{"id":4035,"date":"2021-08-30T09:04:27","date_gmt":"2021-08-30T07:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skayanatropicals.com\/?page_id=4035"},"modified":"2026-09-22T16:07:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T14:07:22","slug":"uvoz-rastlin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skayanatropicals.com\/en\/skayana\/uvoz-rastlin\/","title":{"rendered":"The joy and pain of importing plants"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the summer of 2020, my boyfriend and I finally moved into a flat of our own. All it took for him to accept his fate was a pandemic of epic proportions and a solemn promise that I wouldn\u2019t invade his personal space too much. Being the perfect girlfriend, I of course honoured the deal for at least a couple of weeks \u2014 before kindly turning his office green as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first time in my life, I had the chance to expand my then modest collection of plants. A north-facing window with poor light was replaced by a big, bright room that was practically begging to be filled with green.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flat felt more like home with every new plant. I soon swapped the basic plants for ever rarer tropical species, which won me over with their unusual leaf shapes and stunning variegation. But it was Philodendron<\/em> \u2018Florida Beauty\u2019 that sealed my addiction to rare plants \u2014 it became the face of my business. For me, it stands for the beauty and joy that come from the hard work and effort that importing plants from overseas requires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Freshly
First look at the plants that just arrived<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The hunt for rare plants soon leads us to suppliers in tropical countries with an incredible range of rare species. Monstera<\/em>, Philodendron<\/em>, Anthurium<\/em>, Syngonium<\/em>, Hoya<\/em> and more. Endless nurseries full of carefully grown plants in ideal conditions take every plant lover\u2019s breath away. But this is where the story only begins, because getting a plant to Europe is no small feat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Importing plants into the European Union is strictly regulated. Plants must be shipped without soil and with a phytosanitary certificate, and on entering the EU they go through customs and an additional phytosanitary inspection. Preparing a plant for the certificate is intense: the roots have to be thoroughly cleaned, which often damages them badly. To make shipping easier, some suppliers dry the plants out further and wrap the roots in damp moss. Flattened and dehydrated, the plants are then packed tightly into a box, ready for the long journey. Parcels usually travel for at least three days, depending on the country of origin, the courier and customs. Sometimes parcels get lost on the way, or sit at customs for a long time even when everything is in order. And if the paperwork doesn\u2019t match, a parcel can be refused entry to the EU altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Imported
Beautiful specimens on arrival: Anthurium crystallinum, an Anthurium hybrid, Anthurium crystallinum \u00d7 magnificum and Anthurium \u2018Dorayaki\u2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"An
This Philodendron gloriosum arrived in much worse shape<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Even after a long, exhausting journey, plants often look surprisingly good \u2014 especially when they arrive quickly and without complications. The effects of the stress from travelling and changing environments often only show later. The first two weeks are the most critical; after that, you can judge quite well whether a plant can be rehabilitated. It takes a fair amount of extra equipment, because each species needs the right humidity, warmth and light. Weakened plants first put their energy into growing strong roots. They often drop old leaves, since at this point they\u2019re still fighting to survive. New growth usually only comes once the plant has a stable root system. Acclimatising to indoor conditions starts slowly and carefully, with a lot of patience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Importing rare plants can bring enormous joy. The first look at a long-sought beauty, a successful rehabilitation, new growth or a flowering hoya \u2014 these are the moments plant lovers live for. But there\u2019s also a dark side we don\u2019t like to talk about. Opening a parcel always comes with a little anxiety, because you never know what\u2019s waiting inside: the most beautiful, healthy, perfect plants, or a mass plant grave. The situation can turn into a nightmare in an instant, since sellers rarely offer refunds. Every extra day at customs can be fatal; every day that\u2019s too hot or too cold can mean disaster. Stress can take weeks to show in a plant, and sometimes all the investment in equipment, the careful care and attention still aren\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Importing rare plants is a source of the greatest joy \u2014 and of great pain, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to see what we\u2019re growing right now? Browse our hoyas<\/a> or sign up for the newsletter<\/a> \u2014 once a month, we write about new arrivals and restocks.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the summer of 2020, my boyfriend and I finally moved into a flat of our own. All it took […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4099,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"unboxed","site-sidebar-style":"unboxed","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[157],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-skayana"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skayanatropicals.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skayanatropicals.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skayanatropicals.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skayanatropicals.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skayanatropicals.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4035"}],"version-history":[{"count":86,"href":"https:\/\/www.skayanatropicals.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25136,"href":"https:\/\/www.skayanatropicals.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4035\/revisions\/25136"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skayanatropicals.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skayanatropicals.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skayanatropicals.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skayanatropicals.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}