Bringing plants back from vacation and planting it in your garden or giving it away is not a good idea. ⒸMichael Piepgras/Wirestock | Stock.Adobe.com

You want to travel sustainably and bring back eco-friendly and plastic-free souvenirs. That’s great. But plants, plant parts (such as pinecones or twigs), roots, tubers, seedlings, seeds – those are all things you should NOT bring back from your trip.

Imported plants can cause damage

The plant protection laws of each country prohibit the importation of plants by individuals without a special permit. There are good reasons for this. Plants and plant parts may be infested with diseases or pests. These might transfer to the flora in your home country.

Examples:

• According to MDR, the chestnut leaf miner moth there is reason to believe that it spread through imported plants and is now infesting chestnut trees throughout Europe.
• People intentionally brought Japanese knotweed from Japan to Europe as a useful wild fodder plant. No one suspected that it would spread so widely that it would become a real problem. Growing on bridges and railroad tracks, it obstructs traffic and causes erosion. In Switzerland, it is on the “black list” of invasive plants.

Importing plants from vacation only with a phytosanitary certificate

The German customs authorities advise that plants and plant products from non-EU countries (except Liechtenstein and Switzerland) can only be imported into Germany with a phytosanitary certificate. You can obtain a phytosanitary certificate from the phytosanitary authority in your country of residence.

According to experts, however, you should not take plants with you even within the EU. At most, you can take them from neighboring countries, but not, for example, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia.

If you really want a cactus from Mexico in your home, you must go through the proper government channels or purchase a commercially imported cactus. The ecological footprint of imported plants is obviously higher than that of native plants, but precaution must take precedence.

Otherwise, you can just do without and enjoy the exotic plants on your travels.