Logan County, Ky. woman mistakenly planted seeds from China, and this is what happened

LOGAN COUNTY, Ky. (WBKO) - A woman in Logan County said she received seeds back in June and believed they were from her planting club, so she planted them.

“I didn’t realize it was a thing until I saw it on the news,” Tiffany Lowery said.

The image she shared with 13 News shows seeds and a package with Chinese postage, similar to what has been shared by various news outlets and officials.

After receiving the seeds she planted them, and a plant sprouted in a pot near her house.

“I planted them not realizing it was a bad thing. I was in a gift giving group on Facebook and thought it was from one of the members.”

Lowery said once she realized the seeds were not to be planted, she contacted the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. According to Lowery, KDA told her to either burn the plant or double bag it and throw it in the trash. She tried to burn the plant, but said it was difficult, so has triple bagged it, but has not thrown it in the trash yet.

Meanwhile, KDA has released a statement to 13 News regarding guidance on what to do with plants that have sprouted from the seeds. The department is still waiting on advisement from the USDA-APHIS on the matter.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we reached out again to USDA-APHIS for further guidance on what to do with plant material,” said Sean Southard, Director of Communications for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

“We encourage all those who have received unsolicited seeds to bag the seeds and send them to USDA-APHIS Plant Protection Quarantine in Hebron, Kentucky. We have been in communication with USDA-APHIS and they continue to investigate this matter. We expect further guidance soon from USDA and once we have that, we will certainly communicate it to the public,” explained Southard.

Individuals from Kentucky who have received suspicious packages with seeds should put them in an airtight bag and ship them to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Division of Plant Protection Quarantine at USDA-APHIS PPQ, P.O. Box 475, Hebron, Kentucky 41048.

Kentuckians should also contact the Kentucky Department of Agriculture at (502) 573-0282 or e-mail ag.web@ky.gov.

*If you are from another state, reach out to your state agriculture department.*

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