Bringing Bulbs Back to the US

Not sure where you will buy your bulbs but Keukenhoff Gardens ships them for you. I still regret not buying pink daffodil bulbs there.

Any commercial bulb grower who grows them for shipment should be able to provide a phytosanitary certificate for you. They have to be certified to ship bulbs to North America anyway. The regulation is to prevent you from bring back bulbs you dug up from a friend's yard, possibly diseased or with dirt clinging to them.

We brought bulbs back on our 1st trip to Amsterdam. You can buy bulbs in packages specifically marked for export, they have a special seal on them certifying them for import. They cost probably double, but this is less than shipping regular bulbs back, as the shipping also has to include certifying them for US import. When we declared them at customs in Philadelphia Airport, there was no issue whatsoever. Although the customs official asked if we would mind going over to the agricultural customs room so that they could see the seals as a training tool, there was a new person on there. This took less than 10 minutes extra, the most time spent was trying to find the office. BTW, we had 5 ten-bulb packs, of different tulip varieties. Every bulb came up and we are now looking for our 4th season of them.

I've brought bulbs back. As Lola mentioned, you need to have the certificate. The bulbs that I bought were packaged in a box with the certificate included (I think it might have been on the actual box itself). When you come through customs, have the bulbs in a place that you can easily access. They will ask to see the bulbs and they will check the certificate.

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the information! I'm looking forward to my trip and to the beautiful flowers I'll have in my garden the following season!