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How to import Garden Plants into the UK?

- Are there any agents that can handle this kind of import? - What are the restrictions in importing plants into the UK?

Public Comments

1. Generally you're fine with plants from Europe, due to the open market, but outside of Europe it's harder, as plants need to be certified as healthy. The European Union has legal controls over the importation of plant material into Europe, and this is coupled with several UK laws, including Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland. Europe faces a constant battle against pests, viruses and bacterial infections etc, imported from overseas, so these checks are essential to preserve the well-being of our plant life, as well as agricultural production of our food crops. All non-EU material must be accompanied by a Phytosanitary certificate, and must be inspected by government inspectors upon arrival in the UK, which must be notified to them several days in advance. If this is not done correctly, or there is no certification, then importation cannot happen and the material will be destroyed. I've worked with some great Dutch companies who import and export all the time, so that's an option to get imports managed by them. Many of them are specialists with specific types of plants, so I'd search to find some that would handle what you'd like. This is not to say that there aren't loads of great UK companies, but I've found the Dutch really accommodating - importing from the Netherlands is easy, if they get the stuff first, and clears their importation checks etc. Hope this helps. Good luck! Rob
2. Don't. We have very restrictive laws (for good reason) so only import via a 3rd party who are registered or they will be confiscated and destroyed.