A very nice person from the FPS attempted to gift me with two cuttings of "Darwin's Sunset", had them in a nice hard tube with the permit firmly affixed. Left New Zealand and was stopped in California and the cuttings were disposed of (or kept which is my thought) and the empty tube arrived in Florida.

Happyvegan,
Around 2003 thru about 2007 I use to import a lot of cuttings and plants from Oz, Thailand, Singapore, India. In 2003 I actually did not have an import permit, yet the Ag Dept let my cuttings/plants in and they were delivered with a form letter saying it was a 1x exemption(but I received many more shipments with the same letter.) and that I needed an Import permit if I was going to import more. None of my plumies were destroyed back then, just delayed by couple of months sometimes. I ended up getting my import permit in 2004, as many were and did not have an issue getting plumies in. I believe it was in late 2006, or beginning of 2007 that the Ag Dept started keeping imported plumies even with a phyto cert and import permit. There was a rumor that there were 2 agents that were actually keeping the plumies for themselves aka hijacking your orders/stealing them for themselves. I know a ton of people wrote into the Ag Dept to complain and supposedly there was an investigation. In 2010 I ordered 14 cuttings from Thailand and received them all, and have not imported since. I know that Gabby and a few others are still buying and importing from abroad and occasionally get a package confiscated by the Ag Dept but I heard its better now.
I heard that if you import and have the packages sent to a relative or friend in another state like OR, WA, etc., that the packages arrived safely. So if you import directly into CA you run the risk of not receiving your plumies, Russian Roulette basically.
If your going to get an Import Permit you also need to be specific as to which countries you will be importing from on the application. So make sure you have an idea of where you are going to buy from (ex. India, Vietnam, Phillipines, Sing, Thailand,etc.).

So again its Russian Roulette and no guarantee or sure way to get an imported plumie in especially into the CA.. Heliconia Paradise in Thailand stopped shipping to CA because of all the lost orders and refund req because of the Ag dept.

Your best bet is to look for the plants you have seen from Thailand, Oz etc., locally and buy it here. It is much cheaper to buy from Thailnad or abroad but if you never get your order basically you eat it financially, so basically the cheap is no longer cheap.

Cheers

If you are going to import some cuttings from other countries from pictures from ebay, you might not get what you are paying for. A lot of these colors plumeria do not come in. It is always better to buy from someone that is the real deal because it will take awhile before they bloom and then you will find that you got some much different then you ordered.

I've ordered from a Thailand seller on ebay that was recommended on here. I know others that have order from the same seller and we have been very happy with what we got. Look and see how long they have been selling as if they only sell for a couple of years they are gone before they bloom and you find out they are not what you paid for. The only plants I've had confiscated came from Hawaii (so it's not just overseas)and that was HA taking them before they left. It depends on your state too as FL,CA, and AZ are more restrictive. Good luck!
Peg

Great info!,,

Thanks Barb, James, Peg!!

We all need to know the dangers of ordering from abroad...

Paper, rocks, scissors?

;-)

Hope everyone is well...

Cheers!!!

Laura

Michelle too!

;-)

Laura

I've ordered one package from Thailand and had no problems here in Texas, but in that package were some extras I ordered for someone in CA who had had their cuttings confiscated. She got hers from me with no problems.

It stinks that I had to circumvent the import laws, but they were cuttings only from a reputable seller who had obviously treated them with something--fungicide?--before shipping.

James, I sent you an email since my card was returned to me as undeliverable. Hopefully you got the message and my new email address!

Jen,
Sorry its been crazy for me... Didn't check my old Email box. My anniversary for my mail service came up and I decided to change to another, so addy is different now...sorry..lol I need to update my USPS click n ship account.

Cheers
James

Super black just came from Thailand the other day!

Jason

Do plumeria really come in super black? I know that there is all colors on ebay and some of them have been touched up because I have never seen those colors in any plumerias I have ever seen. Just asking, Barb

I took a chance, I examined multiple pics & they didn't seemed photoshopped, those are usually pretty obvious! Didn't think it would even make it through customs....lol
Here's one of the pics they advertised...

The pictures look photoshopped to me, but keep us posted when it blooms! I'd think a super new, rare color would command a lot more money than $18-ish but good luck to you!

Do any of you have a reliable source in Thailand that one can purchase from?

Caligirl, more info:

The link is Dennis the 'Frangipani Man' in Australia. He is a reputable plumeria grower and dispenser of plumeria information! On this page is a list of whom he considers good and bad Ebay sellers. Some of them no longer sell on Ebay, but the Thai Ebay sellers 'Bkinterplants' and 'Anyamanee' are good ones. He should know, as he has a place in Thailand where he grows plumeria.

Mary

Here is a link that might be useful: The Frangipani Man

Caligirl, are you looking for any variety in particular? Many Thai varieties are available in the US under different names or slightly different romanization.

I have ordered from BKinterplants and would again in a heartbeat if they have any new varieties I want. They seem to have some exclusive varieties but many of them are available from US mail-order sources, just for a bit more.

This post was edited by musaboru on Sun, May 4, 14 at 23:27