Clove is the dried flower bud of Syzygium aromaticum, an evergreen tree grown in Sri Lanka’s mid-country spice gardens.

Why seed, for the United States. USDA lists the whole genus Syzygium as “not authorized pending pest risk analysis” for plants for planting, from every country, so clove trees and seedlings cannot be imported into the United States. Cleaned clove seed is admissible with an import permit. That makes fresh seed the practical way for a US nursery to raise clove trees from Sri Lankan stock. For other countries we also quote seedlings where the destination allows them.

Fresh seed only. Clove seed cannot be dried and stored: it loses viability within days. We collect seed from ripe fruit, clean it, and send it by express air for sowing on arrival. Germination is never guaranteed with fresh tropical seed, so we suggest a trial lot first.

What to include in your request

• Number of seeds
• Your import permit (PPQ 587, or a small-lots seed permit)
• Destination airport

Sri Lankan export approval. Planting material of Sri Lanka’s export-agriculture crops leaves the country only with a no-objection certificate from the Department of Export Agriculture, plus a phytosanitary certificate from the National Plant Quarantine Service. We apply for both and confirm approval before we invoice. Varieties developed by Sri Lankan research institutes cannot be exported, so we supply farmer-grown stock only.

Importing into your country

Every shipment travels with a phytosanitary certificate from Sri Lanka’s National Plant Quarantine Service. What else you need depends on where the plants are going. Send us your species list and destination and we check the rules before we quote.

• European Union: all plants for planting need a phytosanitary certificate, including small lots and parcels. Some genera are on the EU high-risk plants list and cannot be imported until they are assessed, so we check each species first. Any growing medium must be new or treated and declared on the certificate, and professional importers register with their national plant-health authority.
• United Kingdom: plants for planting need a phytosanitary certificate, pre-notification on IPAFFS and inspection at a border control post, where fees apply.
• United States: the importer needs an APHIS import permit (form PPQ 587, free, applied for online; allow 30 to 60 days). Plants arrive bare-root, without soil, and enter through a port with a USDA plant inspection station.
• United States, clove specifically: clove plants are not authorized, but cleaned seed is admissible. Seed still inside the fruit is refused, and a small-lots-of-seed permit can allow small quantities without a phytosanitary certificate.
• United Arab Emirates and the Gulf: the importer usually needs an import permit from the national ministry before the plants are shipped (in the UAE, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment).
• Japan, Canada and other markets: a phytosanitary certificate is required, and some plants also need an import permit or inspection on arrival. We confirm before quoting.
• Australia and New Zealand: very strict. Most live plants need an import permit and post-entry quarantine, so we quote these case by case.

Packing and transit

Plants are washed free of soil, wrapped to hold moisture and packed in ventilated cartons, then sent by air cargo through a freight forwarder (express couriers restrict live plants). Transit from Colombo is usually 3 to 7 days. We recommend a small pilot lot before a large order so you can check survival in your own conditions.

How to get a price: tell us the plant, quantity, size and destination airport. We quote per plant or per lot, FOB Colombo, CFR or CIF by air, with lead time, and can start with a small pilot lot so you can check how the plants arrive.