New Seed List

[Diane Whitehead]

I don't have frits, but I've just finished sowing dozens of packets of lily seed - mostly species - from the RHS Lily Group.  It's one of the club seed exchanges that sells its seeds to members, so I usually get everything I order.  I thought I would send you some of the seeds, and then remembered, you're subject to the rules to keep bad stuff from taking over Florida and California, even though you're isolated and bracketed by Siberia and Canada.

There are several U.S. lily growers who sell seeds in addition to donating them to seed exchanges.   Rainbow Francom collects throughout northern California,  donated a lot to NARGS this year and also sells:  http://www.lilyseed.com/index.html

Every few years I try some Nomocharis seeds but haven't succeeded in growing any to flowering.  I think it likes Scotland better.

[claykoplin]

Diane - I look forward to a tour of Butchart Gardens in BC, probably sooner rather than later.  You live in a beautiful place.  You really do need a few fritillaria camschatcensis in a cool, moist corner if you have one.  The application of the agricultural rules are really rather ridiculous in many instances.  The clunky tools the Aphis folks are left to work with doesn't make their job any easier or efficient.  So it goes.  I've ordered from Rainbow Francom, Cascade bulb and Seed, Beaver Creek Nursery and especially JJA for species lilium and nomocharis and supplement with NARGS and SRGS exchange seed.  I'm trying as wide a variety of Himalaya species as possible to test them against our cool, wet summers.  I fear it's the mild, wet, winters that will make or break them.  At the present temperature of -23C, the 2nd coldest I've noted since I've lived in Cordova, "mild" is a bit of a misnomer.  Let me know if you'd like some fritillaria camschatcensis seed.  You can always toss them in a wet corner and let them have their way.

[crazy4alpines]

I received my 40 packets of surplus seeds on Tuesday in the original envelope via the Jamaica, New York APHIS center .  I had sent them a postage paid shipping envelope just in case they needed it, but they did not.  They just cut out my address label from the postage paid envelope I provided and sent the remainder of my envelope (including the unused stamps) back to me inside the parcel with the seeds.  So it does look like APHIS is forwarding the parcels after all with no additional postage required.

However, I have a somewhat scary story regarding what happened when I opened the parcel.  First you have to realize that I have never received anything via an APHIS center ever, so I was confused when I found enclosed with my 40 packets of surplus seeds a "Mail Interception Notice" that I was in violation of quarantine regulations and that prohibited material had been removed and destroyed from my parcel!

Apparently one or more seed packets had a number which was illegible.  According to regulations they can either destroy/remove this technically illegal packet of seeds or the entire shipment since it was in violation of "Condition #6" of Regulation 7CFR319.37.  Since I  received all 40 packets of surplus seeds which I had ordered, I could only assume that this violation of quarantine regulations was from the first round of the seed exchange.

I immediately assumed that my entire original seed exchange (first round) shipment (All 25 original packets) had been confiscated and destroyed just because of one packet they could not read!  Wow was I freaked out!  Of course they can do this according to the regulations, as crazy as it may sound.  In addition, the "Mail Interception Notice" stated that these violations may result in criminal or civil penalties!  Well there goes my perfectly clean record I thought.


Since it was too late in the day to call the APHIS center, I had to endure a restless night wondering if they destroyed my entire original seed exchange shipment or just the one or two packets of seeds with numbers they could not read.  Finally in the morning I found out the fate of my seeds.  I asked if they had any seeds in quarantine or anyplace else there from the Scottish Rock Garden Club.  After several tense minutes of waiting they told me yes I still had seeds.  The destroyed seed packet (just one) was from the surplus seed shipment which I already received.  I quess I was sent 41 packets instead of 40 so I was wrong in assuming the worst.

Instead they said that I have a parcel from the Scottish Rock Garden Club which they recently recieved.  Apparently it was sent to the country of Jamaica instead of the Jamaica, New York APHIS center and that they would be processing it soon.  Wow what a relief.  So I verified once and for all that no additional forwarding postage would be required and they said that was correct.

So I should be getting my original seed exchange parcel soon.  I am sorry if I seemed too arrogant in my previous post by suggesting that forwarding postage was required by Federal Regulation.  Thank you Maggie for editing my prior post to let others know that APHIS is currently forwarding the parcels at no additional cost.

Since the seed packaging team has to put up with all this extra APHIS hassle to send USA members our seeds, I am going to try sending in a very good selection of seeds this fall for the upcoming seed exchange to help make up for this extra work.  Thanks to everyone involved in the seed exchange.  I am very excited when the seeds arrive!

Steve

[Jim_in_mi]

Glad you received your second round Steve, Mine has not been received by the Jamaica station yet, or they have yet to inspect it. Obviously I do not yet have my first round....
I just spoke with an Inspector Ryd at the center, who informed me that her inspectors are always intimidated by our small lot seed since most of them are not familiar with anything we are importing.  She suggested radish seeds as an alternative that would get tied up in inspection!  Jokingly of course.....I told her that it should be easy to get through since the SRGC requires a list of seed to be included with our original request! 
One tip she said would be to include the recipient's, US member's, name on the outer envelope....then they could at least pick ours out when we called to complain that we had not received our seed yet.  She said it is a box of very neat looking, exactly the same replicas. 
In any event, our seed will not come until the end of April, unless they suddenly hire new inspectors because living plants take priority over seeds.
I do appreciate the chance to participate in this seed exchange, I just wish our government wasn't so inconsistent, putting it mildly, in enforcing the import laws.
Jim

 

[PEAK]

A letter arrived today, opening it I found a very interesting selection of seeds from this years seed-ex
Not many will be surprised when I say that this was sent by our own Maggi, when my original letter were lost in mail! I don't know how to express my gratefulness ower this, and I don't understand where Maggi gets the time to look after us all
Thank you Maggi
Isn't it time that our hero member becomes upgraded to the super-hero level, because superpowers she must have!

[Maggi Young]

Per-Åke, you are too kind

[Diane Whitehead]

inspectors are always intimidated by our small lot seed since most of them are not
 familiar with anything we are importing. 

When I buy plants in the U.S. and take them for inspection, every plant name
must be looked up to make sure it is allowed in international trade, and in the
recipient country.  I know all the rules, so I never buy anything that can't be
imported.  Once though, I had bought an unusual cultivar of Euphorbia characias.
There was great consternation because some of the succulent forms are on CITES
Schedule 1, right up there with sea turtles and snow leopards.  I explained this
one was almost a weed, but they had to look through the entire list - would not
take my word for it, of course.

It takes the inspectors more time to process our small orders, whether of seeds
or plants, because we have one each of a lot of species.  A trucker with a semi
full of one kind of plant, whether it's lettuce or poinsettias, gets inspected a lot
faster.

[Jim_in_mi]

I admitt, all of that is understandable. But, I worked as a state Ag Inspector for several years, and witnessed the frequent "oversites" of the federal inspectors, with loads of virused plants coming from the Netherlands etc etc...and plants with other "maladies"
So it only adds to my frustration that they must inspect every seed in our little packets, yet open only 1 in every 20 boxes of lettuce or Euphorbia pulcherrima letting in the dreaded invasive exotic pests we now deal with. 
Im not sure what is more frustrating, that they miss all those pests in the big shipments, or the drastic delay in my small lot of seed....Im joking of course, its obviously the ones they missed! 
I won't get started on CITES...the US is inconsistent in that too....
Jim

[chriswil]

I thought other US members would like to know that upon returning from a vacation to New York, my wife and I both had received our parcels from the SRGC seed exchange. They were probably delivered to us last weekend and we are very happy. I think all of the seeds that were sent were still in the envelopes and none were confiscated. Although the small seed program is not as easy as the old days it did allow for the seeds to come through, so it is working. We would like to thank everyone who was involved with the seed exchange and look forward to seeing being involved with the SRGC for years to come.

Chris and Cynthia Wilhoite

[Maggi Young]

Thank you, Chris and Cynthia for your kind words to the Seed Exchange Folks, who, I am sure, will appreciate your feedback. I will pass on your comments
I am happy also,for this chance to make mention of the person Ian Bainbridge calls our "super secret agent", Joyce Fingerut of NARGS, who has been unfailingly helpful to the exchange with her advice, assistance and interventions on all levels... Joyce has been FAB and the SRGC is very grateful for her involvement !

[David Nicholson]

I'm just glad I live in England and all I have to put up with is the frailties of our Royal Mail   We currently have a Postman who appears to be incapable of differentiating between No. 7 (my house number) and No. 2 because we always get each others mail. But having read the posts above I 'll put up with it.

[crazy4alpines]

Yippee!!  My First Round Seeds Arrived this afternoon (April 5) and I am very gleeful!  Fortunately only one packet of seeds was confiscated by APHIS which was #4322 Saussurea sp. with no specific reason detailed for its removal.

Since Saussurea costus (= lappa) is on the CITES list, they may have removed it on the assumption that we are secretly trying to send the forbidden CITES species by attempting to hide its true identity!  I wish they gave our seed donors more credit, especially since it came from a Chadwell collection (CC 5362) and would certainly have known if it was Saussurea costus (=lappa).  If we are to assume this logic from the APHIS plant wizards, then any genus which has even just one species on the CITES list would suggest that they may confiscate any other plant from that genus (which is labeled only as sp.).

I am only pointing this out to alert other USA members that they may not receive their seed from an unknown species if any member of that genus is listed on the CITES list.  Fortunately I did receive Saussurea pygmaea and S. tilesii.  Hopefully someone will be able to identify the Chadwell collection species someday and I may eventually receive it that way.

By the way the forbidden Saussurea costus seed is available from the following vendor in the USA despite it being on the CITES list of forbidden plants (I do not wish to promote any business and if listing this link is taboo, please remove it).

http://www.horizonherbs.com/product.asp?specific=jpnqdoe4

Anyway, I wish to add my thanks of appreciation to Joyce Fingerut and all the seed exchange volunteers and donors for their wonderful contributions.  I am also pleasantly euphoric by the fact I received all but 3 of my first pick choices.

[Diane Clement]

If we are to assume this logic from the APHIS plant wizards, then any genus which has even just one species on the CITES list would suggest that they may confiscate any other plant from that genus (which is labeled only as sp.).

Yes, that's the rule I've applied over the last few years.  I check and catalogue all the US orders for the AGS Seed exchange and part of the guidance I was given, was that if there is a plant on a seed list labelled Genus sp which has any one forbidden plant in that genus, then any seed labelled as Genus sp should not be sent out with US orders. 

But it can get a bit more complicated.  For example: Fritillaria gentneri is a banned species as it is endangered in the US.  So we can't send the seed, even if it's garden grown, and we can't send Frit sp as it could be F gentneri.  But what about the seed listed as Frit sp Iran or Frit sp green - would the inspectors accept those, know that can't be F gentneri?  I have tended to assume they do not have that level of knowledge so I don't send it, and send something safer instead.  It would just be a waste if it were confiscated.  Some of the rules seem illogical, such as the Endangered Species Act - makes sense for tigers, doesn't make sense for garden grown Frit gentneri.  And seed of all parasitic plants is banned - I'd love to know who finds Castilleja a pest.  But at least the restrictive rules mean the US growers can legally import some seed relatively easily - which is an improvement!   

I would also like to echo Maggi's gratitude to Joyce Fingerut who is the fount of all knowledge on these things and has been immense help over the last few years.

 

[winwen]

I was very lucky to be able to get Lilium sherriffiae in the seedlist. I had been looking for this species for my friend Essie Huxley for some time and was very pleased to see it on this years list. I have recieved the seeds and yesterday I took these precious seed over to Essie. She was thrilled to get them and asked me to tell the ones involved how much she appreciates them. She has been seaching for them for many years and at 90+ she didnt think she would ever find them. Here is a photo of her in her garden, holding the seeds, also one with me - I am the fat one. Once again, thanks to all involved for making a wonderful old lady so happy.

As far as I remember, this has been the only occurrence of Lilium sherriffiae in the srgc-seedlist so far.
Since I don't know who the generous donor was nor the lucky recipients, I'd like to ask the group (whoever may feel concerned about this), if any plants have arisen from this donation and/or if the donor has them still in cultivation.