Plants that cannot be shipped to California

9 years ago

I recently ordered a Fruit Salad tree online; when I did, its description said that it could only be shipped to the continental US; my e-mail confirmation says the same. However, it ended up being returned to the company [without my knowledge], and now when I look at its product page it says it cannot be shipped to CA, WA, or OR.

Does anyone know why it can't be shipped here? I've deduced that certain plants might have specific issues or insects that CA wants to keep out, but since I see "cannot be shipped to CA" a lot, I'm just wondering what the actual reasons are.

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ilovegardening
Original Author

9 years ago

Thanks for the input and info everyone. I appreciate it.

Regarding multi-grafted trees, for me it's not a matter of space that prompted me to order that 'fruit salad' tree, but rather its cleverness. It looked cool, and I figured it would be fun to have one tree that produces five different fruits. I know virtually nothing about trees--in terms of growing them. Its price ($30) was so low that I figured if it didn't do well, or didn't end up producing all the fruit varieties it was supposed to, it was no big deal.

I'm curious about something. What if someone who doesn't know about state restrictions sends something like this tree to someone in a state that restricts its entering? I mean by UPS or FedEx or whatever--which wouldn't be inspected by anyone as far as I know.

I have TONS of trees and bushes, some that were self-seeded (mulberry, camellia, fig) and some that I started (avocado), and I've thought about sending some of my excess to friends/relatives in other states. Which is what made me wonder about it the other way around, i.e., someone shipping to a restricted state.

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Comments (8)

gobluedjm 9/18 CA
9 years ago
CA economy relies on the agricultural business. We don't need pests or insects from other states or other countries. Some of the citrus business has been drastically hurt by an asian pest.

I would bet FL has the same issues in importing plants also.
ilovegardening
Original Author
9 years ago
I never see "cannot be shipped to FL" though--just a LOT of CA.

I recently had a visit from the agriculture department; they were here in my area inspecting citrus trees for huanglongbing disease. Luckily, they found none on any of mine.
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Dar Sunset Zone 18
9 years ago
ilovegardening, if you are still looking for a fruit salad tree, you might find one at Lowe's (I saw one the other day with apricots, plums, and the like). And I'd say it's reasonably price too.

These regulations are imposed to protect crops that are economically viable to that state.

I assume what you order had stone fruits such as plums, apricots, and peaches? These probably have no restriction in Florida because they are not grown on a large scale. But Florida does impose restrictions on citrus being shipped to that state.

This post was edited by musaboru on Sun, May 11, 14 at 19:21
hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
9 years ago
Ilovegardening, not sure what you mean by a fruit salad tree. Clearly you're referring to some multi-grafted tree of some sort. If it is citrus, the state of California has been on quarantine for some time now, due to citrus canker and the Asian citrus pysllid/citrus greening. As globluedjm has mentioned, California's massive commercial agricultural industry is not going to risk bringing in a pest. Some stone fruits also require so much spraying, screening, and inspections /certifications that some growers just decide it's not economically viable for them to ship to California.

Patty S.
ilovegardening
Original Author
9 years ago
Patty, no, it didn't contain any citrus--here's its link.
hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
9 years ago
Okay, stone fruits. So, my explanation still applies in my previous message. Plus, I am not a fan of multi-grafted trees anyway. You really need to understand how to keep a tree pruned, as whatever scion is the most vigorous will eventually overtake the tree, and the other grafted scions will die off. So, you'll usually end up with one or two cultivars that have simply overtaken the other, lesser vigorous cultivars. You're better off with buying the 2 or three cultivars you want, and simply planting them close together (to save space). If you check out Dave Wilson's web site, they talk in-depth and "one hole planting" methods.

Patty S.
Shorty_CA
9 years ago
All commercial growers are required to obtain permits to ship seeds, plants, and trees across state lines or international borders. State and country requirements vary. Some growers decide for business reasons not to ship certain plants out of their respective state or country because of the costs or complexities associated with obtaining the required permits.

In addition to states prohibiting the shipment of plants for competitive reasons, they also may ban the shipment of seeds and plants that may attract certain diseases and pests. Additionally, they may ban the shipment of seeds and plants that are considered endangered in the origin location, or weeds, or invasive in the recipients location.

With the exception of shipping plants that may attract pests and diseases, individuals are not subject to many of the other rules.