are >> difficult or rare to find here in the US. I would love to find a >> simple series of steps I need to go through to import the flasks I am >> interested in. > > > _______________________________________________ > the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) > [email protected] > http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
