I read recently on another thread that JBP seeds can be hard to come by, so I thought I would share this link. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/330627347942 ... 1439.l2649 I have contacted the seller, and he/she assures me that they only post items to Australia that are allowed by customs, and they use botanical names. I have just ordered some for myself, along with some Japanese Maple Hogyuko "jewel of the fall" http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/330634653878 ... 1423.l2649
I know it is probably too late in the season, but I thought I would share anyway.
Happy bonsai'n
Sorry Luke but they will be confiscated by customs (unless you are very lucky and they get missed). It is illegal to import any types of pine seeds. Check the quarantine website if you want to know what you can and can't import.
All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small.
Lao Tzu http://www.rowansbonsai.com Yamadori nursery.
Condition C9072
Pinus spp. seed imported from all countries excluding Chile, Haiti, Honduras, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, North Korea, Philippines, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Tanzania, the United States of America and Uruguay.
Importer’s Responsibilities
1. All consignments must be accompanied by a valid Import Permit or by means to allow the identification of the Import Permit.
2. It is the importers' responsibility to check state government/local government requirements to ensure that the seed is permitted entry into that state/territory.
3. A Quarantine Entry must be lodged for each consignment.
4. The importer must contact the AQIS office in the port of entry to confirm all arrangement for inspections and treatments.
5. The importer is responsible for payment of all associated AQIS fees and charges.
6. Seed must be free of live insects, soil, disease symptoms, prohibited seeds, other plant material (e.g. leaf, stem material, fruit pulp, pod material, etc.), animal material (e.g. animal faeces, feathers, etc.) and any other extraneous contamination of quarantine concern.
7. Each shipment must be packed in clean, new packaging, clearly labelled with the botanical name.
8. Seed must be accompanied by an official government Phytosanitary certificate from the country of origin where the seed was grown and be endorsed with the following additional declarations:
"Pitch canker (Fusarium circinatum Nirenberg & O'Donnell; teleomorph Gibberella circinata Nirenberg & O'Donnell) is not known to occur in [insert country of origin]."
AND
"The seed originated from trees which were inspected at the time of seed collection and found free from Pitch canker (Fusarium circinatum Nirenberg & O'Donnell; teleomorph Gibberella circinata Nirenberg & O'Donnell)."
9. The Phytosanitary certificate must also state that the seed has been subjected to one of the following treatments:
. Heat treatment at 54oC for 86 hours; or
. Heat treatment at 60oC for 24 hours; or
. Heat treatment at 66oC for 8 hours; or
. Immersion in 1% sodium hypochlorite solution for 10 minutes.
10. Airfreight or mail shipments should have all documentation (eg. permit or permit number, invoice, manufacturer’s declarations and certification where applicable) securely attached to the outside of the package and clearly marked "Attention Quarantine". Alternatively, necessary documentation will need to be presented to AQIS at the time of clearance.
The importation of Pinus spp. seed and nursery stock (excluding tissue cultures) from Haiti, Honduras, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Mexico, North Korea, Philippines, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Tanzania, the United States of America and Uruguay.
Seed and nursery stock (excluding tissue cultures) have been assessed as posing a serious disease risk (Pitch canker). Entry is prohibited by legislation from the above mentioned countries.
While it is not 100% illegal to import pinus seed, it is illegal to import from the USA
I have imported all sorts of seeds from all over the world for many years and in my experience most sellers cannot supply seeds that fulfill the requirements, and if they do quarantine will sometimes confiscate them anyway if the officer has a bad day or is inexperienced. I have had perfectly good seeds destroyed many times, and had some parcels of seeds missed that were so contaminated that I destroyed them myself. It can be a lottery.
I hunt up seeds for others who can't find them themselves and don't even bother with most Ebay sellers now. If your seller is not charging a lot extra for the certificates and inspections you will probably lose them. In saying that, your best bet is to buy a single packet of seed at a time for it to be missed.
Oh, and JBP is not on the list of permitted species.
Species listing for Pinus spp.
See Table 1 for a list of species that are permitted entry.
Note: Any species not listed in these tables are prohibited entry into Australia by legislation and require assessment.
Table 1: List of Permitted Species. These species may be imported subject to the conditions C9072.
Pinus banksiana
Pinus brutia
Pinus caribaea var. honduriensis
Pinus cembra
Pinus densiflora
Pinus greggii
Pinus larix
Pinus mugo
Pinus muricata
Pinus nigra
Pinus patula
Pinus pinaster
Pinus pinea
Pinus ponderosa
Pinus radiata
Pinus sylvestris
Last edited by rowan on November 30th, 2011, 7:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small.
Lao Tzu http://www.rowansbonsai.com Yamadori nursery.
yes, your right that most ebay sellers will not be supplying seed up to standard and most wouldnt bother doing a certificate. At any rate its not viable for a private grower to be legally importing pine seed as not only do you have to pay for legal import but you have to pay for quarantine to germinate the seeds, grow the plants on, do various tests to ensure they are not diseased and can cost a few thousand dollars, even if the plants are destroyed you still need to pay the fee's
Not necessarily,
If you are willing to take the risk and only buy a small amount they will just send a letter ( Naughty you, we took your seeds) and a pamplet and that is all. I have had many confiscated and it seems that they don't keep records but I did get a slap on the wrist once (bad, bad, we are keeping an eye on you and you will be prosecuted if you try it again) when I tried to beat some new legislation and missed
All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small.
Lao Tzu http://www.rowansbonsai.com Yamadori nursery.
Oh bugger!! I didn't think it was that serious I have ordered 2 packets of JBP and 3 of the Japanese Maple which is 35 seeds in total (20 JBP and 15 maple). All I can do is keep my fingers crossed I was unsure about quarantine, hence why I messaged the seller, who assured me that the seeds they sell are permitted into Australia. I just hope I don't end up having to pay any fines or associated costs for destroying seeds etc. I will keep you guys posted on the outcome. And if they don't arrive I will certainly be giving bad feedback to the seller!
Don't worry Luke,
When you get enough of the notices they are not so scary any more. The chance that you will get in to trouble is so small that you don't have to worry about it. You will just get a notice of confiscation and a pamplet. You could even be lucky and they might not be caught by customs.
Don't give the seller a neg, most other countries don't have the same restrictions as we do so they will probably not realise as they are fairly inexperienced. Just message them to let them know so they don't risk negs in the future.
BTW, you should be fine with the maple seeds as long as they have the common and botanical names on the packet.
Last edited by rowan on November 30th, 2011, 8:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small.
Lao Tzu http://www.rowansbonsai.com Yamadori nursery.
to import legally yes it is expensive but as you said its not hard to get away with doing it without the permits.
@Luke, i dont think the seller deserves negative feedback over that. Its not their job to know the laws of each country, its the buyers responsibility to know what they are buying is allowed, shouldnt blame the seller for that.
The only reason I would give negative feedback, is because I confirmed prior to purchase if they are legal to send seeds here. After reading all this, i realise it is my responsibility, but is anyone really gonna pay a $125 permit APPLICATION for less than $16 of seeds? From my understanding, even if you have put in the application, they still might be confiscated. I wont give neg feedback, but I will leave neutral feedback. I have never left negative feedback, and I hope I never have too. I have just messaged the seller and given them the link for this thread so they can see why I am stressing. I have also asked them to send each packet individually so I have a better chance of receiving them. Thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge on this subject, I never knew how serious it was. I thought that being we have both Japanese maples, and Japanese Black pines growing here, its not like I am introducing a new plant, but them again, they could be contaminated with pests which I just didn't think of.
So does anyone know where to get JBP seeds legally or in Australia?
Don't stress Luke, it's only $16, if they come , if they don't , how about sourcing some tubestock pines from somewhere , they'd be better than seeds if you can get them
I have ordered 2 packets of JBP and 3 of the Japanese Maple which is 35 seeds in total (20 JBP and 15 maple). All I can do is keep my fingers crossed 
I was unsure about quarantine, hence why I messaged the seller, who assured me that the seeds they sell are permitted into Australia. I just hope I don't end up having to pay any fines or associated costs for destroying seeds etc. I will keep you guys posted on the outcome. And if they don't arrive I will certainly be giving bad feedback to the seller!
, if they don't 
, how about sourcing some tubestock pines from somewhere , they'd be better than seeds if you can get them 
