Subject: Re: Indian plant recommendations
From: [email-masked] (Bill Christensen)
Date: 17 Aug 1994 00:30:13 +0100
Newsgroups: bionet.plants

Steve Cosman,[email-masked] writes:
I'm planning a trip to India in November.  And I'd like to bring back a few
plants as reminders of my Indian visit.  I have two questions for netters:

Firstly, please help me determine the identity of my 'dream plants'.  I want
a couple species of flowers and a vine.

<foliage pruned>

And my second question: Could someone also speculate upon what maturity my
plant should be?  Seeds or bulbs would be more conveniant!  But would nearly
all be too shocked to germinate?

I don't know what Canadian Customs Service will do, but as I remember from a
trip I took in 1980 to India, the US customs was very restrictive on any
plant or soil material (or food for that matter) that you brought back.  Any
live plants had to be bare-root, to protect against unwanted soil
microorganisms or insect eggs.  I don't recall seeds being a problem, but you
might want to be careful about bringing in any plant materials at all. 
Probably best to call and ask the customs service before you go, so you don't
spend many rupees on exotic plants only to have them confiscated.   

There are good reasons for some of this paranoia.  Some of the worst problems
with plants and insects come from introduction of species that have no
natural predators or controls in their new environment.  Kudzu.  Fire ants. 
Killer Bees.  big mistakes.   

So think carefully about importing.  There are some interesting Indian plants
already available in the US.  Indian Holy Basil is one.  Moon Flower is
another.  

What ever you decide, enjoy your trip.  

BC

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