Re: New member
- To: i*@rt66.com
- Subject: Re: New member
- From: A* R* <a*@austx.tandem.com>
- Date: Thu, 5 Dec 1996 11:20:03 -0600 (CST)
> We are also looking at the possibility of getting plant health certification
> for sending irises to the US and Canada. This is expensive, and we're not
> sure how much demand there would be (air freight charges are likely to be
> high) - so I would like to hear from anyone who is interested in getting
> bearded iris plants from Europe.
The US market is quite huge, but you're right -- plant health cert is
expensive. Most if not all of the big UK companies who ship to the US
ship seeds -- eg. T&M, Chilterns, etc.
You'd have to look at cost-effectiveness: older TB cultivars sell here
for $3-6, newer ones depend ... but after a few years drop down below
the $10 range. I wouldn't think shipping bearded would be difficult as
they can dry out considerably and in fact *should* dry out some before
planting.
I would say get the catalogs from Cooleys, Schreiners, etc. to see if
you could compete in the "mass market." Otherwise, you'd have a big
advantage if you offer rarer cultivars, especially anything from Europe.
The only non-US iris we see a lot of here comes from Australia.
--
Amy Moseley Rupp
amyr@austx.tandem.com, Austin, TX, zone 8b
*or* amyr@mpd.tandem.com
Jill O. *Trades, Mistress O. {}
