I've been reading this thread as an outsider. I don't grow many South African bulbs because I don't have a heated greenhouse. I'm puzzled about why enthusiasts of these plants insist on buying bulbs from South Africa, with the risk of damage in transit and huge shipping expense, rather than obtaining seeds and growing their own plants, which should be easier to do and far less expensive. Almost all my bulbs (including a few African and South American species) were grown here from seed. It takes a while, but it's very gratifying when the flowers finally appear, and the bulbs increase enough to share or sell. Jane McGary, Portland, Oregon, USA On 12/25/2025 10:25 PM, Garak via pbs wrote: > Hi all, > > in the end it all depends on the regional authorities - during the > first SA group order to the EU we were accused of being a commercial > importer who would have had some extra hurdles to jump over, which we > could only avoid with an extra dose of silver tongue artistry. We then > tried for the second import to utilize another carrier for direct > airfreight, just to learn that they all are too afraid of paperwork to > handle live plant inspections, so there might be trial and error > involved. In my experience with my own earlier SA Bulb Company orders, > the smaller packages go through customs processes far more easy. The > whole process is draining, but of course the joy of finally holding > your bulbs in hand compensates for a lot. > > Depending on your local postal system you may have to "price in" the > extra stress for the plants during the local transport - Here in > Europe for some countries this can mean another 2-3 weeks on the road. > Our main losses were Agapanthus (which doesn't take well to the > radical root removal necessary for transport) and smaller sizes of > Zantedeschia. > > Like Robert I'm happy to share experiences with anyone willing to > tackle this quest for other territories. Maybe there are more > candidates than Canada? > > all the best, > Martin > > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> PBS Forum https://…