Travelling Plants - do I need a plant passport?

So you are leaving the UK, and you really want to take Katie the Cactus, who has become part of the family. And it would be such a shame to leave behind that flowering shrub Granny gave you. Plant import/export regulations are probably not uppermost in your mind.

If they are, the chances are you will already be confused by Plant Health Certificates and Plant Passports.

As a gardener, and occasional gardening writer, I was recently asked for advice on this subject. I suspect I was supposed to know the answer. I didn’t, and the finding-out process was a tedious and convoluted one.

My initial enquiries to both our Westminster and Holyrood officialdoms were met with the internet equivalent of blank stares. Without apparently recognising the actual question I asked, both initially responded by referring me to commercial plant export regulations. Commercial plant regulations are complex, but at least they are clearly specified. However, they don’t apply to individuals.

When it comes to the movement of plants for personal use, the waters become muddy.

The website of The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs advises that “there are no bureaucratic restrictions on the movement of plants across national borders within the EU”.

But elsewhere it states that “many plants require plant passports in order to circulate freely within the European single market”.

The DEFRA site also advises that “a limited range of (plant) material . . . . requires a plant passport to facilitate its movement”. Nowhere on the site, however, as far as I can see, is there a list of plants which fall into this category.

The “passport” reference relates to the horticultural Plant Passport system, which is clear and well-defined, but refers exclusively to commercial plant production, and the trading of plants within the EU by commercial growers. There is no equivalent for plants grown by/belonging to an individual, who wishes to take said plants elsewhere in the EU.

Just to complicate things further, the HM Customs & Excise website reminds us that non-food plants are subject to VAT, so if you have the temerity to bring a wee cutting of the Bird of Paradise back to the UK after a sojourn in France you must declare it and pay the duty or face the consequences. It could be a useful diversion if you had half a distillery in your hand luggage.

The Kew Gardens website is well worth a visit for any horticulture buff, and the last word comes from there.

According to Kew, “any plant material specified by orders under the Plant Health Act 1967 must first be quarantined for at least a growing season . . . “

Sadly, my best search efforts have so far failed to establish exactly what is specified by the Plant Health Act 1967.

Finally, the Scottish Office came to my rescue, and from their helpful email, I can at last offer some clarification.

• The Plant Passport system applies only to commercial transactions within the horticultural trade. So forget it.
• The “for personal use” philosophy appears to apply in this case – a few plants will raise no questions.
• Neither the UK government nor the EC has thus far actually addressed the question of individuals moving plants within the EC, as part of their personal possessions, hence no rules can be found. This situation will no doubt change!
• If you want to move plants, seeds, bulbs or cut flowers for your personal use, within the EU, you can do so without the need for any plant health certificates – providing they are within your own luggage, not intended for any trading purpose, and free of pests and diseases.
• There are no statutory border checks for plants travelling between EC member states.

I have delved deeply into this subject, and the information I have given is correct at time of writing. However, rules and regulations change, so I would advise checking with DEFRA to confirm the situation before you pack up Katie the Cactus and take her to her new home.

Mike Clark is a gardening columnist and regular contributor to BritishExpat.com.