Shipping Plants TO STX

i know people that brought orchids down with them by airplane-no dirt. i think you can ship them but i thought i heard they could not be in dirt?? hope some one else can help you out with this.

"What You Can Bring into the U.S.V.I.
It is altogether forbidden to bring into the country foodstuffs (particularly fruit, cooked meats, and canned goods) and plants (vegetables, seeds, tropical plants, and the like)"
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/virginislands/0092020032.html
I don't know if this is from anywhere or a non-US location

Port authority contact info:
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contacts/ports/vi/5104.xml

"What You Can Bring into the U.S.V.I.
It is altogether forbidden to bring into the country foodstuffs (particularly fruit, cooked meats, and canned goods) and plants (vegetables, seeds, tropical plants, and the like)"
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/virginislands/0092020032.html
I don't know if this is from anywhere or a non-US location

Port authority contact info:
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contacts/ports/vi/5104.xml

Funny, I bring produce back with me from the states once or twice a month (always in my carryon). I have a friend who flew here with a huge plant, dirt and pot and all, in her carryon. No one ever seems to care. I think Frommer's might be wrong.

You can't take the stuff mentioned in Fromme'rs out of the USVI into the mainland US. However you can bring it into the USVI.8-)

That's reassuring about the pot and dirt. Since it doesn't seem to be completely unreasonable, I'm going to call some of the shipping companies to see if they have any experience shipping down plants in containers. Will let everyone know what I find out!

Does anyone have experience shipping plants (small palms and cactus) to the VI in a container? Is it even allowed or would customs confiscate them?

I'm not being critical but why would you want to do this when all of these kinds of things are readily available here on STX?

Jumbie-STX

plants that are "bahn here" tend to do better than imports, since they come from parents that are acclimated to the salt, dry, windy environment

It sounds like you are looking to ship a large quantity of plants, however, for smaller orders, or very specific plants, I have always used http://toptropicals.com/ they are located in Florida, ship via USPS, and I have never had a problem. I do agree that whenever possible it is best to get it locally, both for the economy, and local plants are more suited for the climate here.

you can also check at the dept of ag and Ferdi's Forest...they regularly ship in potted trees, so it can be done.

Thanks for the suggestions...The plants are all from Florida so I'm not worried about their survival. All my other plants are local plants too, but the ones I want to bring down are some really strange looking cactuses and succulents (some of which I've had for more than a decade and who have been diligently looked after by my mother since I've been in the VI for the past years). Many of these species I have not seen in the botanical gardens or other places where I've gotten plants locally before. Since I'm shipping a bunch of stuff down from the states in a container, I thought it would be an opportune time to take my succulent/cactus collection off my family's hands. Then, while at home depot in the states I saw some great, cheap large palms and thought I could just stick those in the container too! I'm all about buying locally, but when something is significantly cheaper in states, I dont have a problem with shipping it down to save some $$.

I asked this question a while back. (I have a ficus that is a sentimental treasure.) My concern is how long it would be in a container and maybe that is why it isn't a good idea.

I want to ship down Dragon fruit plants. Any available on island( STX)? Seeds or plants are ok with me.You can PM me if you don't want to post.

A few years ago I considered putting some plants (bouganvillea) in a container that we were loading up with other stuff (the big "push" to get materials to the island for some major projects). I did some research and made a lot of calls. I also contacted the government agency .....cannot remember which one now and my notes are long gone....who is responsible for things like this. Basically, the agricultural/plant police. I never got a straight answer from this group, got tossed back and forth between Florida and STT and no one really would take ownership of giving me the "official" answer about shipping plants from the States INto the VI. (There are rules that you cannot ship plants from the USVI into the continental US/States.) The research and advice I ran into overall from nursery's and the shipping companies is that the plants will not survive the trip. The container will get too hot, soil will dry out, the plants will not survive. Florida tree/plan nurseries do ship to The Home Depot and other companies in the USVI but they use containers that are "open" at the top with a mesh tarp over them and other precautions to ensure the plants arrive alive.

Thanks for the suggestions...The plants are all from Florida so I'm not worried about their survival.

we are not in Florida
more sun
more salt
more wind
less rain

Thanks Beeski...I am aware of the climate--I have lived in the VI for 8 years. I am very familiar with these types of plants and they would do fine if they made it. It's the trip that concerns me.