Need advice from some US people

[seajae]

I will be flying into the US in May to be a key note speaker at a world convention on plants I specialize in and as I have never been to the US before I need some advice on which airport to go to. I can go through JFK(3 hour layover) or Boston(4 hour layover), I will be taking some plants(new varieties I have created) with me to present to the botanical garden hosting the convention(with the required documentation) but as I dont know the US airports I was hoping some of you guys could let me know which one of these two would be the best layover point that wouldnt be a pain processing the plants so I dont miss my connecting flight.

Thanks in advance for any help, it is greatly appreciated.

[CharlieH]

Think this might be better in the "Home Country" forum as it relates directly to the US and the members there can assist.

MOVED

[Jingthing]

Can't give specific advice but I do think it would be prudent to choose the longest layover. Because the plants are likely to be an issue. Of course get documentation about the plants you are bringing and the convention you're attending, but I wouldn't even begin the travel without first communicating in specific detail to U.S. authorities about these plants. As you probably know, the U.S. customs places tight restrictions on agricultural imports.

It seems there is a risk the plants may be subject to quarantine, which definitely would take longer than an airport layover:

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/600/~/importing-plants-and-plant-products

Edited February 10, 2016 by Jingthing

[tomwct]

Anytime you can avoid JFK do that! Boston will have some great restaurants and food, so enjoy!

[seajae]

Can't give specific advice but I do think it would be prudent to choose the longest layover. Because the plants are likely to be an issue. Of course get documentation about the plants you are bringing and the convention you're attending, but I wouldn't even begin the travel with first communicating in specific detail to U.S. authorities about these plants. As you probably know, the U.S. customs places tight restrictions on agricultural imports.

It seems there is a risk the plants may be subject to quarantine, which definitely would take longer than an airport layover:

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/600/~/importing-plants-and-plant-products

being aussie I know what it can be like taking plants into a country(Australia is the strictest there is), for the US I know I am allowed to take in 12 as long as I have a phytosanitary certificate, I will also have the botanical gardens import permit with me. My main worry is that not knowing the US airports I have no idea what they are like, I know all the aussie airports and he various requirements etc but this is new to me. I was warned off LAX as they say the customs people are over the top(from US people that have been through it), I will be taking nothing illegal with me but I suppose I really wanted to know which one people think is the best way to go, also one that is worth spending some interesting looking time in

Edited February 10, 2016 by seajae

[seajae]

Anytime you can avoid JFK do that! Boston will have some great restaurants and food, so enjoy!

thanks mate, that makes it sound good, cant resist a good restaurant

[Jingthing]

In my limited (and probably dated) experience, Boston would be the better choice.

[2fishin2]

stay as far away from JFK as you can. seriously

[seajae]

thanks guys, just booked to go through Boston, unfortunately the return leg is through JFK but I cant change that, its from national carrier to an international one.

[NancyL]

Saejae, in my former life I was in the nursery/greenhouse business, but it was in the Great Lakes area, not on the east coast. I do know that if there's any way you can bring in your plants bare-root, wrapped in clear plastic, you'll be ahead. Importing plants in soil always gives the USDA fits, because all sorts of undesirable critters can hide in soil.

Talk with the people who will be your hosts about their recommendations. They may know which airport would be the most "friendly". I know that often the USDA personnel at the airports call on local experts in the industry and in universities when passengers show up with plants that present a problem. I was called in a few times by the USDA at the Detroit airport when incoming passengers brought in entire rose bushes claiming they were "special" because I'd written a few books about roses and, on the other hand, they impounded a shipment of rooted rose cuttings we'd ordered from Canada that arrived with really large slugs eating the roots in the pots and didn't want them to destroy the shipment because they were the latest developments from the Ag Canada Canadian Explorer breeding program. Instead, they called in an slug specialist from Ohio State University (at our expense) to advise how to kill 'em. (It's amazingly difficult to kill slugs -- yeech.)

[gk10002000]

Live plants, no quarantine period? I have no experience with live plants once had some wood products from Jamaica confiscated (fear of bugs or whatever). I would be very surprised if you are allowed in any reasonable amount of time if at all to take your plants with you. Do you plan to have them in your checked in luggage? Are you shipping them via freight? I think you need to do some more research on getting live stuff into the USA

[Langsuan Man]

Why are you being so silent on where your final destination in the US is going to be ?

If we knew where you were going to end up there might be better points of entry to use

[JLCrab]

Naples, Florida

BTW my Florida tropical horticulturist friend who has brought plants in to many US airports says the least hassle is from SFO -- he has never brought plants into BOS or JFK but LAX ATL EWR etc.

Edited February 11, 2016 by JLCrab

[seajae]

thats it, the world plumeria convention at the Naples botanical gardens, Fort Lauderdale is the airport I will be getting to finally. Chased up several airlines for the trip but decided on Emirates, the US legs will be with JetBlue. Looked at Miami but was warned off by the local people who said Fort Lauderdale or Fort Meyers(this one involved fairly lengthy flight hours). Have had advice from a big nursery there as well as a couple of importers, all said avoid JFK & LAX, none had tried Boston so I was hoping you guys would know more. Hopefully with a 4 hour lay over it will give me more than enough time for them to ok the plants, they will be bare rooted and very clean with the appropriate documentation, US regs state I am allowed to take in 12 so thats what I will do. Still have to see if I need any US visa requirements for the week I will be there, hopefully not.

Edited February 11, 2016 by seajae

[AZBill]

Stay away from JFK if you can. Logan is a bit better. The plants will definitely be an issue without proper docs. My wife had commercially packaged seeds confiscated on one trip after we declared them.

[Langsuan Man]

Still have to see if I need any US visa requirements for the week I will be there, hopefully not.

If you are a Thai why would you think that you will have no visa requirements for the week you are there ?

[taxout]

"being aussie . . . ."

[NancyL]

Seajae, it seems that you're doing all the right things in contacting local people on the U.S. end in the industry to get their "take" on your bringing bare-rooted plants in from Thailand. Have any had experience with Atlanta?

One thing to consider is if it's likely that there will be a mass of people coming to the convention on the same flight and likely to draw more scrutiny.

Once I went to a Master Gardener conference in Saskatoon, Canada and there is really only one way to fly out -- thru Minneapolis. When everyone was returning back to the U.S. from the conference, the USDA had extra people on duty to go thru all the luggage with a fine tooth comb to be sure the attendees (mostly middle-aged amateur gardeners) weren't trying to smuggle Canadian plants into the U.S. Of course, a goodly number were and their plant materials were promptly confiscated, even cuttings which are legal to bring into the U.S, provided they aren't varieties under patent protection in the U.S. As someone who was in the industry if was disheartening to watch, but I'd already dealt with the USDA at the Detroit airport so I knew how ruthless they could be.

As for the earlier comment where someone wondered about whether the plants would need to be in quarantine -- that depends upon the specific type of plant, country of origin and destination. The rules vary and that's why it's important for the OP to be in contact with knowledgeable people on the U.S. side about this question. For example, in my industry -- roses -- we couldn't import from Australia, we could from many other countries but the plants had to be grown for two years in special quarantine conditions and we could import from Canada with only inspection for pests. So guess what we did if we wanted varieties only available in Europe? Yup -- had them shipped to a friendly Canadian nursery and then reshipped to us in the U.S. But, if the variety was covered under a plant patent, then you got into a whole other set of problems and you didn't dare advertise that you were selling a variety that wasn't suppose to be available in the U.S.

This is an example of why the OP needs to be in contact with people in the U.S. who know about the specific type of plants he wants to bring in, how their local USDA operates and ideally have had experience in bringing in those plants from Thai sources.

Edit: the last thing he should do is try to bring in the plants without declaring them. That's a big part of what got the Master Gardeners in trouble with the USDA. Often those dogs you see sniffing around luggage at US airports aren't looking for drugs -- they're looking for undeclared agricultural products. I've brought unrooted cuttings -- i.e. cut flowers, into the US many times without any problems. But if you try to hide them in your luggage, you're asking for problems.