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Plants with Special Requirements

and Prohibited Plants

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Buying or selling plants online? E-commerce itself may seem harmless, but some

plants pose a significant risk to the United States. These products may carry plant

pests and pathogens or be a noxious weed. To safeguard U.S. agriculture, APHIS

prohibits certain types of plants from entering the United States and enforces

special requirements for others—from permits and certificates to specific shipping

and labeling needs.

Importers must check if plants have special requirements before they can be

shipped to the United States. Visit eFile, create an account (1.59 MB), and apply for

a PPQ 587 permit to find out. This process can take up to 2 months, so plan

accordingly with your exporter.

Plants With Special Requirements

Plants in Growing Media

Plants for planting shipped to the United States must be free of sand, soil, earth, and

other growing media.
For plants to be shipped in a growing media, they must meet requirements of APHISapproved plants in growing media programs and all of the following conditions:

Be APHIS-approved taxa (see APHIS-Approved Plants in Growing Media below)

In APHIS-approved growing media

From an APHIS-approved facility

Be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national plant

protection organization of the country where the plants were grown, with an

additional declaration that the plants meet the conditions of the APHIS Plant

Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) Plants in Growing Media Programs

Exceptions to Growing Media General Restriction

These specific plants may be imported in growing media:

Epiphytic plants (including orchid plants). These may be imported on the

following growing media:

Coconut husks

Coconut fiber

New clay pots

New wooden baskets

Plants from Canada that meet Canadian-origin plants in growing media

requirements.

Plants growing solely in agar or in other agar-like tissue culture media

Go to the Plants in Growing Media Programs in the Agricultural Commodity Import

Requirements (ACIR) portal to view lists of approved taxa and growing media and

learn more about the exceptions. Use the ACIR facilities search engine to find all upto-date facility lists.

Size and Age Restrictions

Plants for planting offered for importation must meet size and age requirements.

There are two size and age restrictions based on whether the whole plant or part of

a plant is offered for import:

1. Whole plants shipped into the United States should not be older than 2 years.

2. Plant parts are not eligible for importation if the stem diameter exceeds 4

inches and the plant is taller than 6 feet.
For specific size and age restrictions and other variations, visit the ACIR portal.

Propagative Plants With Additional Treatments

The following propagative plant parts must be treated at a U.S. port of entry before

they will be released to the importer:

Allium sativum (garlic) bulbs

Dioscorea (yam) tubers

Artificially Dwarfed Propagative Plants

Artificially dwarfed plants (such as bonsai or penjing) can be imported into the

United States if they are:

Younger than 2 years old

From any country except Canada

They must be handled as follows:

Any growing media, including soil, must be removed from the artificially

dwarfed plants (bonsai or penjing) prior to shipment to the United States

(except for plants to be imported according to the Approved Taxa for Plants in

Growing Media Program). Refer to the ACIR portal for the appropriate

commodity import requirements.

Artificially dwarfed plants must be grown per the following requirements, and

the required phytosanitary certificate must contain the additional declarations

that those requirements have been met.

Artificially dwarfed plants must be grown for at least 2 years in a

greenhouse or screenhouse in a nursery registered with the government of

the country where the plants were grown.

Artificially dwarfed plants must be grown in pots containing only sterile

growing media during the 2-year period when they are grown.

You can find further details of requirements in the ACIR portal.

Endangered Plants

Plants of certain endangered species are protected under the Convention on

International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the Endangered Species Act
(ESA). To import protected seed species, the buyer must obtain a PPQ 587–Permit To

Import Plants or Plant Products. They may also be required to obtain a PPQ

621–Permit To Engage in the Business of Importing, Exporting or Re-Exporting

Terrestrial Plants or Plant Products That Are Protected.

In addition, the seller must obtain a CITES Certificate/Permit from the country of

origin. This document must accompany the shipment.

To view lists of plants protected under CITES and ESA, please visit the following

links:

CITES.org: See "Flora-Plants" toward the end of the list.

Agricultural Commodity Import Requirements Portal

Plants That Require Postentry Quarantine

Postentry quarantine restrictions may be placed on the importation of certain taxa of

plants for planting based on an identified pest risk. Plants are required to grow in

quarantine for 2 years. Some are grown for less than 2 years. Seeds are exempt

from postentry quarantine.

Plants required to enter a postentry quarantine must:

Be accompanied by a valid postentry quarantine permit (form PPQ 546)

Be destined to a State that has completed a State postentry quarantine

agreement with APHIS

Be imported under an importer postentry quarantine growing agreement

Refer to the Plants for Planting Manual(Chapter 5) or the ACIR portal for the list of

plants that require postentry quarantine.

Prohibited Plants

Plants That Are Not Authorized Pending Risk Analysis

Not Authorized Pending Pest Risk Analysis (NAPPRA) plants is a category of

regulated plants that cannot be imported into the United States until APHIS

completes a pest risk analysis and puts mitigation measures in place. Small

quantities of NAPPRA plants may be imported for experimental, therapeutic and
development purposes under strict quarantine conditions with a controlled import

permit (PPQ 588–Application for Permit to Import Prohibited Plants or Plant Products

for Experimental Purposes).

Some plant species from a few countries are exempt from the NAPPRA restrictions

based on pest risk assessment and trade history. Please refer to the ACIR portal or

the NAPPRA page (see the "NAPPRA Lists" section) to view lists of NAPPRA plants and

country exemptions.

If you are importing a plant from a country for which there is a NAPPRA exemption,

you'll need the following:

Import permit for propagation (PPQ 587–Application for Permit to Import Plants

or Plant Products)

Phytosanitary certificate from country of origin

Federal Noxious Weeds

All propagatable plant parts of Federal Noxious Weeds (262.05 KB) are prohibited

from all countries. These plants may only be imported for research in an APHISapproved containment facility with a PPQ 526–Permit to Move Live Plant Pests,

Biological Control Agents, or Noxious Weeds.

Parasitic Plants

Plant parts (including seeds) of parasitic plants are prohibited from all countries.

These plants may only be imported for research in an APHIS-approved containment

facility with a PPQ 526–Permit to Move Live Plant Pests, Biological Control Agents, or

Noxious Weeds.