Hello all,

I am going to Iceland for a month in August and wish to take my
bonsai
(Serissa) with me (there is no one here I trust enough to look
after her
and nurseries wish to charge me an arm and a leg). I have
contacted both
Icelandic and French customs officials and there are no
problems taking
her into both countries.

I would appreciate some advice on how to keep her happy during
the
flight and what special precautions I should take before,
during and
after (if any).

Thanks a lot.
Erin Johanson

Don't do it!

You don't tell us where you live, but there MUST be a better way.
A temperamental serissa will NOT enjoy so many changes of its
local climate -- your place; the dry, air-conditioned airport;
the plane, with cold, recycled air; the next airport(s), with
more air conditioning; the totally different Icelandic climate;
being bumped around enroute; and maybe more -- over such a rapid
and short period of time. Its leaves will have turned yellow,
dried up and fallen inside of the first week. And then, it would
not have time to recover before it gets subjected to the same
thing on the way home.

I also guarantee that notwithstanding what the customs folks you
talked to on the phone (or whatever), the customs officials you
run into in the airport terminal embarkation rooms will have a
totally different idea; since they will never have seen anything
like this before, they will assume (as bureaucrats always tend to
do when faced with something new) that it is forbidden. In that
case, you will lose the tree.

This obviously is your only tree and you obviously are attached
to it -- her. You would, I'm certain be very upset if it --
she -- failed to survive the trip. Pay the arm and leg if you
have to. Better yet, in the months between now and August find a
local bonsai club. Someone there would merely change you a
finger or two to care for the tree and would probably do a better
job.

There are ways to leave a bonsai for a shorter period -- wicks,
plastic bags, etc. -- but I think a month is too long to leave it
on its own. So, find another bonsai grower or fork out the dough
to a nursery -- and hope. There is none if you carry it with
you.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Who has
endured jets, jet lag, and airports on several continents, and
customs officers from two dozen countries and knows whereof he
speaks.

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