I live in Georgia and I would like to bonsai tree from Vietnam. Where would i get a permit for it?

Question

I live in Georgia and I would like to bonsai tree from Vietnam. Where would i get a permit for it?

Answer 1

Check with the U.S. Customs office on importing live plants.

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/home.xml

You may also want to read the Bonsai Care page on my site:

http://www.american-bonsai.com

Answer 2

Open the phone book and look up the US Department of Agriculture, APHIS - Animal Plant Health Inspection Service.

To make a long story short - it probably isn't going to happen. Sorry.

*******************

The USDA controls plant / animal imports. When you hit customs they will direct you to the Ag inspection station - where the APHIS staff are. If your plant has any soil on it, it will not be allowed in. If it has any sign of disease or insects, it won't be allowed in. If it is on a list of banned plants (genius, not necessarily species) it won't be let in.

Look in the phone book - APHIS can tell you. Thumb up or down won't change the way things work. I know, I go through US customs on a regular basis, and I used to work for USDA (not APHIS).

Answer 3

Bring live tree/plant from VN is illegal. Though you can try to sneak it in with a traveler at your own risk.

A better alternative is to buy the plant at any Vietnamese nursery located in populated VNese cites and have them ship to you. It will be more expensive than buying fro mVN but you don't have to deal with custom. The trouble and cost to get a permit (which I doubt will be approve) will be equal to the shipping cost anyway.

If you ever travel to Houston, you can visit a few nursery here. They seems to have every plant in VN anyway.

My mom been spending endless amount at JRN Nursery.

Answer 4

One long shot that worked for me as a college student was getting a botany professor from my school to import an orchid from Costa Rica. Universities are usually exempt from regulations concerning importation of plants.

Other than that, it is illegal.

However, if you look on the bright side, I see common houseplants growing wild in Vn all the time. Maybe you could find a suitable american/viet plant and "bonzai" it yourself.

One other idea is to go to an asian market and buy a fruit such as a longan, durian etc and plant the seed. They are usually grown in California but they look and taste the same as their Viet versions.

Good luck.

Answer 5

the VN and US government.

Answer 6

Bringing any plants or live stock to the US is illegal. It doesn't matter where you bring it from. Unless you import legally through US custom.