Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Seedy Subjects! => Seed Exchange => Topic started by: Maggi Young on November 17, 2024, 04:28:24 PM
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Please note, all details may be found here on the main SRGC Website:
https://www.srgc.net/welcome_seed_exchange.asp
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Thx :-)
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The SRGC Seed List is now available for browsing online in advance of ordering opening on 1 December.
The list can be downloaded as a pdf, or an Excel file.
Ordering online opens on 1 December.
This year's seed donors do NOT have no hurry to put in their orders because Donors' orders are picked on the basis of their donation history NOT on the basis of the date and time of their order.
Non-donors' orders ARE picked in order of receipt in due course.
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The 2024/25 SRGC Seed Exchange will be open for ordering ordering in just over 12 hours at 00.01hrs GMT on 1 December.
The seed list can already be downloaded as a pdf, or an Excel file for you to pick your seed numbers in advance.
Orders from this year's Donors. Donors do NOT have any hurry to put in their orders because Donors' orders are picked on the basis of their donation history NOT on the basis of the date and time of their order. Orders from donors of the most seed for the most years are picked first.
Orders from Non-donors. These ARE picked in order of receipt in due course.
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Just put in my order!
I noticed that a few seeds were listed as "banned in Australia" which are on our current "Allowed List".
Please don't remove them from my order if I'm lucky enough to get them! I double checked BICON - for example most Iris seed was listed as banned but they are there on the allowed list. Perhaps someone was looking at the wrong list when they added them.
BTW I like that you have gone to the trouble of adding "banned in Aus or NZ" to the actual seedlist.
Please let me know if this will affect my order,
cheers
fermi
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Like Fermi, I found many species were incorrectly listed as not available to Australia. In my case these were Erythronium & Primula species. I simply didn't try to order them, but would really liked to have had some.
It's hard enough trying to get seed into Australia now without further limitations.
If help is needed in checking with BICON, please ask.
Regards,
Neil
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Morning all. Yes, we have tried to indicate this year (for the first time) those species which are not listed on the AUS BICON website and hence not 'allowed' for import by the AUS government. Unfortunately, it is obvious that we have a few issues in matching names, for instance currently all Narcissus are showing on our seed list as not allowed, and some are indeed listed as allowed by BICON.
Australian members are advised to make their own checks on BICON before ordering to satisfy themselves that the seed they are ordering is allowed. Our website WILL let you order seed which is has a 'not allowed' marker. We shall check all Australian orders rigorously against the BICON list before dispatch. We shall also update our allowed/not-allowed markers as soon as possible.
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Thanks, Richard,
That's reassuring.
cheers
fermi
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Lots of computing work on a Sunday night has meant that we have updated the AUS Banned/Allowed list, and we hope it is correct now.
There are still several inconsistencies in naming, e.g. where Fritillaria kurdica is treated as either a species or a subspecies, and a few spelling inconsistencies, but we shall try to iron these out shortly.
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Richard, thanks for all the work that's gone into the ordering system.
It's a pleasure to use.
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Thanks Richard for a prompt response. Unfortunately my order is done now. I shall just have to wait until next year for the other things I wanted.
As I understand several other countries besides Australia check all imports against species names on an "allowed" list, could we encourage those listing hybrids to list them with their parent species, where possible.
This would greatly assist the availability of seed for those of us in countries where such restrictions apply. I suspect more countries are moving to this type of system.
For example: 1021 'Joanna' could be listed as 1021 Erythronium tolumnense x E. revolutum 'Joanna'. This would enable it to pass through Australian Biosecurity checks as both species are listed on BICON.
I realise all this adds to already stretched workloads, but it also greatly enhances access to new hybrids for many of us.
Regards,
Neil
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Hi Neil,
There are several possibilities. We are seriously constrained by the names supplied by donors, and the lack of time available to check names in detail. We have thousands of seed donations, limited numbers of volunteers, and only a couple of weeks to check names in November.
Currently we know only Australia and NZ have 'allowed' lists, whereas USA and EU have 'banned' lists, and CITES applies Worldwide. If you know of other countries with restricted lists then please advise us, giving their website link for checking if possible.
Our list is only advisory, and we say everywhere on our ordering pages that it is up to members to check their seed ordered against AUS BICON, NZ MPI etc. so our website still allows ordering of asterisked species. Our AUS orders will be subject to more detailed checks this year in due course.
You will note that over last night we have already updated the website with corrected AUS/NZ banned/allowed markers. If you still see any problems let us know by email to the email address on the seed pages, rather than here. These should be mainly missing species names such as Erythronium 'Joanna' and Campanula 'Samantha' or differences of opinion regarding spellings, particularly single or double 'i's.
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Just a quick note for UK Members. Your paper copies of the Seed List were mailed out yesterday on Wednesday 4 December. Hopefully they should arrive on doormats by the weekend. We prefer that you please order and pay online if at all possible.
A note for Overseas members. You will NOT receive paper copies of the seed list, but can download a Adobe pdf or Microsoft Excel copy from the website Seed Ordering pages.
Any overseas member wishing a paper copy of the Seed List can request one by email to the address on the Seed Pages. Copies will be mailed out to those who have already asked for one probably by this coming weekend.
Any overseas member without internet access should know from instructions in previous Dryas newsletters that our Yearbook gives telephone and postal contacts for the Seed Exchange Team as always. We are very clear that no member will be disadvantaged by any lack of computer literacy.
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Congratulations to all for the seed list - amazing amount of work involved for all. Well done on an excellent online ordering system too.
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Please note that there is only a week left to order your seed this year.
Already there are some 700 orders online but some of these have not yet been completed (paid for). Please hurry if you want your order to be fulfilled. It greatly helps our team of helpers if orders can be completed and paid for online.
Thank you
All best wishes for a happy, healthy and enjoyable year
on behalf of the Seed Team
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Seed Order picking is now in progress, and the first Donor's Main orders have been mailed out today Thursday 9th January - starting with UK members. The remaining Donors' Main orders (both UK and Overseas) will follow over the next few days.
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Here is the current position on mailing out of seed orders:
UK - have been mailed out over the past week, and the last UK orders (for non-donors) will be mailed tomorrow Thursday 16 January.
New Zealand - these were all mailed out today Wednesday 15 January.
USA - these will be mailed to your chosen USDA APHIS Inspection station on next Monday 20 January.
EU (incl. NI and Switzerland) and Australia - these seeds will now go for phytosanitary inspection before mailing to you in maybe two weeks.
Rest of World (China, Canada, Norway etc) - these will be mailed tomorrow Thursday 16 January.
Members in EU and Australia should await further updates in due course about the progress of phytosanitary certification.
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Great :-) thx for the Update !
Can´t wait ..... :-)
Bernd
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Many thanks for the seeds sent to us for the Scottish Borders Rock Garden Group. They arrived this morning and will be greatly appreciated by our members at the next meeting. Congratulations to those involved in picking, packing and posting the seed so efficiently and to everyone who contributed to making this another highly successful seed exchange.
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My seeds have arrived. Thanks for the hard work by the seed team.
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Quick question: are the seeds for us Europeans still being inspected?
Thx
Bernd
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Seeds for EU and Australian members are currently being inspected by Scottish SASA Inspectors in Edinburgh.
I shall post further updates as soon as I know any more information.
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thank you very much and excuse the inconvenience
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Phytosanitary Inspections of seeds for Australia and EU are complete, and seed boxes were collected last Friday 7 February, along with phytosanitary certificates, and mailed out to Australia and EU over last weekend.
EU seeds have now reached our helpers inside the 'EU' today, and orders will now be prepared with the hope of mailing them to other EU countries at the end of this week.
Australia seeds are in currently transit between Glasgow and London Heathrow.
Rest of World seeds are reaching their destinations and some have now arrived in Canada and New Zealand.
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Great :-) Thank you for the information!
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I received 1 package of 3 expected on Monday 2/10. It is not unusual for packages mailed together to arrive separately. They might arrive at APHIS together and depart several weeks apart. Small APHIS PPQ stations like Seattle [Seatac] have only 2 inspectors and commercial shipments are given priority.
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Hi all,
I have already recieved 2 of the 3 packages I expect. First one arrived on Friday 2/7/25 and the second on Monday 2/10/25. The package on 2/10/25 was held up on Thursday by APHIS in Jamaica NY. I had wrong spieces listed on taxa list. They asked for updated permit. I went online and added the correct species to the permit, it took less than a half hour to submit the update and recieve new permit. I forwarded the permit to the inspector at end of work day on Thursday about 2:30pm. The seed arrived on Monday.
They took about 2 weeks to arrive, which is greatly reduced from last year. Last year they arrived in early March.
Thanks for everybody involved in making the exchange a success. Especially, Marc for being the donation contact in the US.
Eric Duma
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This is an update for our overseas members. You will know that there are more and more problems each year with sending seed overseas. Both Brexit and Phytosanitary certificate regulations have caused us some big problems. Here is a summary by country or area:
European Union (including Switzerland and Northern Ireland, excluding Norway) - your seeds have been checked by the Scottish Government Seeds Inspectors in Edinburgh and they have provided Phytosanitary Certification to allow the seeds to be sent from the UK to your area/country. Unfortunately, this year it seems that allium seed is not allowed by the EU to be imported from UK into the EU, so sorry to those of you who ordered allium. These allium seeds have been removed from your orders, but it happened too late to add any replacement seeds. The seed has left the UK and we have friendly members organised to ensure your seeds are delivered soon - so orders are being made up now. They should be mailed to you in the next two weeks.
Australia - the box of seeds for your orders has just reached Sydney (12 Feb). It may be inspected under Australian BICON rules, and should then be delivered shortly to our friendly member who is helping to ensure your seeds are separated and delivered correctly. They will be distributed as soon as possible.
United States of America - your seeds were mailed to your chosen USDA APHIS Inspection Station three weeks ago. Unfortunately a number of envelopes were returned by the Royal Mail (in some cases twice). This was due to misunderstandings by the Post Office about Customs forms and other barcoded labels. These problems have now been resolved, and all envelopes mailed out, but some may be delayed this year. It may explain the delays experienced by Eric and Marc (see previous posts).
Rest of World (including Canada, Norway, New Zealand etc) - your seeds were mailed three weeks ago, and we know that some have been delivered in Canada, China and New Zealand, so the rest should now be in your own country's postal system.
We hope this explains the position for your country, and that you can be patient for a little longer. Exporting seeds to you is now a big and major undertaking. Apologies for any delays which are now entirely out of our control.
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... You will know that there are more and more problems each year with sending seed overseas.
Sorry to hear that Richard. Your efforts, and those of the team, are greatly appreciated.
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Australia - the box of seeds for your orders has just reached Sydney (12 Feb). It may be inspected under Australian BICON rules, and should then be delivered shortly to our friendly member who is helping to ensure your seeds are separated and delivered correctly. They will be distributed as soon as possible.
The friendly member informs me that the seeds have arrived!
We can distribute some of them at our AGS Vic Group meeting next Saturday, saving a bit of postage!
cheers
fermi
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Excellent news, and a considerable relief that there was no Australian Customs inspection.
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An update for SRGC members in EU countries (incl. Northern Ireland and Switzerland).
Your seed orders were mailed out from Ireland on Friday 14th February, so we hope that they will arrive soon.
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Great :-) thx !
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An update for SRGC members in EU countries (incl. Northern Ireland and Switzerland).
Your seed orders were mailed out from Ireland on Friday 14th February, so we hope that they will arrive soon.
They arrived here this morning Richard.
Many thanks to you, donors and all the seed team.
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Seeds arrived today :-)
Many thanks to everyone who made this possible with a lot of
commitment and work!
Best wishes from the wintry Allgäu (Germany)
Bernd
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my seeds arrived today :D: thanks to the whole team!
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Got mine today, thanks to everyone involved with this wonderful seed exchange!
Happy sowing for everyone!
Best wishes
Katharina
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Today I got my seeds, too. Many thanks.
Good luck for growing all the seeds!
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Mine arrived safe and sound to NH, USA home. APHIS did take 2 of the envelopes out. One marked erythronium sp., the other lilium sp. Not sure what they were because neither of them appeared on my order.
I know why they pulled the erythronium. They didn't want the one endangered one slipping through. Interesting little plant but not something I'd bother with. I went through this once before and somebody from APHIS was nice enough to give an explanation along with the usual paperwork.
https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/rsg/profile.html?action=elementDetail&selectedElement=PMLIL0U0D0
The lily I probably will never figure out. Too many of them and half the APHIS and USDA pages seem to be not working or removed. APHIS just doesn't like that "sp." designation. They want more. Things like trillium erectum hybrids mixed came through fine.
I'm not complaining. Just letting others know so they don't waste seeds. I'm tickled every time with my seeds.
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My seeds also arrived late last week, thank you so much for all involved to make this exchange happen! :)
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Message from Graham Fleming in Australia :
"Hi Margaret Can you pass on the Head Gardener's (Helen) thank to the Seed Team. We are very appreciative of the hard work they have put in. Helen's seed arrived yesterday. And "no" we did not try and bring in things that are not on permitted seed list!"