How to Buy Rare Plants from Thailand as an Overseas Buyer

Finding plants, paying safely, Thai phytosanitary certificates and getting plants to your country in good condition.

Thailand has a large, active nursery trade in rare ferns, Platycerium, Huperzia and aroids. Much of it is small growers selling through social media, plant markets and shows, often in Thai only and rarely set up for export. Buying from overseas is possible, but the plant itself is usually the easy part — the paperwork, payment and transit are where orders go wrong.

1. Finding the plants

Ask for photos of the actual plant you will receive, not a stock photo of the variety, and for its size (frond span or pot size). Get the name in writing — genus, species and cultivar where there is one — because the same trade name can be used for different plants, and your phytosanitary certificate and import documents will need the scientific name. Many growers have only a few plants of each variety, so confirm availability before paying, and expect prices and stock to change quickly.

2. Paying across borders

Most small Thai growers ask for payment by bank transfer. A transfer to a private account is very hard to recover if the plant never ships, arrives different from the photos, or is refused at your border. Before paying, agree in writing on:

• exactly which plants, at what size, and whether the price includes the phytosanitary certificate, packing and airfreight;
• who is responsible if the plants are held or refused on inspection;
• how the plants will be shipped and when.

With a new seller, a small first order is a sensible way to test the whole chain before committing to a larger one.

3. Thailand's export phytosanitary certificate

Thailand's national plant protection organization is the Department of Agriculture (DOA), which issues phytosanitary certificates for exports and phytosanitary certificates for re-export. Thai certificates issued since October 2022 carry a ten-digit number beginning with "TH" and a QR code so inspectors in the importing country can verify them (IPPC notice from Thailand).

For air exports, the exporter or their representative applies at a plant inspection station — for example the one at Suvarnabhumi Airport — no less than three hours before export. The plants must be cleaned and treated to the standard of the importing country, packed in sturdy containers, and the boxes must contain only the plants declared on the application (Royal Thai Government portal).

The key point for buyers: the certificate has to meet your country's import requirements, including any additional declarations your country asks for. A grower who has never exported to your country may not know these, so check them first and share them with whoever is preparing the shipment.

4. Soil and bare-root shipping

Several countries — including the USA, Canada and South Korea — do not accept plants in soil or most growing media, so plants have to be washed and shipped bare-root or on an approved mount. Thai nursery stock is usually grown in sphagnum, coconut husk or potting mix, so this needs to be arranged before packing. See bare-root shipping of Platycerium.

5. Shipping direct or through Taiwan

Plants can fly directly from Thailand to your country on a Thai phytosanitary certificate, or be sent to Taiwan first, recover under our care, and then be re-exported with a Taiwanese certificate. Direct is faster; routing through Taiwan lets us check the plants before the second flight and combine them with other orders. How the certificate and country of origin work in each case is explained in phytosanitary certificates & re-export.

6. Common problems

• Import permit not in place. Some countries require the importer to hold a permit before the plants leave Thailand. Check this before paying.
• Names that don't match. A certificate, invoice and packing list that list different names, or trade names only, can hold up inspection.
• Growing media left on the roots for a country that requires bare-root plants.
• Heat and long transit. Missed connections and hot airport holds are hard on plants; direct flights and good packing matter.
• Plants that differ from the photos, which is hard to resolve from abroad once paid.

What we do, and what you handle

Tell us what you are looking for and where it is going, and we will confirm what is possible: plant sourcing agent service →

Official sources: Department of Agriculture, Thailand — doa.go.th · IPPC, "Updated New Format of Thai Phytosanitary Certificate" — ippc.int · Royal Thai Government portal, "Criteria for Inspection and Issuance of Phytosanitary Certificates — In Cases of Air Exports and On-site Inspection" — thailand.go.th

This page is provided for reference only. Actual shipping and import requirements are governed by current regulations. Please contact us directly with any questions or specific needs.