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Plants From Tropica
>Last time I checked the Tropica (European Plant export company) website, it
>said that they are legally not permitted to mail their plants to me in the
>US. Is this true for lfs as well?
Yes.
>Can they order for me from Tropica?
No, not at this time.
Under U.S. law it is illegal to import plants that are not bare rooted.
This is to protect U.S. agriculture from the possible introduction of
non-native pathogens/parasites. This is a a very real problem.
Unfortunately, the way the law is written, it not only bans plants with
soil around their roots, but ALL plants where the roots cannot be visually
inspected.
The likelihood that plants produced by tissue culture and then
hydroponically in a northern European country could introduce any such
pathogen is extremely small. But the fact that Tropica plants are grown and
shipped in rockwool, with the roots hidden from view means that they are
subject to this law. The ironic fact is that it is perfectly legal to take
plants grown in out door ponds in Singapore, hose them down to remove most
of the mud, and import _those_ into the U.S. (you can see the roots)
The good news is that we have a _very_ good aquarium plant grower in this
country, that produces _most_ of the same plants Tropica does. That is
Florida Aquatic Nurseries. The plants are top quality, potted and grown
hydroponically, and labeled in a fashion similar to Tropica's, with the
name of the plant and cultural information in every pot. The trouble is
that FAN does not sell directly to stores. They sell to wholesalers. So
get after your LFS and get THEM to get after the wholesler. There are good
plants out there, grown and available within the USA. The distribution
network so far isn't there.
Oh, BTW, Tropica plants are _not_ cheap, and neither are those from FAN.
You have to be willing to pay for the much better quality you receive when
you purchase these plants.
Karen