# Moving plants across international borders?



## The Orchid Boy (Nov 16, 2012)

I've been curious about this for a long time. Let's say I want to move to Mexico or some country in South America. I would want to take along my paph species the most, my sanderianum, delenatii, and gratrixianum seedling. I could rebuild my collection in the country I go too. What is involved in moving plants across borders? What does CITES have to do with it?


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## likespaphs (Nov 16, 2012)

it may have more to do with the countries from which and to which you are moving
this may be wrong, but i thought that one can bring 50 plants into the US without a permit as a "personal collection"


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## The Orchid Boy (Nov 16, 2012)

Well some of my favorite countries are Mexico, Ecuador, and Brazil.


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## gonewild (Nov 16, 2012)

likespaphs said:


> this may be wrong, but i thought that one can bring 50 plants into the US without a permit as a "personal collection"



wrong


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## gonewild (Nov 16, 2012)

The Orchid Boy said:


> I've been curious about this for a long time. Let's say I want to move to Mexico or some country in South America. I would want to take along my paph species the most, my sanderianum, delenatii, and gratrixianum seedling. I could rebuild my collection in the country I go too. What is involved in moving plants across borders? What does CITES have to do with it?



Next to impossible to do legally.


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## The Orchid Boy (Nov 16, 2012)

Is there something like a $80 to $100 document or papers to do this per plant?


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## Shiva (Nov 16, 2012)

Maybe you could move first to the country of your choice and leave your plants behind in good care. Then come back and take your plants to a show in the US and ask for an export permit to the country where you live, as if you had just bought them.


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## gonewild (Nov 16, 2012)

The Orchid Boy said:


> Is there something like a $80 to $100 document or papers to do this per plant?



If you are exporting CITES species from the USA you must have a CITES export license. But there are a ton of requirements to get the plants actually certified for export.

The limiting factor would really be the country you want to import the plants into. Each country has it's own restrictions and it might be completely impossible for you to "casually" import a private collection of living plants. The chances of your plants surviving the actual travel process are remote.


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## Kyle (Nov 16, 2012)

gonewild said:


> wrong



Canada and the USA used to have an agreement which allowed personal plants (houseplants) to cross borders with out paperwork. 50 plants was the limit. The Canadian directive was recently rewritten with no mention of orchids. ie They are not in the examples of allowed plants or in the examples of dis-allowed plants.

Kyle


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## NYEric (Nov 16, 2012)

Legally, not going to be easy. _Nuff said._


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## Hera (Nov 16, 2012)

On the other hand, you could build a prime collection with native plants in Ecuador.


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## gotsomerice (Nov 18, 2012)

Seems to me that it would be easier to sell off your collection, take the money and rebuild your collection in the new country.


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## NYEric (Nov 18, 2012)

Not a lot of paphs available there and way behind in Phrag hybrids.


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## The Orchid Boy (Nov 19, 2012)

Thanks for the input guys. I have a friend that moved to Mexico and on the Mexican side of the border they stop and check your stuff. My friend had their car packed really full. He had something he wasn't supposed to bring across the border. He just handed the officials his keys and laid down on the grass and pretended like nothing was happening. They opened his trunk, talked amongst themselves for a few minutes then handed him his keys and he was off. Other people around him were frantic telling the officials to be careful and the officials just tore through their stuff.


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## The Orchid Boy (Nov 19, 2012)

About the above post. I'm not saying that I'd smuggle plants across a border, I'm not even moving anywhere or planning to move.


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## wjs2nd (Nov 20, 2012)

We understand. Unfortunately, our boarders aren't as secure as we would like to think at times.


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## NYEric (Nov 20, 2012)

If plants had not been smuggled across borders 50% of plants in collections or trade would not be here.


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## gotsomerice (Nov 20, 2012)

Imagine of all the Mexican Native orchids you can grow! I would die just to get a hold of Laelia speciosa!


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## cnycharles (Nov 20, 2012)

gotsomerice said:


> Imagine of all the Mexican Native orchids you can grow! I would die just to get a hold of Laelia speciosa!



where are you from? I bought one from andy's orchids a while back; they may still have some


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