Dominican Orchids

[unhappykat]

When you want to bring back orchids from the dominican republic you will have to get a phyto sanitary certificate as well as a CITIES permit for them to enter the states, this is part of the reason importing orchids is so expensive, this will esecially pertain to your case of wanting native species which may be common but protected from collection, the best thing to do is look up natuive species as best you can and check for any listed on CITIES appendix 1 or 2 if its not listed then you will only need the Phyto certificate, if your bag is checked and these plants are found without a phyto then they will be siezed and either quarintined for 60 days or destroyed by the agricultural department. I know its a bummer but this is what keeps the unwanted pests and diseases out of our agricultural industry. The phyto is not too expensive usually running twenty to founty dollars depending on the department that issues it but the CITIES is much more expensive and time consuming to recieve, the last time I got a quote for one it was $120 and required a week for processing. Please keep us informed on your project.

[adlemsi]

Thanks for all the info. I'm not going to travel to DR in the nearby future, just wanted to get a heads up on my research. I'll definitely post an update when I do go.

[cloudswinger]

There's an article on the AOS site about importing orchids internationally. Basically, you have to get a import permit from the USDA beforehand. It implied that if you didn't get the permit ahead of time that it was automatic confiscation and destruction. Then you need the CITES permits and phytosanitary certs for the way back. Everything has to match up. They might still quarantine the plants, so then you should have extras in case the plants didn't survive. It seemed pretty straightforward if you were buying from a grower. But if you're collecting from your family/friends, it seems like you'll need to find an Dominican inspector that could write that phytosanitary certificate. You may also need an export permit from the DR.

This lists all the CITES species for a country.
CITES-listed species database

I've been thinking of doing the same for my own country, Vietnam, but I think I'll just buy the plants at a local nursery and let them deal with the paperwork. It'd be hard to prove that your families plants are not wild collected, and that's a big no-no anyway.

[adlemsi]

I wouldn't mind buying Dominican orchids locally, but they seem very rare to find in the US. The only place I found with one was Andy's orchids.

[unhappykat]

You would have to look outside of the bigger nurseries, try calling around with some of the mom and pop nurseries in Hawaii, they are great sources of very rare and old cultivars and species. They wont be cheap, cheaper than importing them, but you will be amazed at the quality. Also if you can try getting in touch with nurseries in Puerto Rico, they are very close and may share some species, they will be the best chance at finding what you want.

[cloudswinger]

I've found a fair number of exotic species on ebay. There are some decent vendors there. I've bought from PR vendors too, it's still considered part of the US, so there's no pesky permitting to deal with.