Shipping seeds to Hawaii from the continental US question

[JerryHaskins]

I am not sure where to post this, but a friend wants me to ship her some seeds from Mexican Sunflowers.

She lives in Hawaii.

I live in Mississippi.

I have been growing Mexican Sunflowers in a flower bed for 2 or 3 years and they produce lots of seeds.

What obstacles will I run into regarding shipping seeds to her?

Is the Post Office the way to do it or would UPS be better.

I fear that there are some obscure Dept. of Agriculture regulations or something.

Thanks.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by JerryHaskins

I am not sure where to post this, but a friend wants me to ship her some seeds from Mexican Sunflowers.

She lives in Hawaii.

I live in Mississippi.

I have been growing Mexican Sunflowers in a flower bed for 2 or 3 years and they produce lots of seeds.

What obstacles will I run into regarding shipping seeds to her?

Is the Post Office the way to do it or would UPS be better.

I fear that there are some obscure Dept. of Agriculture regulations or something.

Thanks.

Hawaii is a US state and includes all of the islands that are a part of the US state of Hawaii.

I think you should call or stop by your own local post office and ask them the same question you asked here before you do anything else. They would know and tell you what to do.. And while I don't think being a US state there would be a ban on sending seeds, re your Ag question,let the PO tell you about that .I've
sent seeds everywhere and the only places that have a ban on sending seeds to that I know of are to Australia and the Netherlands, and those two for different reasons.

Carolyn

[Worth1]

Look on line for sunflower seeds if they can ship to Hawaii you can or should be able to.

Worth

[Tormato]

The last time I sent seeds to Hawaii (from the east coast of the mainland) it took 2 days.

It takes 3-4 days to send a letter two cities over. The close-by large city lost their distribution center, so now mail has to go from MA to CT to MA even if the destination is only a few miles away.

[ginger2778]

I visited Maui,Big Island, and Kauai, and they are very careful about their agriculture, very protective. Even if seeds came from the continental US, they have serious rules and laws about what can come in. I bought an apple in a Florida airport, they made me throw it away. They call themselves the king of invasives , and also extinctions.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

I visited Maui,Big Island, and Kauai, and they are very careful about their agriculture, very protective. Even if seeds came from the continental US, they have serious rules and laws about what can come in. I bought an apple in a Florida airport, they made me throw it away. They call themselves the king of invasives , and also extinctions.

I agree,which is why both the original poster Jerry and myself mentioned about that. And I said to check with the local post office about it.

Carolyn

[Worth1]

Why not just look on line and you can also call or email them.
Them being the state itself.
There is nothing I could find restricting sunflower seeds.
http://hdoa.hawaii.gov/pi/pq/import-...nt-guidelines/
In all honesty the post office where I live wouldn't have a clue.

Worth

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Why not just look on line and you can also call or email them.
Them being the state itself.
There is nothing I could find restricting sunflower seeds.
http://hdoa.hawaii.gov/pi/pq/import-...nt-guidelines/
In all honesty the post office where I live wouldn't have a clue.

Worth

Worth, I read it but see nothing at all about sending seeds,just plants and permits and quarantines, etc.,

Carolyn

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Worth, I read it but see nothing at all about sending seeds,just plants and permits and quarantines, etc.,

Carolyn

Read it closer.
It gives all the restricted plants and then talks about seeds.

Here is an example.

Aster, chysanthemum, hollyhock, dahlia, and gladiolus: Plants require certificate of origin or certificate of treatment depending upon where they are grown. Seeds, tubers and corms (without stems), and cut-flowers are unrestricted.

[Worth1]

I just ordered seeds from Eden brothers to Honolulu and there were no restrictions Shipping one once pack of wild sunflower seeds total 17.90

Worth

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Read it closer.
It gives all the restricted plants and then talks about seeds.

Here is an example.

Aster, chysanthemum, hollyhock, dahlia, and gladiolus: Plants require certificate of origin or certificate of treatment depending upon where they are grown. Seeds, tubers and corms (without stems), and cut-flowers are unrestricted.

You are right and I was wrong,I was reading too fast for total comprehension and failed.

Carolyn

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

You are right and I was wrong,I was reading too fast for total comprehension and failed.

Carolyn

No one is trying to prove anyone wrong just trying to help.
I went through the whole site with a fine tooth comb.

On a side note I bought some salted shelled sunflower seeds in Anchorage they were so rancid and old I couldn't eat them.
I got home tossed them on the ground for the birds and they sprouted.


Worth

[kurt]

Hawaii is really strict.As all good seed suppliers and farmers common sense should prevail.Sending large seeds although innocent can set back a isolated type environment I.e. a island.To this day they still have a feral nasty well fed packs of pigs on all the islands by now.They just got back a decent reptile population cause the mongoose they introduced ate them almost to extinction,then those mogeeses(did wipe out rats somewhat)a zillion in a few short years started invading the hen houses.They swim,almost like a warm climate badger,Wolverine.Tenaciuos mean fun to shoot as they do now.The Fed has a lot of input at the airports that handle agri transport.Check there,USPS handles mail,screens are in place.You will get fined if you do “declare” said items and they say it’s not on the list then in the hazemat bin she goes.At counter when they ask what is going to Hawaii,and you declare nuthin,on the other end if they confiscate you get the consequences.Mail from home ,sterilize,make sure you sends the best,styrofoam balls in envelope,blister pack cause attention,a X-ray fine time.Rollers and sorters will crush the puddle poop out of those precious seeds.As Carolyn brushed on maybe above?The other reasons might be good old market forces,hay if you come to my hood,we are going to “wet our beaks”also,I want my cut plus taxes for the cleanup after.

[JerryHaskins]

Thanks, everybody for the feedback. As I understand it's up to the US Dept. of Agriculture and Hawaii state regulatory folks---not the Post Office.

I had already Googled it, but I was hoping somebody had personal experience with it (and some of you all have.)

(There are tons of rules about shipping or simply transporting soil, animals, and vegetative materials. In my job, we imported some soil from Hawaii and it had to be autoclaved before we could bring it in. The last thing I need is to get hassled by "the man".)

This makes me wonder:

All agricultural items, including plants, plant parts, non-domesticated animals, microorganism cultures, microbial products, arthropods and soil require inspection upon arrival in Hawaii. These items must be checked before the shipment can be released to insure they are free of pests or will not become pests themselves. The Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) has placed a priority on inspections for snakes, red imported fire ants and other pests and plant diseases that are not established in Hawaii.

http://hdoa.hawaii.gov/pi/pq/import-program/

I'll just make this call and see what they say:

If you have questions regarding the import status of any plant or animal, please contact the Plant Quarantine Branch at (808) 832-0566.