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Planting an "Allergy Free" Garden Gardening tips for the allergy-prone to ensure that your and eyes are happy From "Dirt On Gardening" episode DDOG-109

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Rogues Gallery of Allergy-Causing Plants

Some of the "top offenders" in terms of causing or aggravating allergic response include:

• pecan;
  
• live oak (Quercus sp.)
  
• coyote brush (Baccharis);
  
• fountain grass (Pennesetum setaceum);
  
• Chinese elms (Ulmus parvifolia);
  
• sycamore (Platanus sp.);
  
• black acacia (Acacia melanoxylon).

Chinese elm is especially problematic because it produces a lot of "bad" pollen.

Ornamental grasses like fountain grass and coyote brush are top "allergy offenders."

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Morning glories are "nose friendly" flowers.

"Nose-Friendly" Plants

Morning glories are a good choice for the allergy prone. Their pollen is not allergenic. Most flowering plants with trumpet- or tube-shaped blooms tend not to be as problematic.

If you suffer with allergies, here are some other plant selections you may want to consider:

• female trees of any type, including red maple, mulberry and Chinese pistache;
  
• Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica);
  
• deodar cedar (Cedrus deodora);
  
• Podocarpus gracilior;
  
• low fragrance roses such as shrub or floribunda roses.
  

  	Choosing low fragrance flowers will help allergies from getting stirred up.
  	Camellia japonica

• Identify the culprits and take action. If it's feasible, remove the problem plant or tree entirely and replace it with allergy friendly plant.
  
• If you can't remove the problem plant, keep it pruned back regularly.
  
• With allergies, avoidance is key. When the pollen producers are flowering, try to physically avoid them. For example, if you have a problem plant at your back door, get in the habit of using the front door until the plant's flowering phase is complete. Avoid planting pollen producers near windows that you're likely to open on nice days.
  
• Each year get rid of some of the worst offenders and replace them with some "nose-friendly" plants. And if you're just starting to landscape, consider the nonallergenic types.
  
• Avoid planting male (pollen-producing) specimens. Ask your nurseryman to help you select female plants. They're pollen-free and actually trap and remove airborne pollen.
  
• If you're involved in a neighborhood or community organization, suggest that the community avoid plantings of male-only trees in publicly landscaped areas. Large numbers of male trees raise the pollen count substantially.
  
• Request nursery salespeople to sell more pollen-free plants.

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