Moving Plants

Posted by Kate Copsey May 15, 2006

This past week I have been busy getting plants ready to move from Pittsburgh to Georgia. This is not an easy task. Deciding which to take and which to leave here was tough. Part of the decision was made for me because some of the shrubs, such as lilac, do not survive in the south.

The ones that I did decide to take, needed to be inspected by the state before transportation. This is an important step that many people miss out. Certain restrictions apply before a plant can be transported to another state. Most of this stems from the concern about transporting bugs such as Gypsy Moth from one area to another. Japanese beetles are also something that is slowly spreading westward, but the states that do not have the beetle as yet, are in no hurry for you to bring it in.

Phytocertification or Plant Health certificate is easy to obtain and is a free service from the Department of Agriculture. The process took about 90 minutes whilst the inspector checked the plants for whitefly, bugs, mildew and general health. The plants had been taken out of soil, and barerooted for ease of inspection.

Most of mine passed the inspection, a few need to be left due to some evidence of scale. These will be replaced when we get to our new home.