e.g. USA, Norway, Japan
Import permits:
Some countries (USA is the most notable example) require an import permit for plants. US customers need to contact USDA to obtain this. We gather that the process is not difficult or expensive, but you do need import permits.
UK Health certificates:
Plants need a health certificate (phytosanitary certificate) to enter your country. Our plants are inspected for both pests and viruses when in growth, our soil is tested and the bulbs themselves are rigorously cleaned and re-inspected prior to despatch. We obtain the actual certificate and the price is included within the shipping charges quoted.
January 2021: The cost of inspections and issue of certificates has rocketed. Each certificate now costs us over £25.00, just for the piece of paper. In addition we have to pay for the actual certification inspection time and also for the inspectors travel time to come and issue these. All of these are both charged (to us) at over £250 per hour. As well as this we need both official soil-testing and official growing season inspections so that the certificates can be issued. All of these inspections are also charged at over £250 per hour.
To continue exporting we need to pass on these horrendous bureaucratic charges on as well as our own time for making applications, extra export cleaning, packing time and packaging materials plus postage. There is no minimum order for plants however our charge for certification, post, packing, export cleaning and inspection-related expenses is 30 % of the total order cost (calculated at checkout) and there is a minimum despatch charge of £70.00 per order. There is a cap at £210 and you will not pay more than this.
There are no other charges made by ourselves, though your plants may be liable for inspection and/or import duties or taxes when they enter your country. This is your responsibility and is not included within our charges.
WINTER (please read) From late November to February, we have little demand for inspections for certificates. As these need to be pooled to make them affordable, we can only send once we have enough orders. We can send to you but it will be in March assuming the ground is not frozen and the weather in transit is not freezing.
Plants are sent by air letter-post, carefully packed. Packaging is in paper. or polythene. bags using coco-peat or wood shavings as permitted by your country. In the face of mounting postal theft and fraud we now only send by signed-for delivery. No other postal rates are available.
CITES
Please note we no longer export CITES plants to you.
Permits are needed for these and the associated obstructive bureaucracy, high cost and office hours (and hours and hours) spent applying mean that this is just no longer economical for us or you.