Looking to buy some cacti seeds

Hi all, I been looking at sites on the internet to buy some seeds. I don't want many, looking for Estotoa nana and Ferros, just try some different ones that I don't have. So many outlets any suggestions on where to buy. Overseas???? so confusing.

my favorite for that sort of thing: the guy is really helpful and CHEAP.


http://www.mesagarden.com/

from his lists: first price is the 1 pack price - others are bulk

Espostoa, /14-15/ wooly columnar plants, Peru
414.61-baumannii KK300 white-orange bristly hairs 1.00 3.50 11.00
414.69-hylaea pale yellow spines 1.00 3.50 11.00
414.77-lanata slender branching white wooly stem .90 2.80 8.00
414.94-melanostele thicker stem, long yellow spines 1.00 3.50 11.00
416.608-nana short stem, super white wooly 1.00 3.50 11.00
416.63-mirabilis covered with yellow-pink-white sp .90 2.80 8.00

Ferocactus, /3,6,8/ colored spines, likes full sun
416.7-chrysacanthus /14/ brilliant yellow-red hooked spines 1.25
416.72-chrysacanthus L010 /15/ Cedros Is, brilliant yellow-red sp 1.50 5.00 16.00
416.766-cylindraceus /17/ se Wikieup, Az .90 2.30 5.50
416.768-cylindraceus /17/ Meadview AZ, super dense red spines .90 2.80 8.00
416.9-cylindraceus /16/ e Tecopa, CA, dense curly yellow - red sp .90 2.30 5.50
416.95-cylindraceus v eastwoodiae RP74 Superior, AZ, super yellow sp 1.00 3.50
416.96-cylindraceus v lecontei /16/ densely spined, columnar .90 2.80 8.00
416.97-cylindraceus v lecontei JRT8701 Mojave Co,AZ, pink-red-gold sp 1.00 3.50 11.00
418.3-cylindraceus v tortulospinus /14/ twisted red-grey sp 1.00
420-echidne /16/ low thick green stem, stays small .90 2.80 8.00
420.02-echidne DJF617 ne Aramberri, NL, low barrel 1.00
420.04-echidne DJF609 La Calzada, SLP 1.00 3.50
420.85-fordii /16/ wide heavy grey-red spines, miniature 1.00 3.50 11.00
420.9-fordii SB1244 San Quintin Bay, BCN, dark purple flowers 1.25 4.00 12.00
421-fordii DJF8 /14/ El Socorro, BCN, small plants, spiny 1.50
421.4-gatesii densely covered with yellow-orange sp 1.00
421.5-glaucescens /14/ bright yellow spines, fl when small 1.00 3.50 11.00
422.1-gracilis SB1280 /15/ El Rosario, BCN, red spines 1.00 3.50
422.4-gracilis 'coloratus' nice flat red spines, red fl 1.00 3.50
423-hamatacanthus GL150 /17/ Pecos Co, Tx, very long pink-red sp .90 2.80 8.00
423.2-hamatacanthus JRT4401 Glass Mts,TX, clumping form 1.00 3.50
423.9-hamatacanthus /17/ Escalon, Chih, reddish barrel, thin spines .90 2.30
424.26-hamatacanthus /17/ flat papery spines, fall flowering .90 2.30 5.50
424.32-herrerae s Guasimas, Son, in coastal sandy plains .90 2.80 8.00
424.6-hystrix /16/ grey green body, curved red spines .90 2.30
424.89-latispinus /17/ broad red spined plants 1.00 3.50 11.00
424.915-latispinus LH296 Zimapan, Hgo, flat red centrals 1.00 3.50 11.00
424.95-latispinus SB1639 Bernal, Qro, bright red spines .90 2.80
425.607-latispinus v spiralis CH162 Teotitlan, Oax .90 2.30 5.50
425.64-latispinus v spiralis SB547 Totolapan, Oax, green body, nice .90 2.80 8.00
425.68-lindsayi SB535 Infiernillo, Mich, hotter than he!! 1.50 5.00 16.00
425.7-macrodiscus small stem, super red + white flowers 1.00 3.50
425.89-peninsulae /14/ stout red spines, columnar in age .90 2.30 5.50
425.913-peninsulae L056 Vizcaino Desert, Baja 1.00
425.9311-peninsulae SB1646 Las Flores, BCN 1.00
427.75-pottsii round barrel, few long spines .90 2.80
427.8-pottsii v alamosensis small barrel, red and yellow spines .90 2.80 8.00
427.82-pottsii v alamosensis Cd Obregon, Son 1.00 3.50 11.00
427.87-rectispinus very long straight spines .90 2.80 8.00
428.5-reppenhagenii pale green stem, nearly white spines 1.00
430-santamaria SB1237 /14/ San Carlos, BCS, heavy hooked grey sp 1.00 3.50 11.00
430.2-schwarzii new spines bright red 1.00 3.50 11.00
430.3-sinuatus GL152 /17/ Val Verde Co, TX, reddish body .90 2.80
430.5-sinuatus v papyracanthus SB282 Jaumave, Tam, papery spines 1.00 3.50 11.00
431.5-viridescens /16/ San Diego Co, Ca, yellow-green flowers .90
431.55-viridescens DJF4.37 /16/ Las Palmas, BCN .90 2.80 8.00
431.58-viridescens RP99 /16/ Otay Mesa, CA .90 2.80 8.00
431.8-wislizenii /17/ squat thick barrel cactus .90 2.30 5.50
431.92-wislizenii /17/ Ruby, AZ, dense hairy radials, fat stem .90 2.30 5.50
431.96-wislizenii /16/ Waterman Mts, Az, heavy super long sp 1.00 3.50 11.00
432-wislizenii SB50 /17/ Sierra Co, NM, dense spines .90 2.30 5.50
433-wislizeni SB228 /17/ Luna Co, NM, orange flowers .90 2.30 5.50
433.32-wislizenii v herrerae hairlike radials .90 2.30 5.50

Wow thanks diddi, very much apreciated.

When you order from Mesa you have to hqve all the cites paperwork done if your seeds are on the list. They are pretty strict about it. If AQIS doesn't like how they are sent, you risk having the seeds seized and burned.

my last order> about 80 species > aqis kept 3

When did you order them, which ones did they keep and what reason did they give? I keep wanting to order from Mesa, but have been very hesitant after other people's horror stories and then having 400 expensive Astro cultivar seeds seized & burned.

about 12 months back. aqis sent a letter basically saying bad luck, no explanation. 1 was a faucaria with a different color cerations, the others i cant recall. you use the aqis ICON site online i presume?

Nope, don't have that internet thing here.
Kidding.
In the last few months I read something about how AQIS can keep any of the seeds that they want to, and even germinate them to verify what they are and then charge you for the time it takes to germinate them, the space they are in and a lot of other things. Just seems very painful to go about. Did you have to do a lot of forms when you bought from Mesa before?

they supplied a typed list inside the packages. each package had been opened.

do you mean that you havent seen ICON?

yes they can keep seed etc as you say, but it appears that it is uncommon. i think they advise if you want to have that done or not. certainly with fresh vegetative material they will quarantine and check at your cost and its a big cost at that.

I have seen ICON. It's just frustrating to think that they make it extremely hard to get things like Astrophytum cultivars into the country. Some kinds of Astro rot if you look at them funny. I just can't see them overgrowing the country.

I've had stacks of fun and games with AQUIS over the years. It's got so I don't bother importing seed very often and if I do just small lots of twenty packs or less otherwise when they stop my parcels I get a letter saying the consignment has been deemed commercial and I have to pay $120 per half hour for them to tip them into a petri dish and inspect them for mixed in seed or bugs. They estimate 3 minutes a pack so around $12each packet! I have tried appealing it up the chain and even hassled some of the head honchos in Canberra but they wont budge. I have just had to give up and let them destroy very rare and expensive seed a few times now.
Luckily I have old stock plants that produce enough seeds for me to travel through the outback dispersing ariocarpus,pelycyphora ect. all over the place. They've taken to calling me Johnny Critically Endangered Cactus Seed in some parts of the country. HA HA. lol ect.

Heh - you missed my area! Need to come disperse seed here

Alternatively, send some up and I'll disperse it!

IXOXI wrote:

Some kinds of Astro rot if you look at them funny. I just can't see them overgrowing the country.

I wonder why they're restricted. Just seems silly, as you said they're clearly not a weed!

its got to do with precidence. if the plant is not in the country, then they tend not to want it here. sometimes there are unintended consequences of bringing an alien species into an environment (eg cane toads)

The following species ARE allowed for import (and only those listed exactly)

Astrophytum asterias
Astrophytum capricorne
Astrophytum caput-medusae
Astrophytum coahuilense
Astrophytum myriostigma
Astrophytum myriostigma var. strongylogonum
Astrophytum ornatum
Astrophytum senile

Espostoa blossfeldiorum
Espostoa churinensis
Espostoa huanucoensis
Espostoa hylaea
Espostoa lanata
Espostoa melanostele
Espostoa mirabilis
Espostoa nana
Espostoa ritteri
Espostoa senilis
Espostoa superba

Ferocactus acanthodes
Ferocactus acanthodes var. lecontei
Ferocactus alamosanus
Ferocactus chrysacanthus
Ferocactus coloratus
Ferocactus covillei
Ferocactus cylindraceus
Ferocactus cylindraceus subsp. cylandraceus
Ferocactus cylindraceus subsp. lecontei
Ferocactus cylindraceus subsp. tortulispinus
Ferocactus diguetii
Ferocactus eastwoodiae
Ferocactus echidne
Ferocactus electracanthus
Ferocactus emoryi
Ferocactus emoryi subsp. emoryi
Ferocactus emoryi subsp. rectispinus
Ferocactus flavovirens
Ferocactus fordii
Ferocactus gatesii
Ferocactus glaucescens
Ferocactus glaucus
Ferocactus gracilis
Ferocactus gracilis subsp. coloratus
Ferocactus gracilis subsp. gatesii
Ferocactus gracilis var. coloratus
Ferocactus grandis
Ferocactus haematacanthus
Ferocactus hamatacanthus
Ferocactus herrerae
Ferocactus histrix
Ferocactus horridus
Ferocactus johnstonianus
Ferocactus latispinus
Ferocactus lecontei
Ferocactus lindsayi
Ferocactus macrodiscus
Ferocactus mesae-verdae
Ferocactus nobilis
Ferocactus peninsulae
Ferocactus peninsulae var. viscainensis
Ferocactus pilosus
Ferocactus pottsii
Ferocactus pringlei
Ferocactus pubispinus
Ferocactus rectispinus
Ferocactus recurvus
Ferocactus robustus
Ferocactus schwarzii
Ferocactus stainesii
Ferocactus tiburonensis
Ferocactus tobuschii
Ferocactus tortulispinus
Ferocactus townsendianus
Ferocactus townsendianus var. santa-maria
Ferocactus viridescens
Ferocactus viscainensis
Ferocactus wislizeni
Ferocactus wislizenii var. herrerae

And humans

well thats debatable in our political climate!

Well, the wife kinda imported me nearly 12 years ago without all to much trouble. Just took one heck of alot of paperwork!

you must have been a recognised species!

I'd hope so! And with family still left behind where I came from I'd likely not be cites listed.

Speaking of which, while going over some of the AQIS stuff this week we found a topic on the govt website "CITES III"

I'd never seen the III appendix before. Have any of you?

new to me. what are the requirements for the classification?

Hi JK,
Make sure you check the AQIS site before you order any seeds from overseas.

You can search for any commodity on AQIS website. Check the URL below
http://www.aqis.gov.au/icon32/asp/ex_querycontent.asp

For instance:
commodity: Astrophytum
Country: choose the country from the dropdown
For end use: Seeds for sowing

The result page have an import case details with all the information on the commodity.