Go to Smoley's, the last time I purchased from Glasshouse works they were not dependable, they sent plants that had a virus. They new I was buying for the Huntington and that it would be tested. I did not get my money back nor did I get a new plant. At that time it was an expensive plant for me. They did send me a T shirt size extra large and I'm a size 2 or a childs 14 I weigh under a 100 lbs, and much less when this occured. Now in their behalf they may have cleaned up their act and you may want to give them a chance. There is a gal in Canada, and she got her plants from me and others at a Sans. bash I had at my house, we were able to ship small amts by mail, many packages, and mailed all across the country ever few days, and it was not challanged, but I think this has tightened up considerably since that occured. Contact Marina Welheim in Canada, Amateur's Digest and see what she suggests. I'm sure there are other Canadian's here that can help you. Good luck my frind, you may need to get permits to import them?? I had friends from Australia that made prior arrangements to bring plants into Australia last year, several thousands dollars worth, they had no problems. Check with the Huntington Gardens and see if they will ship into Canada with a phyto. certificate. If any one wants to ship - 1-3 plants do it in the summer months, and wrap in newspaper for shipping. These plants can go months without water, this I know. Be sure to declare what is in the package, and they are bare root leaves, not a speck of soil that has been washed in soap and water and then sprayed again with Saffer's soap. Hobby exchange for study.
These are my suggestions, and if any one else one this forum can help this lady please it will not hurt my feelings is you jump in with both feet and help her out. Good morning it is past midnight, Norma

Thanks for all the suggestions. Huntington seems to carry only two Sans and I like to thin out the cost of phyto by ordering as many plants as I can afford under one phyto charge. Glasshouse won't be my choice. I bought "The Splendid Sansevierias" book from them, they emailed me the total as $41.50 but when the book arrived, the cost had gone up almost $10 because they decided to send a $34 book by registered mail ($16 postage). I complained but they said that's how they send items to Canada. Well, registered mail for a box of plants would be very expensive and more importantly, slower, so they won't even be my last choice now. Well, I guess it's going to be Smoley's even though I'm none too happy that their phyto is $65 now that he's relocated to Florida.
By the way, to quote an old movie, "I ain't no lady" :-) .. I rechecked my profile to make sure I had chosen "Male" (I may have to rethink my choice of Sansitive as my User Name)
John

Hey John! Good luck to you!
I imagine the $65.00 has more to do with current prices than Smoley's move to Florida. He has nice plants, and a large variety, so he is probably a good choice to order from anyway. Maybe you can order some extras with someone up there, or order extras and resell them to offset some of the cost. Although I am a "plant person", I was really only exposed to Sans a little more than a year ago. They are a surprisingly addictive Genus!!

John I don't care what your name is, I know and have many friends with that name. All of my Johns/pun are my best friends, and they are all terrific people.
How else can I help you? I believe there is a Karen Gray in Canada who has a pretty nice collection at this time, she came to my bash and picked up a lot of plants, she didn't have any to trade either, but we all pitched in to get her started. She is now a dear friend. Let me try to send you one in the summer, and see if it gets through. It will be very small. Just a leaf no soil or roots. I have asked her if it would be okay for you to contact her and I'm waiting for her response. Norma

Per Smoley's the move to Florida was the cause for the $65 phyto. But I just checked their website and it still says $25. I googled Florida phytosanitary charges and other international shippers are charging $50-65. I just emailed Smoleys to ask and will let people know what their reply says.

Norma  I accidentally thanked you for your offer on the propagation thread but to keep things straight, Id like to thank you for your offer of a leaf on the correct thread. Also thanks for taking the time to contact someone you know in Canada.

I received the following answer from Smoley's after asking if his phyto was $65, $25 (per his website) or something in between. He wrote, "In Florida the charge is $50.00 plus mileage.......remember you do not make the prices....I do....$65.00 is the charge".

I'm kind of wishing I hadn't asked for verification of what the charge is.

Dear Sansitive/John,
I haven't got a single practically useful suggestion for you; I just wanted to offer you my moral support. I was looking desperately for a Sansevieria nursery I could order from when someone on this forum told me where to go. What a marvelous find that was. And I experience my fair share of gardening frustration in my other areas of interest (let me tell you about looking for Buxus). So you have my sympathy. I hope you find a nursery or a circle of Sans-growing friends whom you can swap with, or both. Good luck!

Melissa

Smoley sounds like a MAJOR JERK! I will have to keep that in mind when looking to buy Sans next time.

People like that deserve to be out of business. Maybe you should add a comment on Garden Watchdog ( http://davesgarden.com/gwd/ ). Many people depend on that site for info about nurseries and plant sellers.

brandon7 Â Is he a major jerk? I don't know. I merely copied his response exactly as it was sent. Everyone here can draw their own conclusions as to why he said what he said in the way he said it. For all I know, he was having a real bad day. That's not to say I liked the tone of his email personally but I'll keep my opinion of his character to myself. If he's the only large source for Sans and I pay him and he honours his end by sending me what I ordered, do I feel he owes me a pleasant demeanor? No I don't. Would I prefer it? Of course I would. Is he on my Christmas card list? Probably not.
But if someone else should come along offering the same selection with comparable pricing plus a pleasant attitude, would I change suppliers......? The old axiom of 'attracting bees with honey not vinegar' seems to apply.

Melissa - I guess the grass (or should I say Buxus) isn't greener on the other side of the fence. I go the nurseries looking for Sansevierias and wonder why they all sell Boxwoods and you're half way around the world suffering just the opposite. I remember a guy at work who was originally from Guyana and how he'd laugh at me struggling to keep some tropical plant alive on my windowsill while his family back in Guyana considered it a weed and couldn't seem to get rid of it.
Thanks for the moral support.

Dear Sansitive/John,

I hope you enjoy chatting, because I'm in the mood. This will have to excuse a reply that's not terribly focused on Sansevierias. We all have our greener areas of pasture. My complaint about box isn't that I can't get it, but rather that I can readily find perhaps three varieties in Italy when there are dozens of cultivars in commerce. The nursery I want to buy from is in England and shipping from there is exorbitant; meanwhile, when I finally find an Italian with a boxwood nursery at a garden show, the phone number he gives me is wrong, and he doesn't answer my e-mail. Sound familiar?

It's my good fortune that one of the great Sansevieria nurseries is right here in Italy, but in many areas (temperate climate shrubs are a notable example) while a handful of the most common cultivars are fairly easy to find, any variety beyond those is awfully hard to track down. Lilacs are another sore point; Osmanthus another; climbing honeysuckles another. And yews. Don't get me started on lilies and irises, though I think I can deal with those when I put my mind to it. In time I'll find sources for everything, but it takes work: just like what you're going through now with your Sansevierias.

Time, patience, perserverance--and some money as you go along--are the key. If you stick with it you'll get your Sansevierias, and who knows, you may make a lot of friends along the way.

Merry Christmas! (If need be, substitute the name of the holiday you celebrate.)

Melissa

I don't mind chatting if people don't mind the topic sliding to the side for a day. It sounds like you have a lot of space. It's too bad the shipping cost from England are so high. I suspect you would be able to check off a lot of things on your wants list if the shipping costs were lower. Since I live in an apartment, I grow a lot of small plants. I'm always on the look out for new micro mini Sinningias, mini Begonias, small Euphorbias and these reside under lights so the windows are free for the larger plants. I once emailed an Italian nursery that sold Monanthes and had a friend at work (large percentage of Italians in Toronto) translate my email into Italian and it went unanswered. I suspect they wouldn't ship to Canada so why waste the time replying. But I had to give it a try.

I checked the time difference and as I write this, you're only 6 hrs away from midnight so I'll take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas.

I dont know if i should start a new thread or what. I've a vivarist...I have recently ebcome interested in using some sansevieria in vivaria, and was all set to order from Smoleys when I realized how much I would need to spend. then I wondered- does anyone else want to order some plants? im from Toronto- id buy willing to work out how the shipping would work once we get the plants into Canada. If anyone is interested place let me know. Joel

Joel,

I just thought I would mention that Mr. Smoley is ill. We haven't heard if he will be able to keep the nursery open or not. See the topic, Bob Smoley. It might be disappointing to order right now. The Glasshouse Works is not shipping right now as one of the owners suddenly passed away last week. Arid Lands out in California is often mentioned as a mail order source, you might want to try them.

Hopefully someone can list some other websites for you. Barb

You can also import from Thailand once our weather warms up. Almost all of my Sansevieria have come from Thailand because only cylindrica and trifasciata varieties are available locally.
If you don't mind waiting for plants to grow I can offer several species as leaf cuttings.

Mike

There is a great seller on Ebay vitch-sansgarden88 from Thailand , I bought several times from him . Phytosanitary Certificate is free of charge.

Hi Mike, I want to make leaf cuttings of Sanseverias( Boncel-Dwarf Samurai-Lady Charm etc..) when it is the best time for taking cuttings and can I divide a leaf into several pieces?

Hi Mike. Id buy some cuttings off of you. What do you have? im not sure if you can send a PM on here or whether I should leave my email. thanks!

I will check out Ebay as well. thanks!

I noticed a place called annes magic garden, but the plants were a lot more expensive than Smoleys. He has such an amazing assortment of plants.

I use plants in vivaria. Ive used the trifasciata of course and the cylindrica. but im hoping to try a few more.

thanks everyone!