In search of Sleepy, Grumpy, Happy, Dopey, Smiley, Doc and Sneezy

Importing Roses under the USDA’s Postentry Quarantine Program

by Cliff Orent
ARS Consulting Rosarian

Unfortunately, there is an absolute prohibition on the importation of roses from four countries: Australia, New Zealand, Italy and Bulgaria, for reasons that most now consider to be no longer scientifically valid. I say “unfortunately,” because there are some wonderful roses available in at least Australia, New Zealand and Italy, that are not available in North America, and hopefully this blanket prohibition will be reviewed in the not too distant future.

So now you have your import permit, and you’ve found rose suppliers who are willing to export the roses you wish to import. The willingness and/or ability of a foreign supplier to export roses shouldn’t be taken for granted. They will have to subject themselves to inspection by their authorities, who will have to certify that the premises were inspected within the past 12 months and found to be free from certain pests, including two forms of the potato cyst nematode. Many suppliers, particularly in the U.K., are not willing to subject themselves to inspections which could cause problems for the sale of roses in their domestic markets, for the sake of a limited number of export orders, and this has recently limited the number of suppliers willing to accept orders from U.S. customers. But let’s assume you have your import permit and a willing supplier. I’ve found that beyond the legal restrictions, there are a number of practical considerations to keep in mind to ensure that your roses arrive with a minimum of delay and therefore in the best possible condition.

First, unless you’re dealing with a supplier who routinely ships roses to the U.S., and is therefore familiar with what the phytosanitary certificate must state, don’t assume that the supplier and/or the local authorities will supply a phyto certificate that is satisfactory to the USDA inspector who will inspect your roses when they arrive in the U.S. Roses are shipped to the local USDA inspection office, not to you, are inspected (and I’ve found that when everything is in order, they’ve been terrific about carrying out the inspection and releasing the roses promptly, and in most cases within 24 hours of receipt) and then forwarded to you.

The inspector in South San Francisco said that he’d keep the plants moist while we waited for the amended phyto certificate from Germany. He did indeed and this is how they looked when I unpacked the box ? in very good shape, all things considered. Every plant has now leafed out nicely.

I had one situation where the inspector held roses imported from Germany because the phyto certificate did not include all of the required pathogens. The roses were held at the inspection station until I contacted the supplier, the supplier contacted the German authorities, and the authorities issued an amended phyto certificate and forwarded that to the USDA inspector. Fortunately, they had inspected for all of the required pathogens, but in this case had failed to list them all on the certificate. I now go through the phyto requirements with each supplier before their local inspection to avoid having this problem again in the future.

The other area to which I’ve learned to pay special attention is that of transport of the roses, both from the supplier to the USDA inspection office and from that office to me. In most cases, the roses will need to be sent by air to ensure that they don’t arrive dried out. This can be quite expensive, and is something to factor in when deciding to place an order, along with the cost of the phyto certificate and any other special charges that the supplier might impose.

As I’ve already mentioned, I’ve found the inspectors to be most accommodating in completing the inspection of certificate as well as the physical inspection of the plants, usually within 24 hours of arrival. However, you should make specific advance arrangements with the inspector for the onward transportation of the roses from the inspection facility to you. Unless you specify otherwise, the inspectors generally tape up the original package, seal it with tape noting that the contents have been inspected by the USDA, and forward the package to you, usually via the U.S. postal service.

The USDA official inspects, clears, repacks and seals the box, then forwards it to you via the US Postal Service, unless you specify otherwise.

You are responsible for any charges incurred in this onward transport. I learned my lesson with a shipment that took a full week to arrive at my home in southern California from the inspection facility in northern California. After paying a premium to ship the roses from Europe to California by second-day delivery, I could have lost the roses due to the delay in the forwarding process. I now provide my FedEx number to the inspectors and ask that they forward the roses to me by overnight or second day delivery.

I hope that this overview of the legal as well as the practical aspects of importing roses hasn’t left you “grumpy,” rather than “happy.” If you’re seriously interested in obtaining roses that aren’t available from suppliers in North America, don’t be “bashful” or let the import process deter you.

Once you’ve gone through it once or twice, you’ll find that it’s both logical and relatively easy to comply with. And unless you happen to have an allergy to a particular rose, which could make you “sneezy,” (see the “doc” if you do, but be sure that she or he doesn’t prescribe sedating antihistamines, which could make you “sleepy” or “dopey”), you’ll find that the joy of seeing those new blooms will more than compensate for the time and effort expended in complying with the postentry quarantine program’s rules and procedures.