Silverhill Seeds postage

[Ron]

Several years ago I looked into ordering a book from Silverhill, but the postage to the US was prohibitive.  Has anyone in the US ordered seeds from them, to give me an idea of what to expect.  I would be ordering 10-20 packets.

[Diane Whitehead]

I can't remember what postage I had to pay from Silverhill.

I do know how much I pay from the U.S. to Canada - $15, and that is just for a few packets of seed.

[Uli]

Why don't you organize a joint order as we did for the EU-BX?
The postage and the cost of the phytosanitary certificate was shared according to the percentages of the individual orders. The seed took a long time to get to Europe but the final outcome was very satisfying.

[Martin Bohnet]

To throw in a few numbers: we've had a seed value of 773€, 35€ phyto, 145€ postage (UPS international courier) and 111€ import tax. US$ and € are of similar value. Sounds bad, but the phyto&postage overhead melted down 11,25€ per person, making it bearable. Tax was proportional to seed value, so different for every one.

As we've had VERY bad experiences with the Gladiolus books on standard shipping ( took about 5 months, I think), we decided on the courier - which was fast until the German border, and then took weeks at the customs office. hooray!

[Ron]

Thanks, that's really helpful.  Is the phyto only needed if bulbs are ordered?

Is there a limit on packets of seeds for the US small lots permit?

[Martin Bohnet]

for EU, the phyto is needed for seeds as well - the other questions need to be answered by an American, I'd guess.

[gastil]

Hi Ron, My most recent Silverhill order was back in 2013. It went smoothly, although not speedy. And I also ordered from Gordon Summerfield, which also went well. I had an active APHIS Small Lots permit back then. 

I looked just now at the Silverhill website, which is more sophisticated than it was 10 years ago. They have seed import info for the USA. It still requires a Small Lot Seed Permit from the USDA and they provide a link for that. That process is not too complex once you've done it before. There are some gotchas to look out for, such as the method of post from the inspection station to your home. Luckily, PBS members have experience to share. 
Small Lots LINK

I might be interested in participating in a group order. But unfortunately at this time I cannot volunteer to coordinate that. And I'm not 100% sure it is an ok thing to do. There might be something in the permit saying you cannot forward the seed on. And there is a limit to the number of packets (or, used to be.) 

Even if I do not order, just browsing their catalog is fun. At 25 per page there are 26 pages and that is just seed of bulb plants. Do not select the show-all. It swamps their website. If I can find a pdf version of the catalog that is probably less of a load on their web server. 

[CG100]

Default is (or certainly was) for Silverhill to use post. Two problems - it takes for ever, and, it only takes for ever if the item isn't stolen. You can get them to send via courier.
The SA PO is shambolic and no-one uses it - it no longer operates at all in large parts of RSA. Most people who want to send or receive stuff use DHL or another courier.

Prices are pretty horrible once you do not use the PO, but at least you receive things. Minimum charge RSA/UK, either way, is around US$30.

Within the UK (and presumably the EU, as our laws are still pretty much as the EU), to run a joint order, the person organising has to register as a dealer so that they can then register to issue plant passports that travel with the items that they themselves do not keep.
It is, in theory, not essential, but within the UK, imports should be pre-notified to DEFRA via what was PEACH, and is now transferring to IPAFFS. PEACH cannot cope with anything that is posted - it only functions with an AWB no. and port of entry details. I have not yet waded through IPAFFS.

(I have been organising joint orders from RSA for a year or so and imports for myself for a couple of years before that.
There are masses of instances of conflicting information on the DEFRA website and having asked DEFRA,PEACH and PlantHealth people various questions, I have yet to get any categoric answer about anything at all. It is more shambolic that the SA PO, but at least nothing goes missing.)

[Brenna Green]

I am also wanting to hear recent experiences with silverhill. I'm filling out the form online for my small lots permit and going from there. 

Depending on how much I end up getting I might be willing to add others onto my order. 

[Ron]

Thanks to all for the additional details.  The link to the US small lots states, among other details:  

• maximum of 50 seeds of 1 taxon (taxonomic category such as genus, species, cultivar, etc.) per packet; or a maximum weight not to exceed 10 grams of seed of 1 taxon per packet;
• There are a maximum of 50 seed packets per shipment;

[Brenna Green]

Somewhere in the Silverhill site I found shipping cost information. Shipment by courier (DHL) seems best and starts at $45. Elsewhere I learned that you also have to pay separately for shipping from USDA to final destination if you use a courier. 

I don't have 50 packets I want to order (yet!) but I'm somewhere near a dozen. Certainly have room to have others on the order to split the shipping etc.

[petershaw]

Hi Brenna,

I am from Aptos, and I might be interested in some seeds. I have a permit but I dont know how long it lasts.

Peter

[gastil]

Hi Brenna,

I had considered just ordering a few packets but it would have been crazy expensive for that. So if you are still looking for cost-share, I'm in. Although I'm farther down the coast in Santa Barbara, not as convenient as Peter. Small Lots green/yellow labels last for 3 years.  

Question: 
RSA is just now at the end of their spring. The species I grow ripen seed in late spring or early summer. So if I order now, their stock is likely from November 2022 not this month. So if I receive it in January, then I should plant the following September I think, right? So is it better to order in January and get the November 2023 seed?

Gastil

[Uli]

Just a few hints for ordering from Silverhill: if you manage to get a joint order set up you can save on the number of packets. When Martin did the EU joint order Silverhill made bigger portions of seed instead of several envelopes when several people ordered the same seed. For Martin it meant that he had to split the one big portion into several ones which was not intended this way. But if the number of packets is an issue because of the permit, this is an advantage. It definitely is a good idea to clearly communicate with Silverhill before you order. But even doing so has not avoided some minor issues like for example the multiple packets for the EU. To me it looks as if several people are working on the orders and communication might not always be passed on.
Your thoughts about ordering in our late winter are right, your choice might be wider. On the other hand I never had an issue with dead seed from Silverhill, the quality has been consistently good. If properly stored in a fridge (not freezer) most South African bulb seed is very long lived. Making fire dependent seed germinate is another issue..... they also sell smoke impregnated paper.
I am sowing my winter growers (not only bulbs) every day right now. I had to let mid October pass because it was still hot and very dry. Only now has the balmy moist winter weather arrived. I must say that the portions of Silverhill seed are relatively small, still enough for a not overcrowded seed pot but less than I remember from the past. I think they run more and more into difficulty collecting the seed. Another reason to order from them. I don't think that even multiple portions in one envelope will collide with the permit rules.
By all means do not sow seed of winter growing bulbs in late winter. I had to learn the hard way that anything sown after Christmas will not survive the first dormancy (under my growing conditions) simply because the bulblets do not have enough time to build up reserves before the first dormancy. 
Hope that helps 

[CG100]

I have been ordering seed from Silverhill for something like 20 years and have had the occasional mis-identified seeds and I would probably never buy certain genera again (from Silverhill or anywhere else) - Gasteria and Tylecodon have very, very seldom germinated for me, although one pkt. of Tylecodon from Silverhill did come up like cress. Even back some years, some batches of aloe seed, when inspected with a lens, were empty husk, complete with a hole where the weevil or whatever exited.

I hear rumours of a higher than reasonable number of misidentified species, but that apart, sad to tell, seed from Lifestyle has much to recommend it over Silverhill - standard pkts. are 100 seeds, (though plenty of rarer spp. are offered in smaller quantities), locations and harvest dates are given and their website is updated whenever anything new arrives in stock. They also stock lots of ephemeral species (which usually sell-out fast).