Where do You Buy Plants?

         I’m a recreational vegetable gardener and semi-successful practitioner of low maintenance landscaping. My wife likes flowers. Every spring when the weather warms up, we drive to our favorite nurseries and stock up on seeds, plants, bushes, and trees. We’re lucky to live in western Oregon. Most of Oregon’s 3,000-plus nurseries are within 50 miles of our home. If you’re like us, you probably feel good about buying local plants.

         But are those plants in the garden center really local? You’d be surprised at the amount of plant material Oregon imports, some of it from overseas. Below is a summary of the nursery stock imported into Oregon from foreign sources last month (April, 2013).

12	Drosera	Australia	400	Origanum s	Israel
227	Sarracenia	Australia	100	Pelargonium	Israel
4,650	Dioneae	Australia	200	Rosmarinus officinalis	Israel
6,900	Cotinus	Netherlands	600	Salvia	Israel
700	Cordyline	Singapore	200	Satureja	Israel
8,000	Dracaena	Singapore	100	Stevia	Israel
3,210	Paeonia	Canada	1,000	Thymus	Israel
10,000	Brunnera	New Zealand	200	Zaluzianskya	Israel
1,500	Calibrachoa	Israel	26	Iris	Australia
360	Impatiens	Israel	77	Iris	Thailand
120	Nemesa	Israel	31,500	Ranunculus	France
920	Petunia	Israel	10	Plumeria	Thailand
1,400	Calibrachoa	Israel	38	Iris	Australia
400	Artemisa	Israel	1,800	Calibrachoa	Israel
200	Lippia	Israel	3,500	Petunia	Israel
1,000	Menta	Israel	1,000	Petunia	Israel
200	Ocimum	Israel	800	Petunia	Israel
2,000	Sedum	Israel	600	Petunia	Israel
3,600	Impatiens	Israel	1,400	Nemesia	Israel
2,000	Nasturtium	Israel	500	Ajuga	Israel
4,100	Erodium	Israel	900	Begonia	Israel
100	Petunia	Israel	1,300	Calibrachoa	Israel
1,000	Verbena	Israel	3,900	Lantana	Israel
700	Lantana	Israel	3,400	Petunia	Israel
600	Verbena	Israel	400	Calibrachoa	Israel
1,600	Lantana	Israel	800	Calibrachoa	Israel
100	Lantana	Israel	800	Petunia	Israel
200	Verbena	Israel	1,200	Petunia	Israel
100	Calibrachoa	Israel	100	Petunia	Israel
300	Verbena	Israel	105 g	Abies seed	Denmark

         Readers with a botany background will notice many common flowers and herbs on the list. Note that this is just the plant material imported from outside the country. Much more comes in from other states.

         Some of what is imported is new varieties developed elsewhere and not yet available here, but looking at the numbers above it seems some nurseries are outsourcing their propagation. It boggles my mind to think that Petunias grown in Israel can be shipped to Oregon more cheaply than they can be produced here!

         Leaving behind the incomprehensible economics, let’s turn to the plant pest risks. All the countries above have plant pests and diseases not present in Oregon. Commercial shipments like these are certified in their country of origin and screened when they enter this country. At the plant inspection stations (the closest one to Oregon is Seattle), a percentage of the boxes are opened and the plants are inspected for pests and disease. If there is a heavy infestation of a blight or pest of concern, the shipment is rejected.

         More likely though, a plant here and there will have a few whitefly eggs or a root rot, and the inspector doesn’t have a chance of spotting all the potential problems. Some will get through, and a percentage of those will find Oregon’s climate to their liking.

         When looking at invasive species pathways, global trade and travel in plant material is riskier than trade in manufactured goods. A live plant is the perfect vehicle for a hitchhiking mealybug or fungal blight, only it’s more than a ride. It’s a hop, skip, and a jump - from one continent to another.

         This is an example of how we’re our own worse enemy when it comes to invasive species. It is a people-created problem. We bring them to Oregon. On the positive side, that means that people are also the solution. I don’t blame nurseries for shopping around for the best prices from potential suppliers, but I do think the price of flower starts from overseas should include the cost of dealing with the invasive species problems they inevitably bring.

Dan Hilburn