Dear Members:
> The restrictions, expected to be issued in early January, will affect
> millions of plants grown in California, Oregon and Washington, about
> one-third of the country's nursery plant supply.
An addendum. The information published here in Oregon is that
inspections done before issuing 2004 nursery licenses, or during 2004 in
licensed nurseries, will be honored in 2005. Many of the larger nurseries
which ship out of state have already been specifically inspected. I don't
understand exactly what is done, but apparently the inspections will target
a specific DNA sequence of the fungus--if found, the shipment MAY be
contaminated and will have to be more thoroughly inspected. If the specific
DNA sequence is not found, the plants are assumed to be uncontaminated.
Oregon has a webpage about sudden oak death, as it has been serving as
a clearinghouse for information about sudden oak death. I don't have the URL,
but a websearch should turn it up.
"Sudden Oak Death" affects many plants, not just oaks. As far as
I know it doesn't affect bulbs, but it could be present in peatmoss used as
shipping/packing material. It is believed it may have been present on the
pacific coast for many years without causing damage, but has somehow
suddenly become virulent-why is the subject of much discussion.
Ken