You'll find Texas doesn't quite have the "policiness" that California has. Indeed, you may find yourself having some degree of culture shock (and perhaps homesickness) as you wander around wide eyed and thinking to yourself, "they let people DO that here?"

Btw, you're coming to a free state, may you help keep it that way. Welcome to Texas!

Customs stopped me at the Arizona/California line and asked if I had any fruit or vegetables on board. But I never recall anything happening driving into Texas.

Y'all come! You won't be arrested, stopped nor examined for having plants in your car. I'd keep them in the back seat, more for the plants' sake than anything else.
I flew into Austin with a duffle bag full of iris rhizomes, and when we drove down, I had three scented geraniums in the back seat (very fragrant trip).
If you are pressed for space, you can get Mexican heather here readily.
You are going to LOVE gardening in east Texas!

Haha, thanks everyone.
The reason I'm taking all these babies is because family members here are giving them to me so I can have pieces of their plants while I move so far away. So it's sort of sentimental, ya know.
jgourlay, I'm not really sure what you mean by "free state" but I guess it sounds good to me..?
And I have visited Texas twice..it was quite a change. I feel afraid to mention I'm a vegetarian and an artist there, eek. Just kidding, I've been to tons of galleries and they're all great. My mom will just mention these things to people at work (she lives in Tx) and they'll say things like "Tell her to try Austin, there's a lot of liberal artists over there." Haha.
I'm sure I'll like it though, so far everyone I've met has been very friendly..Less than a month till the move!

Welcome to Texas!!!

As to the reference to Texas being a free state and please keep it that way, I have a comment. A friend lives in Austin, which is a mecca of music and art. She says that people moving here from other states have filed petitions (and won) to ban music past 9 pm on weeknights so that it is more like their old home. That really infringes on freedom! Of course, that's all heresay coming from a friend of a friend. Tyler should be pretty quiet!

Pam

From the AZ Ag web page:
"Can I travel through Arizona with my houseplants?

Yes, but plants should be free of insects and, if transported by a commercial mover, they should be placed near one of the trailer doors to facilitate inspection upon entering the state. Plants transported in a private vehicle will not be inspected. You do not need a certificate from your origin state department of agriculture to transit Arizona with houseplants.

For more information, call (602) 542-0979."

New Mexico Ag. site

"I am moving to New Mexico from another state, can I bring my personal houseplants with me?

New Mexico Department of Agriculture does not have regulations that specifically address the movement of houseplants as part of a move. We do request that you look at each plant carefully and leave behind those that are not healthy, infested with plant pests or diseases."

Looks like you are good to go!

Long have I lusted after Australian Finger Limes, but Nooooooo I can't have any. You can't bring any naughty (and possibly diseased) citrus here. You could probably find some way to do it but if caught you'd be a sad camper. Don't try.

Thanks so much plantmaven for looking that up!
And I have no citrus to speak of :) The only think close to vegetable plants I have are seed packets I was planning to bring along and all my house plants are pest free (knock on wood).
As for pkponder's comment. Wow! I think it's pretty rude for people to try to change rules like that. I mean, if I moved to a state and they were doing something crazy like throwing babies off a bridge (craziest thing I could think of at the moment), of course I would try to change it. But ruining everyone elses' fun so it sounds more like home is mean-spirited.
I might not be making sense, I'm all over the place today.
But thanks for the help, anyways!

Okay, being born and raised in Texas but having lived in San Diego for awhile the only border issue I ever heard of was on the California side - as in coming into it, especially from Mexico. But things could have changed since then.

As for being stopped in Texas, the only thing you need to worry about is speeding - easy to do crossing west Texas middle of nowhere land, which I've done several times.

If you find yourself homesick for California, just visit our state capital, Austin. They don't have Tshirts that say "Keep Austin Weird" for nothing. I lived there and it's just like San Diego in atmosphere. Sigh - now I'm getting homesick for both Austin AND San Diego! But welcome to the area anyway!

I second Dallasblooms on the speeding - being the only person known to have gotten two speeding tickets 15 minutes apart in the big city of Guthrie.
But welcome to Tx, daw. You can be a veggie-eating, artistic redneck. We welcome newcomers, else we'd still have Blue laws.
I hope you like living in Tyler.
Lonny

Sorry, I can't answer your question. BUT, I am a foreigner, immigrated to TX from OH in 1981 so I can say what it feels like as a non native...grins.

At first you wander around looking at everything that's different. While you're doing that, you bump into folks who are direct, warm and sincerely helpful. The women are tough, but often have their hair and nails done and clothing coordinated with "bling".

There is a pioneering spirit. Everyone's started over and remembers what that feels like. They will often go out of their way to help you find yours.

The vegetarian thing isn't such a big deal, but folks may directly ask you about it. It's best to be ready for directness. It isn't rude, often just honest and soon becomes so very, very charming.

I still remember stopping to ask directions. I thought I was pronouncing the town correctly, but the dear lady at the town store corrected me. I said, I'm sorry, I'm not from TX. She said with a warm smile. "Well honey, it's obvious you aren't from around here, everybody here knows it's ______"

Pretty soon, you're right at home. There is a "can do" spirit here that is exciting and manners are just a part of life.

Let us know when you get here. We'll help and promise not to make fun of your vegetarian ways if you won't make fun of ours...grins.
c

Hey, thanks for the messages and advice.
As a vegetarian, I am always asked questions about it, even here in California. Usually I get "You're a vegetarian? WHY?" or "What do you eat?!" To which I say "Everything you do minus the meat...." or I get something like "Well I'm a carnivore!" as if I asked, haha. I never try to convert people to vegetarianism, and I only bring it up if someone offers me something with meat or like at work, ask why my spaghetti has no meat balls. A lot of people act like vegetarians all try to get them to not eat meat or that they try to make you feel guilty. Instead, I'm the one everyone starts making jokes to like "Ooh, couldn't you go for a huge hamburger right now?!"
So I'm guessing in Texas it will be better than here because I am quite tired of people being rude about it and the two times I visited Texas, no one was rude to me. I can't wait to not be the only one who says please, thank you, and opens doors for other people! Although, I'm sure not EVERYone is nice, just like not everyone here runs stop signs, haha. Just a significant amount!

Most here would say, "she's a vegetarian, bless her heart"

You'll have to look up Texas speak to get that one.

Ah'm jest teezin ya!

Alright, I'll explain. As an example, one might say, he's a bit plump, bless his heart. In other words it was considered ok to say anything about someone, as long as it was followed with, bless their heart.

Kathy

You'll know you've crossed the border into Texas when you start seeing 'Drive Friendly' signs (which means that if you're on a two lane road, move onto the shoulder long enough to let faster cars pass). And perhaps you'll pass some country folk in pickups who will wave at you (unsolicited), or find you must slow down while a tumble weed crosses the road (in West Tx).

I (heart) Austin....better known by more conservative municipalities as The Republic of Austin. A desert oasis for free spirits. Although it's become a major metropolis (most evident on the road at rush hour) and there are many newcomers, it still has a small town feel. That's probably due to the fact that many who move there tend to put down permanent roots. So they are a tight group who stays very active in local/state government issues and are not afraid of activism. DO visit there often for all its unique cultural offerings.

Texas has an earthy charm and keen wit.
I think you'll find that most 'out of state' plants are welcome to put down roots here too. A big Texas welcome!

I became a naturalized citizen of the Republic of Texas, living in Dallas & Houston for about 14 years. I eventually did what I said I'd never do - moved back to the Seattle area. I still love to visit Texas and get my fix of chicken fried steak and fried okra...and brush up on my Texas accent. If someone asks me if I speak any foreign languages, I'm inclined to drawl at them "well bless your heart, I speak English and Texan...what more could you want?!"

Seriously, I think I should be living in Austin ;-)
But my boots don't fit no more, my belt done got too short and I s'pect even my c'boy hat is gettin' a bit tight.

plantmaven, that reminds me of a very funny, cool comedian named Jon Reep. Here's a link to a video, watch the whole thing (it's a short piece of a bit) to see what I mean: http://comedians.comedycentral.com/jon-reep/videos/jon-reep---bless-his-heart

dragonfly_wings; That's so funny that you should mention people pulling over! When I visited a few months ago, I was being the passenger in my mom's car (we were in Rockport) and someone in front of us pulled off the road (and kept driving) to let us pass. I was like "Why are they doing that?!" It freaked me out cause there wasn't a paved shoulder, and I thought for sure everyone was going to crash, haha.

Welcome to Texas. We got a lot of vegetarians here. Leaves more cows for the rest of us. I saw chicken fried eggplant on a menu. That's just wrong! It's still legal to smoke most places, though that is changing. We have a great coastline, an active musical scene-not just Austin, Houston is big-time in the rap community, lots of artists-we have ArtWalk every 6 weeks in the summer here on the island, it was put on hold for Ike but should start again soon. Houston has one of the biggest arts shows in the country. The Art Car parade is in Houston every spring. You can spend a day at the beach, hike mountain peaks, soak in a mineral spring, go to a gallery opening, shop at Gucci, eat Tex-mex, crawfish, boiled shrimp, polish food, bar-b-que tofu, go to a crab festival, a mosquito festival, a rattlesnake round-up, tour replicas of the Columbus ships, a WWII submarine, Shiner beer, Blue Bell Ice cream.....

Ya'll are fixin' to have a great time. Don't put dark meat in the chicken salad or the Jr League will talk about you. Bless her heart ain't always a nice thing!

Tally HO!!
40+ year resident of Galveston, somewhere near Texas

Welcome to Texas! Yes, definitely come to Austin for a visit. I'm about an hour west of it in Spicewood and the "Austin feel" has permeated all the way out here. It's really laid back and welcoming. I'm the odd one out having lived here all my life, but the "newcomers" have only bettered the area imho, making it more interesting to live here. Most "transplants" here don't try to change things. There were a few who did try (wanted to incorporate our area into a formal city), but they were egged on by a "native son", our own version of Boss Hogg, so it wasn't just their fault. But that's too long of a story for here ~ suffice it to say they didn't get their way in no small part because many of the transplants fought them, too.

I work at an Austin nursery (the Natural Gardener) and a large percentage of my coworkers are vegetarian and even a few vegans. The whole place is definitely not "your Daddy's Texas". For instance, during orientation for the job, they talked about energy vortexes on the property, and the owner encouraged us to read The Secret Life of Plants. People all over Austin don't even bat an eye at things like this. Elsewhere in Texas they'll laugh you out of the area, but not Austin.

So come see us, ya' hear? :)

Knittlin, I wonder if I've met you at NG last summer. Ive bought bags of expanded shale and a couple plants. I occasionally come and just wander around to kill time. My wife is from Austin so we tend to go to Austin quite a bit to visit with family.

Nope, don't think so, Lou. I've been shopping there since it was Gardenville, but only been working there a couple months. I have worked at other nurseries in Marble Falls, though. Ever been to a nursery there?

My wife's parents live nearby Marble Falls but I've never been to any nurseries there though. Which nursery would you recommend? I'm looking for a nursery that sells a variety of roses including if not all but most of Earthkind roses. I need to "beautify" their backyard. Lol. We're going to be there next month for Easter's weekend. Gives me something to do, I guess.

Ha! Yeah, stay outside out of the mother in law's way, huh? And get some brownie points while you're at it. Smart man you are. ;)

Backbone Valley would be the best, Lou. It's a bit out of town, but very much worth it (unless they've gone downhill since I last visited a bit more than a year ago, but I doubt that seriously). The other two halfway decent ones in town closed down, so all that's left besides Backbone are WalMart, Home Depot and Sutherland's (lumberyard/home improvement place like Home Depot, but a smaller chain). Slim pickin's in Marble nowadays.

Lol. Thanks. I'm thinking of getting New Dawn rose to grow on the chain link fence. I may end up planting one or two of mine because I may not have room for them...

Remember we talked about rootmaker container? Ive noticed that they get established very quickly compared to conventional container. The stakes were use MUCH less. The problem with conventional container trees was that you have to hack away part of the root system to get rid of root circling and you get less stability as a result. You don't do that at all with rootmaker/smartpot/roottrapper containers.

Knittlin, are they hard to find? I tried once, using the map on their site, and got lost out there on the unmarked country roads. Most of them did not have signs... I wound up hitting 1431, which wasn't marked either, and just guessed at which way to turn. I guessed correctly, lol. I gave up and figured they had closed like the other two. I was trying to find them all in the same day. The other two still had listings somewhere online. I do most of my errands in MF so that would be great if they are still open!!

Now that I know they are still around I'll have to call and get better directions. Maybe a street sign was temporarily missing or something.

Honey, welcome to Texas where even the liberals have guns.

I am one of those old time Austin artist that have spent decades keeping the town weird, just to be a thorn in Daddy's Texas's Ass.. We are not as weird as we used to be, but still hanging on. Hey Knitlin, you guys at NG get all my disposable income and Barton Springs Nursery get my nondisposable income. .. Or is it the other way around.We are so lucky to have such amazing nurseries in town. It wasn't that long ago that you guys changed your name. I remember being pissed when you guys moved out to the "New" place. Hey I remember Barton Springs Nursery when they were right on the banks of Barton Springs . The park bought their land and it is still an empty lot. I have lived so long here, I have become just another "Austin Face". Actually, I have made the exodus out to Dripping Springs after 30 years in town. I had a "been there, done that awakening and It was either Hill Country or Bali or Abkazia.

I did go to Austin once. I went to an art gallery and some other places. I think we'll live right around Tyler for a while before moving on.
I work at a "box store" nursery right now..I'm hoping to get a job at a Tyler nursery when I move..I hope the conditions aren't too different so I won't give bad info to everyone.

I checked their list on their website for New Dawn Rose, Lou, and it's not listed. Maybe you can call and ask before you drive out there? They did have other popular ones. I remember the discussion on the rootmakers ~ haven't had cause to try them out yet though.

They are off the beaten path, Trsinc, aren't they?! LOL! I know they're a good ways past the pick your own strawberry patch, but couldn't tell you exactly how far ~ it's been so long since I've been.

You're a fellow nursery worker, Daw! Cool! So, will you continue in that line of work when you move?

I really hope to. I've worked there for about a year and I really enjoy plants and helping people discover what's best for them. But really I'll probably take whatever job I can get (within reason).

You are going to a great area if you want to work in a nursery. First off, there are rose growers galore in the Tyler area. Chamblees is good, as are several others. Bob Wells nursery which has fruit trees, shrubs, roses, etc. is in Lindale, which is only about 6 miles or so from Tyler. Also Trees USA, a wholesale grower, is in Lindale. Get on the Tyler Chamber of Commerce site and get a list of growers/nurseries. Tyler's rose festival is also fantastic.
With your experience, you should have no trouble picking up a satisfying job at a nursery. You'll also meet a lot of really nice folks who garden.

Ha! The above post reminds me of what I hear a lot of ... "Hun" or "Honey." I, too, am a transplant--first to Austin, then to Dallas and boy do I ever miss Austin! (More my type of people.) Get ready for the summers! We've lived in Texas since 1985 and I'm STILL not used to the heat of summers!
Welcome to Texas "girl"!

Well, duh ~ I just realized you'd already answered that question, Daw. Sorry! Here's hoping you can find the perfect nursery job when you get here.

I know what you mean about helping people find just the right plants for what/where they need them. I enjoy that, too. I work mainly in the herb section at my nursery and love helping people pick out just the right ones for their needs, letting them know which are annual and which perennial, which medicinal and which culinary, how big they get, etc. We usually end up talking about ones they already have and I learn a lot from them as well. LOVE that.

You'll find that, compared to California, our list of "That which is prohibited" and our list of "that which is compulsory" are both somewhat shorter...

Hey Daw,

I guess people have more than answered your question. But I drove from NY to TX with a whole bunch of plants in the back seat, some of them in bigger than gallon containers. No one stopped me in any state crossings. I never even thought that was a possibility. (The mover didn't take the plants, and I couldn't leave them behind.)
When ordering online I run into problems like "cannot ship citrus to tx". But no one stopped me to see if I did have any citrus.
Good luck with your move.
One more thing I can add is that the first year in Austin,TX, my transplanted plants thrived!
pebble09

Thanks again for everyone's messages. Have been packing like crazy so I haven't been on much. I'm now more worried about California borders. More people here I talk to say that they're very strict in-and-out. But people also said they don't really stop you either..
marlingardener; thanks for the nursery info. I really would love to do that again though I bet the summers are going to be horrible outside. I grew up in Arizona so I know heat, though not the humidity! When I visited my mom when she lived in Rockport, I was horrified to find that my water color paintings I did wouldn't dry! Or they'd finally dry and then re-animate! So at least I think Tyler won't be that humid and maybe I'll survive :)
8 more days til the move!

Welcome to Tyler! They are right about the # of nurseries here. there are several around in the area. You will have to visit Blue Moon Gardens, they have a website you can look up also.
The growing season is definitely different from growing up in the Panhandle.
There are also lots of lakes in the area to enjoy.
Hope you like it here, I know several that moved from Cali have liked it here in the area.