Want to order some seeds from
http://www.lifestyleseeds.co.za/
A South African company specialising in SA plants.
Anyone had dealings with them?

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

On Sun, 23 Apr 2017 17:46:35 +0100, Bob Hobden wrote:

Want to order some seeds from http://www.lifestyleseeds.co.za/
A South African company specialising in SA plants.
Anyone had dealings with them?

I assume you are thinking of importing to the UK?

You need to check the regulations:

https://www.gov.uk/bringing-food-ani...into-uk/plants

On 23 Apr 2017 13:36, Ermin Trude wrote:
On Sun, 23 Apr 2017 17:46:35 +0100, Bob Hobden wrote:

Want to order some seeds from http://www.lifestyleseeds.co.za/
A South African company specialising in SA plants.
Anyone had dealings with them?

I assume you are thinking of importing to the UK?

You need to check the regulations:

https://www.gov.uk/bringing-food-ani...into-uk/plants


Seems to suggest that 5 packets of seed is OK.
--
Regards
Bob Hobden

On 23 Apr 2017 18:46, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Sun, 23 Apr 2017 17:46:35 +0100, Bob Hobden
wrote:

Want to order some seeds from
http://www.lifestyleseeds.co.za/
A South African company specialising in SA plants.
Anyone had dealings with them?

Many years ago I subscribed to the South African Botanical Society,
mainly because they gave free seeds from a wide variety of SA plants.
But they stopped doing the free seed to overseas members and I didn't
renew my subscription. Since then I've not actually bought any seed
from SA, but I believe Silverhill Seeds are OK although I have no
direct experience of them. http://www.silverhillseeds.co.za/

Yes they too have the Dietes seeds I'm after, thanks. The other firm
quote in US$ but it's about the same price with postage.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

On Mon, 24 Apr 2017 14:47:08 +0100, Bob Hobden wrote:

On 23 Apr 2017 13:36, Ermin Trude wrote:
On Sun, 23 Apr 2017 17:46:35 +0100, Bob Hobden wrote:

Want to order some seeds from http://www.lifestyleseeds.co.za/
A South African company specialising in SA plants.
Anyone had dealings with them?

I assume you are thinking of importing to the UK?

You need to check the regulations:

https://www.gov.uk/bringing-food-ani...into-uk/plants


Seems to suggest that 5 packets of seed is OK.

The piece that I read says:

"Buying plants online or by post

Check that the seller can provide a phytosanitary certificate before you
buy any plants from outside the EU."

I didn't see the mention of 5 packets of seeds.

Maybe I worry too much about 'alien species' but one only has to look at
the havoc caused by the import of such plants as Himalayan Balsam and
other such plants.

In article ,
Ermin Trude wrote:

I didn't see the mention of 5 packets of seeds.

It was there. It's typical Whitehall bureaucracy - there's no limit
if you import them commercially.

Maybe I worry too much about 'alien species' but one only has to look at
the havoc caused by the import of such plants as Himalayan Balsam and
other such plants.

Like, er, negligible? There is a hell of a lot of hysteria about
such things, but they aren't an ecological problem IN THE UK. The
point is that almost the entirety of our non-marine ecology is
comprised of species that have been introduced or have invaded in
the past 11,000 years.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On Tue, 25 Apr 2017 12:36:35 +0000, Nick Maclaren wrote:

In article , Ermin
Trude wrote:

I didn't see the mention of 5 packets of seeds.

It was there.

'was' as in used to be or 'was' in that I missed it?

It's typical Whitehall bureaucracy - there's no limit if
you import them commercially.

With the proper certification.

Maybe I worry too much about 'alien species' but one only has to look at
the havoc caused by the import of such plants as Himalayan Balsam and
other such plants.

Like, er, negligible?

Ah, you've never seen what Himalayan Balsam can do to the banks of
waterways then? Nor what Japanese Knotweed can do and how difficult both
are to eradicate - Knotweed in particular.

There is a hell of a lot of hysteria about such
things, but they aren't an ecological problem IN THE UK.

Really? Do you honestly believe that? I'm speaking very much from
practical experience of both the ones I've mentioned - are you?

On 25/04/17 13:36, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Ermin Trude wrote:

I didn't see the mention of 5 packets of seeds.

It was there. It's typical Whitehall bureaucracy - there's no limit
if you import them commercially.

Maybe I worry too much about 'alien species' but one only has to look at
the havoc caused by the import of such plants as Himalayan Balsam and
other such plants.

Like, er, negligible? There is a hell of a lot of hysteria about
such things, but they aren't an ecological problem IN THE UK. The
point is that almost the entirety of our non-marine ecology is
comprised of species that have been introduced or have invaded in
the past 11,000 years.

That would have been true 50 years ago, but things like Dutch Elm
Disease and now the threat to ash from Ash Dieback and possible threat
of the Emerald Ash Borer are major ecological problems. The threat is
not only from plants, but what may be brought in on those plants. It's
true that our "problems" with Himalayan Balsam and Japanese Knotweed
pale into insignificance when compared to Water Hyacinth in tropical
countries, Hakea in South Africa, and the now non-existent Opuntia in
Australia, but that doesn't mean there isn't a plant out there which
couldn't become a threat.

--

Jeff

In article ,
Jeff Layman wrote:

That would have been true 50 years ago, but things like Dutch Elm
Disease and now the threat to ash from Ash Dieback and possible threat
of the Emerald Ash Borer are major ecological problems. The threat is
not only from plants, but what may be brought in on those plants. It's
true that our "problems" with Himalayan Balsam and Japanese Knotweed
pale into insignificance when compared to Water Hyacinth in tropical
countries, Hakea in South Africa, and the now non-existent Opuntia in
Australia, but that doesn't mean there isn't a plant out there which
couldn't become a threat.

None of those (nor virtually any other such disease) is transferred
via seeds. There are two myths he

The only terrestrial plant that is a serious ECOLOGICAL problem is
Japanese knotweed, though there are some aquatic ones. Himalayan
balsam is highly invasive, but doesn't eliminate whole ecologies;
in fact, I have looked carefully and have never seen it form a
monoculture. The people who make a flap about it (and most other
'alien' species) simply have no idea how dynamic the UK's ecology
has been for the past 10,000/1,000/100 years (pick any). We are
NOT New Zealand, Madagascar etc.

Dutch elm disease has probably been native almost since elms
arrived (see Rackham), and the other diseases aren't all that
different. Also, we can't stop the ones that are carried by
insects from crossing the Channel, because of the occasional
easterly gale - all we can do is delay. Our problems with such
things are almost entirely by the way that we have stressed the
ecologies by preventing them regenerating naturally and by things
like air pollution (*). Without attending to those, no defence
will work in the long term; with attending to them, no other defence
is essential.

(*) https://www.theguardian.com/environm...air-plan-delay


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.