Bringing citrus plants into Texas is illegal because a single infected tree can introduce bacterial diseases that have no cure and would devastate the state’s roughly $300 million citrus industry.1Regulations.gov. Oranges and Grapefruit Grown in Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas The two diseases driving the ban, citrus greening and citrus canker, have already crippled citrus production in other states, and Texas enforces strict quarantine rules alongside federal restrictions to keep them from spreading further. Violating those rules can cost you up to $10,000 a day, and the plants themselves can be seized and destroyed.
The Diseases Texas Is Trying to Keep Out
Citrus greening, also called Huanglongbing, is caused by a bacterium that clogs a tree’s vascular system and starves it of nutrients. Infected trees produce small, lopsided, bitter fruit and show a blotchy yellow-green leaf pattern. There is no cure. Once a tree tests positive, it will eventually die, and while it stands it keeps spreading the disease to healthy trees nearby.
Florida shows what happens when greening takes hold. Since the disease arrived there around 2005, Florida orange production has fallen by more than 70 percent. Texas has already confirmed detections, most recently in Zapata County in 2024, which prompted USDA to expand the federal quarantine area.2Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). APHIS Expands the Citrus Greening Quarantine Area in Texas Detections have included residential properties, not just commercial groves, which is why backyard trees are regulated the same as nursery stock.
Citrus canker is a separate bacterial disease that produces raised, corky lesions on leaves, stems, and fruit. It causes premature fruit drop and defoliation. The fruit becomes unmarketable, and the bacterium spreads through wind-driven rain, contaminated tools, and infected plant material. One storm can scatter it across an entire grove.
The Asian citrus psyllid is the insect that carries greening from tree to tree. It picks up the bacterium while feeding on infected plants and injects it into healthy ones. The psyllid breeds fast and is hard to spot before populations explode. Controlling the insect is central to Texas’s quarantine because treating the disease itself is not possible.
What Counts as a “Citrus Plant”
The restriction is broader than oranges and lemons. The Texas citrus greening quarantine defines regulated articles by reference to federal code, covering essentially every living part of a long list of host plants: cuttings, budwood, leaves, roots, stems, and propagative seeds. The host list names dozens of species in the Rutaceae family, including kumquats, trifoliate orange, and curry leaf.3Texas Department of Agriculture. Texas Code Chapter 19 Subchapter X – Citrus Greening Quarantine
Orange jasmine (Murraya paniculata) catches many people off guard. It’s an ornamental, not a citrus tree, and it produces no edible fruit, but it is a preferred host for the Asian citrus psyllid. Any orange jasmine sold or distributed in Texas must be produced within the state and carry special labeling.4Texas Department of Agriculture. Citrus Information You cannot bring one in from out of state.
Commercially packed citrus fruit from a grocery store is handled under separate federal orders and is treated differently from living plant material. The core prohibition targets plants, cuttings, and anything else that could carry disease or harbor psyllids.
Penalties for Bringing Citrus Into Texas
The Texas Department of Agriculture gets its authority from Chapter 71 of the Texas Agriculture Code. When TDA determines a dangerous pest or disease exists outside Texas, the department is required to establish a quarantine at the state boundary.5State of Texas. Texas Agriculture Code 71.001 – Quarantines Against Out-of-State Diseases and Pests TDA can also impose emergency quarantines without notice or a hearing when the threat is immediate.6State of Texas. Texas Agriculture Code 71.043 – Emergency Quarantines
Failing to comply with quarantine restrictions can bring administrative or civil penalties of up to $10,000 per day for each violation.7Legal Information Institute. 4 Texas Administrative Code 19.406 – Consequences for Failure to Comply with Quarantine Restrictions Importing a noxious or invasive plant species listed by TDA is also a Class C misdemeanor, and each individual plant counts as a separate offense.8Texas Public Law. Texas Agriculture Code 71.152 – Noxious or Invasive Plant Species Offense
TDA has specific authority to seize citrus plants, citrus plant products, or citrus substances that were transported in violation of a quarantine order or that are infected. The department notifies the owner that the material is a public nuisance and must be destroyed, treated, or returned to its point of origin. If the owner is unknown, TDA publishes notice and can destroy the material after five days. If a known owner refuses to comply, TDA can destroy the plants directly and bill the owner for the cost.9Justia. Texas Agriculture Code 71.0091 – Seizure, Treatment, and Destruction of a Citrus Plant, Citrus Plant Product, or Citrus Substance
Federal Rules on Top of the State Ban
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) maintains its own federal orders covering interstate movement of citrus fruit, nursery stock, pollen, green waste, and leaves intended for culinary use.10Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Conditions of Movement of Regulated Citrus Articles (Federal Orders) For nursery stock, the restrictions are especially tight. Regulated citrus nursery stock generally cannot be moved interstate from a quarantined area, and the narrow exceptions require repeated state inspections, sealed transport containers, and federal paperwork. Even kumquat plants that qualify for one of those exceptions carry permits that explicitly bar distribution in Texas because Texas is a commercial citrus-producing state.11eCFR. 7 CFR 301.75-6 – Interstate Movement of Regulated Nursery Stock From Quarantined Areas That is why many online nurseries will not ship citrus to Texas addresses at all.
If You’re Moving or Traveling
If you’re relocating to Texas with a backyard citrus tree, the practical answer is you cannot bring it. Moving a citrus plant from a quarantined state into Texas requires compliance with both state and federal quarantine rules, and the paperwork and inspection requirements are out of reach for an individual homeowner. Buying a certified Texas-grown replacement after you arrive is the realistic option.
International travelers face a separate enforcement layer. U.S. Customs and Border Protection requires everyone entering the country to declare fruits, vegetables, plants, and seeds on the CBP Declaration Form. Agricultural specialists inspect declared items at the port of entry. Failing to declare a prohibited agricultural product can bring civil penalties of up to $1,000 for a first offense involving non-commercial quantities, with higher fines for commercial violations.12U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Bringing Agricultural Products Into the United States
The Legal Way to Get a Citrus Tree in Texas
Texas does allow citrus to be grown and sold inside the state, but only through tightly controlled channels. The TDA’s Citrus Nursery Stock Certification Program requires every business that propagates citrus nursery stock to hold certification at each location where propagation happens, and certified nurseries must also hold a current nursery and floral license before selling citrus stock.13Texas Department of Agriculture. Citrus Nursery Stock Certification Program Application Instructions The program covers facility structure, sanitation, rootstock sourcing, propagation methods, labeling, and recordkeeping.14Legal Information Institute. 4 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 21 Subchapter D – Citrus Nursery Stock Certification Program
Any citrus plant or orange jasmine sold in Texas must carry special labels and come with records proving it was produced within the state.4Texas Department of Agriculture. Citrus Information If you want citrus at home, that labeled, Texas-grown tree from a certified nursery is the legal path.
Reporting a Suspected Infected Tree
If you already have a citrus tree showing blotchy yellow leaves, lopsided fruit that stays green at the stem end, or unusually small bitter fruit, report it. Early detection is what has kept greening from spreading faster than it already has. TDA’s toll-free line for agricultural concerns is 1-800-835-5832, and the main office is reachable at (512) 463-7476. You can also report through the USDA’s Save Our Citrus program.15Texas Department of Agriculture. Gulf Coast Quarantine Area Frequently Asked Questions: Citrus Greening Quarantine