Plants & seeds
Quarantines stop at state lines. Your checkout should too.
Plant shipping is governed by agricultural quarantines: rules designed to stop pests and diseases from crossing borders. Citrus is the famous example — several states broadly restrict inbound citrus plants — but quarantines also cover specific pests, soil, and seed types.
The quarantine patchwork
Citrus-producing states (California, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Louisiana among them) restrict inbound citrus to protect their industries from citrus greening disease. Other quarantines cover fire ants, gypsy moth, Japanese beetle, and more — each with its own state list maintained by state departments of agriculture and the USDA. Nurseries routinely hold multiple overlapping restriction sets, which is precisely what Shopify’s one-profile-per-product shipping system can’t express.
How sellers handle it on Shopify
Tag plants by quarantine group (for example citrus-plants), create one rule per group, and let checkout block quarantined destinations with a message that explains why — buyers take “state agricultural quarantine” much better than a silent error.
Common questions
Where do I find the official quarantine lists?
State departments of agriculture publish current quarantines, and the USDA maintains federal ones. Rules change seasonally — recheck before listing new species.
Can one plant be in several quarantine groups?
Yes, and that's fine: multiple rules can cover the same product, something Shopify shipping profiles can't do.
This guide is general information for merchants, not legal advice. Regulations change — verify current law for your products and destinations.