Selling plants and seeds online: imports, state quarantines and seed labels

Seeds and plants travel with rules most sellers never meet in other categories: labelling under a federal seed law, state quarantines that decide which states a plant may ship to, and, for EU buyers, a plant passport. Walmart bars plants and seeds imported into the US outright.

This page covers seed labels, imports and quarantines, what each marketplace asks, and the EU.

What this page covers: seeds, live plants, bulbs, cuttings and saplings.

The short version

• Seeds sold in interstate commerce carry Federal Seed Act labelling.
• Walmart prohibits plants or seeds imported into the US, dangerous plants and seeds for illegal drugs.
• On Walmart, quarantined items may ship only to the states that allow them.
• Amazon treats plants and seeds as a restricted category, and eBay has a separate policy.
• Plants for planting sold to EU buyers need a plant passport.

What label must seeds carry?

Seeds sold in interstate commerce carry labelling under the Federal Seed Act. Show the seed packet's label in your images, readable at full size.

Can you sell imported plants and seeds?

Not on Walmart. Walmart prohibits plants or seeds imported into the US, dangerous plants, and seeds for illegal drugs, and items under quarantine may ship only to the states that allow them. Before you list a live plant, check whether any state you ship to restricts it.

What does each marketplace ask of plant and seed sellers?

Walmart, Amazon and eBay each have rules for plants and seeds:

What should plant and seed images show?

Plant and seed images should show what arrives, at its real size, with any image of the grown plant labelled as an example. The set to shoot:

• The seed packet or plant as it will arrive, pot and size included.
• A separate image of the grown plant, labelled as an example of the grown plant.
• The plant's real size against a hand or a pot.

What do plants need for EU buyers?

Plants for planting sold to EU buyers, distance sales included, need a plant passport.

How Commicorn helps

• Real size, from your measurements. The Dimensions image shows the measurements you give us.
• Your packet, as printed. On the Untouched product route your photo's pixels are never redrawn, so the seed label stays exactly as printed.

Questions sellers ask

Do seed packets need a label?

Yes. Seeds sold in interstate commerce carry labelling under the Federal Seed Act.

Can I sell seeds from China on Walmart?

No. Walmart prohibits plants or seeds imported into the US, wherever they come from.

Can a quarantined plant ship to every state?

No. On Walmart, quarantined items may ship only to the states that allow them, so check each state you ship to before you list a live plant.

Does Amazon restrict plants and seeds?

Yes. Amazon treats plants and seeds as a restricted category.

Do I need a plant passport to sell plants to EU buyers?

Yes, for plants for planting, distance sales included.

Before you list

Have a readable photo of the Federal Seed Act label, the plant as it will arrive with its pot and size, and, for a quarantined plant, the states it may ship to before the listing goes live; an EU sale also needs the plant passport. On a borderline plant, Walmart's plants and seeds policy settles imports and quarantined shipping, and Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 settles the passport, both linked below.