Bringing personal houseplants to Oregon
The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) usually allows new residents to bring their personal houseplants to Oregon if used for non-commercial purposes. For the safety and well-being of the state’s environmental and economic health, please follow these rules when you bring houseplants to Oregon:
Indoor versus outdoor plants
- Indoor potted houseplants must remain as indoor potted houseplants indefinitely.
- Outdoor plants must be turned into indoor potted houseplants and remain indoors indefinitely.
Plants or soil media from outside of the state may harbor unseen pests or plant diseases that currently do not exist within the state of Oregon. The practice of keeping houseplants indoors helps us mitigate an accidental infestation or outbreak of pests and disease.
When you repot or dispose of an indoor plant, place soil media and plant material in a secure trash bag and dispose of it in your regular trash container for trash collection. We highly discourage placing old soil media and plant material from houseplants that moved with you, into a home compost pile or garden. Temperatures are unlikely to rise and remain high enough to ensure any hidden pests or plant diseases are destroyed. Plus, you run the risk of spreading pests or disease on your property and your neighbors' properties.
Ensure plants are not noxious weeds
Prior to bringing your houseplants to Oregon, please look at the
National Plant Board’s list of noxious weeds for Oregon.
Plants that are found on Oregon’s A-designated and B-designated weed lists are not allowed into the state. If you are unsure whether a plant you own is considered a noxious weed in Oregon, please contact the ODA Plant Program at 503-986-4636. If you own a houseplant that is considered a noxious weed in Oregon but not in your home state, we recommend gifting that houseplant to a friend or relative prior to moving.
Five (5) plants is the limit
There are several reasons behind limiting the number of houseplants you bring:
- It helps mitigate the chance of pests or plant diseases entering into the state.
- Traveling across state lines with an excessive amount of plants can have the appearance of interstate commerce.
- Traveling through a border station with an excessive amount of plants may be a cause of concern for employees there and they may ask to see a state-issued nursery license, plant shipping permits, a bill of lading, or proof of origin.
- Bringing excessive amounts of plants may result in the holding or destruction of plants by a border station.
Only bring healthy plants
Please use your best, most reasonable judgment to bring only houseplants that appear healthy and pest or pathogen-free into Oregon.
If your houseplant exhibits any signs of ill-health or damage such as, but not limited to: unusual or unseasonable foliage loss, wilting, discoloration, spotting, streaking, bite marks, and chew or bore holes, consider disposing of or leaving your houseplants with a family member or friend. If possible, remove the houseplant from its pot and inspect the soil and roots for any sort of hidden insects, slugs, snails, and worms.
When you need a nursery license
If you intend to use your houseplants for resale or propagation purposes, please obtain an ODA nursery license.
Once a person or business sells $250 worth of rooted plant material in a year, state law requires that person or business to obtain a nursery license through the ODA Nursery and Christmas Tree Program. Nursery licenses cost at minimum $158 and are valid from July 1 to June 30 of each year. The fee is not prorated.