Is anyone aware of BC rules preventing the importation of grape vines to BC from Quebec? I tried to buy a vine from a Quebec nursery and was told that BC legislation prevents shipping from Quebec to BC.
I'm curious enough to try finding the answer in web searches but not having any luck except for this lead - Vine Sources | BC Grape Growers' Association Perhaps someone on the list would be able to answer your question. Will you please share what you learn on the Forums if someone here can't tell you?
There's mention of some restrictions relating to British Columbia in this document but nothing specific to the situation: D- 94-34: Import requirements for grapevine propagative material - Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
I know nothing about grapes, but when I contacted a tree grower in Ontario about getting an almond tree, he said regulations restricted almond tree growing - he was legally banned from shipping to BC. Something to do with almonds being related to peaches and potentially bringing disease into the province and decimating our commercial peach production. Sigh. I really wanted an almond tree or two. I suspect the same type of issue may apply to your grapes, though I know all sorts of different kinds of grapes are imported from multiple countries. It is perplexing.
Yeah, BC bans the import of certain plants from other provinces. Not just grapes. I suppose the goal is to prevent certain plant diseases to be brought into BC. But the rules seem to be followed inconsistently. For example, Silver Creek Nursery in Ontario has a statement on their website that they don't ship to BC: Help & FAQ "Regretfully we cannot ship to BC or USA due to CFIA regulations." I have seen similar messages from other nurseries in Ontario and Quebec. But not in others. And I've still been able to order from nurseries in both provinces without a hiccup: Butternuts, Sea Buckthorn, Buffalo Berry, Black Locust, Alder trees, etc. Either some nurseries have adopted a blanket policy for everything to avoid being specific, or other nurseries are blatantly ignoring the rules. I've even been able to order from the US and Russia (before the present activities) through Etsy. No problem. So, find out the exact species of grape plant you want, and then try to find it somewhere else; it's available, but may take some time to find.
Thanks for the replies. I haven't found a way around the problem with Quebec deliveries; but I'm trying to order a Jupiter grapevine from Whiffletree Farm & Nursery (in Ontario), as suggested in another thread. By the way, I tried to order this grapevine twice earlier and received a notice that my application had been rejected because it failed the Google reCAPTCHA check. Since I had utilized the Chrome AutoFill/AutoComplete, I tried filling in the order info manually; and the order went through with no problems.
Junglekeeper, I'm still waiting for the shipment to arrive. The nurseries in the east only ship live plants later in spring; their website didn't allow any shipping dates until around mid-May. At least I haven't received a notice that they can't ship, such as the one that I got from the Quebec nursery.
The Jupiter grape that I ordered from Whiffletree arrived last Sunday, and I planted it immediately. It was shipped as a bare root plant wrapped in plastic and arrived in good shape with lots of damp roots. It must have been kept refrigerated because it was totally dormant. I can now see some buds just barely beginning to swell. Next, I would like to find a Canadian source outside of Quebec for a Venus grape.
Here's another source in Ontario for Jupiter and other grape varieties, but not Venus: Availability - VineTech Canada. You may want to contact them anyway for possibilities: They have a sales office in B.C. which may make it easier to acquire their offerings. Don't know if it's possible to order a single vine though.
Thanks, Junglekeeper; but according to the VineTech pricing page, the minimum order is 100 vines at $10 each. Anyway, I don't need or have space for any more vines, since I found a local source for Concord Seedless grapevines, which is what I really wanted (a seedless grape that has that Concord taste). Venus and Jupiter are hybrids of Concord and Muscat grapes and some websites say that they taste more Muscat than Concord. I'm still glad that I got the Jupiter vine, though, because I want to sample the Muscat flavour.
Their use of the term "Residential grower" seems a bit off. There can't be that many hobby/home growers who have space for 100 vines. Perhaps they're thinking of 'hobby farms'.
