I'm not sure if it has been posted yet but we may be able to buy citrus trees again from Florida. I got an email about a week ago from Harris Citrus Nursery promoting their new Facebook page. On their page they stated that they were finalizing the process to be able to ship citrus trees out of the state of Florida again.

From their Facebook page:

"Harris Citrus Nursery
Another beautful day here at Harris Citrus Nursery. We are almost finished with the application process with USDA so that we are able to ship our trees outside the State of Florida. It will be awesome when we have completed this part of the process!
Like · · Share · September 20 at 8:40am"

Thanks for the good news, G. It would be nice if Just Fruits did the same!

Keep us posted!

I don't know that it's good news. It will just spread Greening & the vector that causes it... I for one will stay away from any FL citrus.

Laaz I have to disagree -- I think the place you are least likely to get greening, these days, is from a Florida nursery. They've been forced to go to such extraordinary lengths to prevent it, that their likelihood of providing clean material is nearly 100% Much better than from an unregulated nursery somewhere else, where we just don't know if they have the disease, or where their propagating material came from.

It is true to a degree. USDA has changed the rules so that citrus nurseries, that meet certain stringent requirements, can ship nursery stock out of state. I am not sure if this change would apply to retail nurseries such as Just Fruits. Even if it did, it would be difficult, if not impossible for retailers to meet the requirements, as I understand them. Trees must be grown in screen houses where entry is controlled and treated with a systemic before shipment. (Both previously required) I believe I was told (or read) that a USDA inspection is required every 30 days, and the nursery being inspected would required to pay for the inspection. Actually, the rules are too complex to go into here, even if I was able to do so (and I'm not).

To my knowledge, no nursery has elected to meet the requirements at this point. Dr. Manners may be able to tell us more about this, I am sure. I believe the new regulations are available on the web. Maybe there will be something about it at the CE.

Ned

While I was writing Dr. Manners spoke. He is right of course. I have been to some of the wholesale citrus nurseries, and I can tell you they are squeaky clean. Trees all grown in screen houses and carefully monitored to prevent insect entry. Though I have not visited one, I understand that the trees used for budwood are grown in screen houses also, and and also carefully monitored and tested on a regular basis.

I still don't know... Psyllids are so small, they could be on the clothing of workers going in and out of the screen houses. I would like to see more information on this if Dr. Manners has any.

Lazz this is a complex issue, and I am not sure either. As has been said here before, the areas around the citrus nurseries have lots of places greening and psyllids are likely to exist - close by. Places like old abandon nurseries and feral citrus trees in the woods. Still I feel like growing and shipping trees under the new rules will be as safe as what is currently taking place.

Here is a link to what I believe is the CFR that now applies. You can see why it is taking a while for the nurseries to figure out which way to go.

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=018408b0a958321f99ff762dda808ffa&rgn=div6&view=text&node=7:5.1.1.1.2.14&idno=7

I have to agree with Dr Manners. As for feral trees, I think the approved nurseries (or at least their screenhouses) have to be a considerable distance from any other citrus trees--residential or commercial. In addition, all plants leaving the nursery have to be treated with imidacloprid or similar insecticides. This was designed to protect FL citrus industry and they are very serious about it.

Actually Skeeter, some of the nurseries are very close to feral trees and abandon nurseries - in Florida there is just no way to avoid it. Removing all such trees would be almost impossible. But the nurseries I have seen are well monitored, and under screens that protect the nursery trees from insects. You can bet that no nursery wants to be found to be the source of any disease, especially Greening. I imagine that would pretty much shut them down, if not put them out of business altogether.

As far as I know, citrus tree have been shipped out of the state of Florida all along without full disruption. Re: Airport sales, and road side sales. - Millet (447-)

There has been no legal shipping out of the State in recent years. Surely people could buy a tree in Florida and take it out by private car, and no one would know. But it could not be legally done. I certainly don't know of any airport sales -- any trees packaged for such movement would be strictly illegal.

But I do think, at this point, that there is less likelihood of a tree in a Florida nursery having greening than a tree from a nursery in any other state, since those other nurseries are not being tested and inspected. Our nurseries are inspected every 30 days. Yet since the mandated screenhouse production rules, not a single case of greening has been found in a Florida citrus nursery. That's a pretty good record!

Thanks Dr. Manners. What is the canker situation in FL now ?

Some of the regs I read earlier this year made me think of going into surgery. No outside contamination is permitted. The only thing tha goes back and forth are the people and they are severly restricted. You don't just walk up open the door and go inside. I seem to remember that all tools, pots, soil etc.. must be treated and inspected prior to entry and they pretty much stay inside once they get there. I think there was protective clothing for the workers too. Also I believe a airlock was used.

JF&E has a budwood room and a plant growout room. Not sure but I would say that if they can they will conform.

I would rather have a FL certified plant shipped to me than to buy one from the local box store.

I also believe that all diseases, pests, fungus and virus will spread as far as it is biologically possible. No matter what preventative measures are used... and I think we have heard this before.... "Nature will find away".

Hopefully we will find treatments to overcome whatever issue is torturing us.

I know that after the restrictions were placed on Florida citrus trees, airline passengers long could purchase at Florida airports those small pre-packed citrus trees in the colorful cardboard boxes. In fact the airport citrus sales has come up on this forum several times, with members asking how they got away with selling them on the concourses. Maybe they have finally got around to restricting them, but they were still being sold not long ago. Anyway, that not here or there. I would believe that Florida nursery trees would be amoung the safest citrus trees one could purchase, as long as they left the state quickly. - Millet (447-)