mattookay Posted December 12, 2011 cos it looks fucking cool! thats the main reason i want it, to grow it big and have a really interesting looking cactus besides just the columnar ones. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sapito Posted December 12, 2011 In that case T. pachanoi crests are already here. I have not heard about the TBM crest being here but I would bet that it is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattookay Posted December 13, 2011 fuck i would love to track even just one cutting down! or if anyone can get any seeds? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
myco Posted December 13, 2011 would you get in much trouble if you tried to import one?? or would it pretty much just be destroyed??? if that was the case maybe a bunch of people should try order just one if they are so cheap in nz and a whole bunch of people tried to get one or 2 in maybe a couple might make it and then they could be grown a bit and have cuttings taken from them or made to set seed to send around to others in aus hahaha i dunno its probly a stupid idea i'd definately be interested in trying to get some even with the whole qaurantine and import permit and all im keen to chuck in and help make it happen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tipz Posted December 13, 2011 (edited) Tipz, what reasons can you think of that someone would have for keeping that info to themselves I can think of a few, it is mere conjecture though. Having one of the only ones in Australia would have a real WOW factor i suppose. It does not take long for a clone to become very common like the 'peruvian' crest Hamiltons has been pushing and then it loses a little bit of the appeal (and price tag). Or perhaps a retailer like Hamiltons has it and is propagating it to get a ready supply to assault the market with. Im not familiar with this side of the market ( if thats even how its done ) but is that not what would have been done prior to the peruvianus crest ? Either way im only guessing and for me to speculate without any verifiable fact just makes me a conspiracy theorist I do however believe that the source of info was sound. Thats all i have to offer besides cash to chip in for an import @ Myco.. I would probably try if i was not on a 12 month bond... I know someone who tried and all they got was a warning. But you choose to roll the dice. Sometimes you get sixes, sometimes ones, but if you roll a six and land it, you really could do quite well from it. ( my advice is to not try though ) @ Matt ookay : Unfortunately, you cant buy crested or monstrose seed. I believe its just a defect that pops up every now and then. It is then generally passed on via cuttings. Edited December 13, 2011 by tipz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
myco Posted December 13, 2011 (edited) hahha i dunno how game i am on trying hahhaha i guess you could just try play the total dumbass card and act like you had no idea wat you were doing was illeagal hahahaai didnt know i wasnt aloud i swear i just bought it from some guy on the internet haha Edited December 13, 2011 by myco Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tipz Posted December 13, 2011 (edited) i guess you could just try play the total dumbass card eeeeasy bro I have heard all that generally happens is you recieve a notice of confiscation and a warning. In this case i would say it is more of a quarantine than a customs issue. But you are right... its probably not worth it. Edited December 13, 2011 by tipz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
myco Posted December 13, 2011 eeeeasy bro I have heard all that generally happens is you recieve a notice of confiscation and a warning. hahaha dont tempt me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chilli Posted December 13, 2011 In that case T. pachanoi crests are already here. I have not heard about the TBM crest being here but I would bet that it is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ambient Posted December 14, 2011 I've received a few warnings over the last couple of years, but never received any of my goods, they stopped every single package. The only thing I've been game enough to risk trying to import were a few seeds & small inexpensive plants, I would think bigger more obvious plant material would have even less chance of getting through & possibly incur larger penalties. I'n my experience, aside from possibly getting fined, its not worth trying to import any plant material from overseas, even if you just get a warning, nine times out of ten you won't receive the package nor it's contents you paid for. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tipz Posted December 14, 2011 the crested TBM is only 2-3 cm across. Pretty stealthy and i am a gambling man. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Moses Posted December 15, 2011 (edited) for all those considering getting this in under the radar a word of warning. i had a pachnoi crest(10cm) cutting sent to me from USA, i had ordered seeds but a confusion had occurred and the vendor sent a cutting instead. It was obviously falsely declared by vendor and both AQIS and Customs assumed i had done this before. Both customs and quarantine ended up on my doorstep. Search warrants were issued for my two places of residence, my computer was seized to check all email conversations between vendor and I. I was found innocent and computer was returned a week later but it was a very close call so i DO NOT recommend trying anything similar. plant was destroyed. and now i'm black flagged by both departments so must be extra careful about what i try to purchase. Edited December 15, 2011 by Moses Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tripsis Posted December 15, 2011 That's a warning worth heeding. AQIS does not mess around when it comes to live plants. For those considering importing plants via the legal routes, I suggest you read each and every import condition very carefully. Look up the genus of plant you're interested in on ICON, then pick the nursery stock option and start reading. It's a minimum 3 month quarantine period, paid by the day, plus paying by the hour for any and all inspections and tests performed on the plants to ascertain whether they're disease free or not (of which there are many). There exists the possibility for the quarantine period to go on for much longer than 3 months, which of course has to be paid for. Active growth needs to be observed, which can of course take quite a long time with cacti. Best not to import during winter. With a plant like the TBM crest, I think it's quite possible that the mutation could turn up as viral, in which case the plant/s would be destroyed, at the receiver's cost. It's a lot of money to import a plant that you're not even guaranteed on receiving. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PD. Posted December 15, 2011 Damn straight tripsis I looked into importing some different cacti a few years back, a joint venture with a few others here. After going through everything at the very least it was going to be around 2000 dollars depending on the inspections, time spent in quarantine etc. Then there is the fact that the plant(s) may not even be cared for whilst they are in remand and if they do happen to get some sort of insect or infection problem whilst in lock up they get destroyed. Its a fair amount to pay and go thru just for a tricho crest. The other option was build an approved quarantine station lol, huge investment in both money and time but it would pay for itself once you started letting out space, though im sure there would be a lot of mandatory courses or tickets to complete/obtain to be able to run such a thing. I thought it better to just grow thousands of seedlings and try my luck that way and ime if you use seed from an open pollination or try a trich/echinopsis pollination chances are youll get a larger number of freaks than usual, dont know why, although generally in my case i have found i get large numbers of varigated plants. Is a far greater reward to find one of your own seedlings is a crest or mutant just dont neglect them, they are precious lil things to us cactus nutters. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ferret Posted December 15, 2011 does tissue culture circumvent some of those quarantine issues? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tripsis Posted December 15, 2011 (edited) Read the conditions, it gives you all the information you need, including what is required for tissue cultures. If I recall correctly, tissue cultures are only allowed from approved labs. Edit: To make it easier for anyone interested in the conditions necessary for importing live cacti, have a read of this link, which is the ICON page for Echinopsis nursery stock. Note that it covers grafted cacti too, as well as tissue cultures. Edited December 15, 2011 by tripsis Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tipz Posted December 18, 2011 Im going to have to withdraw my offer to pitch in on this one. Winning that crest auction has depleted my allocated plant funds for the next month or two. Something tells me we are not far away from seeing this plant up for sale sometime soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites