I'm pretty familiar with this. I went thru all the application for permit steps with USDA and state of Ohio. In the end...I decided that it just wasn't worth the expense and trouble. I also have second hand experience at this seeing that my buddy Warren in Fl has had plants shipped from Thailand twice now.

If you are going to attempt to obtain plants in the legal manner as proscribed by the USDA, then my biggest advice at this time is this: Make darn sure you want this plant and that there is absolutely no source here in the US or PR where you can obtain it. Depending upon how the plants are shipped, usually 1-2 day air, it can be quite expensive. Also figure on losing at least 50% of your order. If more survive, that is great.

Second...make sure the nursery in the foreign country you will be dealing with has sent plants to the US before and is VERY familiar with our USDA rules, regs, and how to carry them out. You must send them labels and other documentation to be included with your shipment.

Getting the permits is easy and can be done online now which is great. There will be a lot of research you must do first beforehand such as determining whether the plant you want is on a restricted list or will require being quarantined. If the latter...then your State will have to get involved and that requires even more forms and leg work.

Ports of entry is another sticky point. Your box of plants will have USDA labels and they are going to be forwarded to a port of entry to be inspected. You may be required to obtain a broker to handle all of this and they charge at least $80. They will also forward your plants on to your address. Anything out of the ordinary or a "t" did not get crossed, you could be notified that your shipment has been destroyed.

Sounds fun eh??!! I've made a lot of calls to USDA folks and there are some who truly try and assist you. Then there are the other ones who don't give a sh$$ whether you receive your plants or not.

Over the summer I did the "small lots of seeds" permit and had seeds sent from Singapore. Now you must think there is no way in hell that these folks could screw up an order of seeds, right? Wrong!! The shipping you paid to have the supplier send you the seeds is supposed to carry that package all the way to you...even after being forwarded to the port of entry for inspection. They are to just forward that mail on to you with no extra charges...that is if you had them sent regular mail. Many officials I've spoken to at the ports of entry had no clue about this and was convinced that I must have a FedEx or UPS account so they could forward on the package thru them...at more cost!!

Needless to say...my $6 package of seeds ended up costing me another $38 because they did not understand their own rules. I did get this money back but only after months of phone calls, emails, and forms filled out and mailed in.

Bottom line? Never again will I use the permits and all that crap. I will take my chances with seeds and plants in the future having them sent directly to me.

Oh yeah...and if you live in Florida, specifically near Miami which is a huge port of entry, don't think to assume that these folks know what they are doing either! Warren was shuffled back and forth between offices at the airport several times by employees with their heads up their a$$es. By the time he got back to the correct office to pick up his plants...they were closing and told him he would have to come back tomorrow and start all over!!

I hope you have a better experience.

Here is a link that might be useful: USDA