Importing Bonsai Part 1/3

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[b:c006d00f7e]IMPORTING BONSAI FROM JAPAN (Part 1/3)[/b:c006d00f7e]

Japan is the cultural center for classical bonsai. *You can find great examples in other regions of the Asia, including great tropical bonsai in Taiwan and India, but the Japanese have codified and classified bonsai, defining basic styles and developing techniques that have raised the art form to a new level.

If you are interested in importing bonsai from Japan to the United States there are a few things you should know up front. * *These tips are intended to help you, not discourage you.

The new airline restrictions in the wake of the events of September 11th may make this information a little out-of-date. *You should contact your airline for information concerning baggage, particularly oversize.[*]Plan your trip to coincide with the best repotting season to increase your rate of survival. *November and February are good months for the California climate.[*]Prior to embarking on your trip, you should contact APHIS to obtain a plant importation permit. *(see selected bibliography for links in part 3 of this article)* The permit will list a good variety of plants that cannot be imported to the US, some with special restrictions and some are acceptable. *Your state may have additional importation limitations or requirements.[*]Trees imported to the US must be free of soil. * A grower knowledgeable in importation requirements will know what to do, but the process generally consists of raking soil from the roots followed by a jet wash with a high-pressure water hose. *There is probably nothing worse for a tree (conifers in specific) than to be stripped entirely of soil, but this is a requirement. *Next the roots are wrapped in damp sphagnum moss, placed on a polyethelene wrapper and tied with a neat criss crossing of twine. *They trees are then packaged in sturdy cartons that have been impregnated with a light wax laminate. *Extra packing material is rarely used as many of the growers have raised to an art form the placement of trees in containers.[*]As a practical consideration, it is most cost-effective that deciduous trees be brought in as developed stumps with perhaps just a few major branches developed. *It's possible to bring in very developed, ramified trees, but unless they are shohin, they are going to take a great deal more space.[*]The next step is a visit to the local plant protection agency. *I am familiar with PPA sites in the vicinity of Toyohashi and Kinashi-Cho in the area of the inland sea. *I also understand that there is an inspection station at the Tokyo's airport, although I have not visited it. *The PPA will require a copy of the import permit and after inspecting the plants thoroughly, will issue a document called a phytosanitary certificate. *This is no guarantee that the tree will be accepted by US Customs and Agriculture, but it is a requirement of APHIS. *Without the certificate your trees are in danger of being destroyed upon entry, particularly if you have not taken the necessary steps.[*] After issuing the certificate, the PPA will stamp and seal the carton. * The flight to the US is relatively short event in a plant's life. *Some growers indicate that they successfully transport plants to Korea and Taiwan by ship under the same conditions and on Journeys that can last a couple weeks.[*]When checking the trees at the airport, do indicate that they are live plants and *request that they be treated accordingly.[*]On board, you will need to complete a US Customs declaration indicating that you are bringing in plants.

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[b:a430a5889f]IMPORTING BONSAI FROM JAPAN PART 2/3[/b:a430a5889f][*]Upon arrival in the US, depending upon your port of entry, your plants may be redirected to an agricultural inspection station in another major metropolitan center such as the one at Oyster Point for San Francisco area, or Los Angeles, or they may be inspected right at the airport. Up to 12 bonsai may be imported for non-commercial purposes and inspected at international airports provided they have the facilities on hand to do so. At the Agricultural station they will be evaluated for the presence of soil borne organisms, disease, nematodes, borers and insects. *They will also be compared against the list of acceptable entry plants.[*]Plants that require post-entry quarantine, including Juniper, are not recommended for the first-time importer. *Frankly, the quality of raw stock junipers in the US for bonsai design is vastly superior to what is available in Japan to the the average person, anyway. *The wild areas of Japan are increasingly scarce and trees have been collected from them for centuries. *This means that the price of a collected juniper of quality is extravagant. *[*]Plants prohibited for entry (from Japan), including the very popular two and three-needle pines, cannot be imported by the private citizen except with special government restrictions, quarantine and inspections. * This, unfortunately, puts the Japanese Black and Red pine out of reach, however the Five Needle Pine (Japanese White Pine or [i:a430a5889f]Pinus parviflora[/i:a430a5889f] is accepted. *Other species that cannot be imported include many fruiting trees, among them the Prunus genus, and maples were on the post-entry quarantine list. *[*]Nevertheless, this leaves many popular bonsai subjects, including fine Crepe Myrtle, beautiful Azalea, Beech, uncommon Dogwood and Japanese Stewartia, etc.[*] Once you have arrived home with your treasures, you may choose to soak them in vitamin B-1 prior to transplantation. *Be sure to lightly prune the root tips and contrary to general practice, save as much root as possible, even if this means folding it back on itself to fit the container. *Of course, tie the tree securely into the container to prevent movement as critical feeder and hair roots regenerate. *Transplanting in oversize containers and application of 0-10-10 fertilizer is advisable. *Organic fertilizers are great in concert with an innoculation of beneficial soil micorrhizzae from another healthy plant of the same genus.

Two seasons' strong growth is a good indication of the tree's general health. *Pines have quite a reserve of energy that can be quickly depleted. *If the second season finds them in decline you may need to take steps. *Do not undertake any styling efforts until you are certain the trees have recovered from import trauma.

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[b:c8c59b12f3]IMPORTING BONSAI PART 3/3

Selected Bibliography (all in Adobe PDF form).[/b:c8c59b12f3]

You will need to download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader plugin to access the information below. This is a popular plug-in and quite useful for many on-line brochures and catalogs and has recently become something of an internet standard for government reports.

The links below take you to the respective APHIS site where you may click on the little PDF icon to load the file into the browser plugin. Then, you can read or print it.
[*]PPQ Form 587 - Application for Permit to Import Plants or Plant Products
[*]A Guide to Shipping Foreign Plants Home, January 1996, Plant Protection & Quarantine
[*]General guidelines for permits for the importation of admissible nursery stock, plants, and roots not subject to postentry quarantine, and seeds of trees and shrubs
[*]Import notes for artificially dwarfed trees from Japan
[*]Common Plant General not Prohibited or Subject to Postentry Quarantine under Quarantine 37
[*]Artificially Dwarfed Trees - General
[*]Suggestions for the Packing and Shipping of Plant Materials
[*]Admissible list - Japan
[*]Plant Importing Procedures and Responsibilities of Plant Importers
[*]Suggestions to Applications for Permits to Import Plant Propagating Material under Quarantine No. 37

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oh brother it's been fairly difficult to obtain the proper permit. i started my project may 2001, with the goal of importing 4 or 5 bonsai from china and japan.

i originally applied with APHIS's on-line permit. they lost this. i reapplied some months later, and finally receivied a call from Betina (?) from their riverdale MD location. she said the first application should not be theirs, but rather to "your State Department of Agriculture." APHIS kindly sent me "PPQ Form 546" and i as i live in california, i sent this to:

Pest Exclusion Branch
CA Dept of Food and Agriculture
1220 N St, Rm A327
Sacramento, CA 95814

according to APHIS, the state agency is supposed to CC APHIS after the state has approved the application, as the state has the primary responsibility over "post-entry quarantine" permiting and inspection. for the california pest exclusion branch/CA Dept of F&A, the contact is Barbara Hass (916) 654-1017, but i have never gotten to speak to her, and she has never returned my 3 or 4 voice mails.

so in the end i have no idea whether this is the correct procedure. i just thought i'd share the procedure APHIS has asked me to follow. any thoughts guys?

- john

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Hi John,

This is probably because you are doing post-entry species.

A few years back when I submitted my app. I selected Juniper. There are several restrictions, including keeping the tree some distance away from similar Genera, and I believe that a site inspection is required.

They called and asked to come out for an inspection, but I was in Japan at the time and never followed up. If you have never done this before, I would stick with plants that are allowed under the general permit. It's hard enough the first time!

Regards,

Matt

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bonsaial1

Is this John B. in fresno? If it is we hooked up at El Dorado Bonsai earlier this summer.

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It's about time that the proper respect be given to the fine art of balloon animals...

matt, you are absolutely correct, i totally forgot to mention that some of the trees are on the post-entry quarantine list.

what's tuff to stomach is that my targets are/were not all that exotic -- trident and elm (china); white pine and juniper (japan). sheesh! i got a letter from USDA saying that fees may apply for inspection of the growing site/plants, but no indication of how much. so how in the world do commerical guys import those huge old tridents from korea, and those ugly old elms fro china?

yea, it may not be worth it, but i was in shanghai this summer, and saw a 60+ yr, nicely ramified 80 cm trident for less than US$80. wow, talk about incentive.

al, i'm john wang from los angeles.