Many thanks for the advice. Darren >From: "Boyce Tankersley" <btankers@chicagobotanic.org> >Reply-To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> >To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> >Subject: Re: [pbs] Importing Hippeastrum to Mexico advice >Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 15:44:00 -0500 > >Darren: > >I have no experience importing/exporting from Mexico, but I did spend some >time working for Robert and Catherine Wilson in Costa Rica. At that time it >was known as the Las Cruces Tropical Botanic Garden - after the passing of >the Wilsons it has been renamed in their honor. > >Great plantspeople, they gathered an impressive collection of tropical >plants from around the world at their garden. Their advice, based upon >years of experience (I think they were late 70's maybe early 80ish at the >time), was to have someone physically walk the plants through Customs; >regardless of country. Either they brought the plants back with them in >person or they arranged for a friend, visitor or colleage to hand carry the >plants through Customs to them. > >It seems questions about paperwork, forms, permits, etc. could be worked >out more efficiently in person. Being a 'newbie intern', of course I sent >some things from the States to Costa Rica by mail and got to experience the >joys of traveling for a full day up and down some steep mountainside roads >to the Customs office to discover they were closed. Customs eventually >forwarded it to me and it arrived - in very bad shape - about a week before >I left the country. Fortunately it did not contain anything of great value >but the Wilson's did mention it was not uncommon for this sort of thing to >happen with the seeds/cuttings/plants they were trying to import or export. > >That experience has served me well as an employee of several botanic >gardens. Stateside we hand carry (deliver them to USDA at the airport) or >if that is not possible we arrange for a custom's broker to work on our >behalf. > >Good luck, > >Boyce Tankersley >btankers@chicagobotanic.org > > > >_______________________________________________ >pbs mailing list >pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php