Your Guide To Allergy Season

Your Guide To Allergy Season Depending on what you're allergic to, allergy season could stretch pretty much all year long. Since pollen travels through the air, there's no way to totally cut plant allergies out of your life, but knowing what in your garden is making you sneeze (a doctor can perform tests to see what specific allergies you have) could cut down on a lot of suffering. Plants that are more and less likely to cause allergies LESS LIKELY LESS LIKELY MORE LIKELY Timothy MORE LIKELY INAYIND Olive Red maple Sweet vernal St. Augustine Ash Magnolia Kentucky bluegrass Oak TREES Persimmon Redtop GRASSES Sugar maple Apple Most grasses are problematic for allergy sufferers, especially unmowed grass that is allowed to flower. Allergy- friendly yard alternatives include ivy and Irish moss. Flowering Japanese flowering cherry dogwood MODERATELY LIKELY MODERATELY LIKELY Average allergy season for... TREES GRASSES LATE WINTER AND EARLY SPRING LATE SPRING AND EARLY SUMMER Most trees release pollen as winter ends and spring begins. Red maple, magnolia, apple and dogwood trees rank among the least likely to cause allergies, while varieties such as oak, ash and juniper are more likely to make you sneeze. Most grasses release pollen from late spring to early summer. St. Augustine grass is the best for people with allergies. Avoid varieties like Bermudagrass, Johnsongrass, Redtop and Timothy. WINTER SPRING SUMMER FALL FLOWERS WEEDS SPRING LATE SUMMER AND FALL People with allergies should plant flowers like lilies, crocuses, or hollyhocks. Avoid plants like purple coneflowers and chrysanthemums. Most weeds release pollen in late summer and early fall. People with allergies should avoid weeds - almost all are likely to cause allergies. Ragweed tends to be the worst offender. LESS LIKELY LESS UKELY MORE LIKELY MORE LIKELY Bottlebrush Golden Chalice Petunia chrysanthemum Ragweed Wood sorrel Pigweed Painted daisy Impatiens Hollyhocks FLOWERS WEEDS If you have plant allergies, there's a good chance you're sensitive to ragweed- about 75% of Americans with plant aller- gies are. It's found in most of the U.S., commonly in fields and rural areas. Goldenrod Honeysuckle Purple coneflower MODERATELY LIKELY MODERATELY LIKELY Sources: The Huffngton Post, Allergy-Free Gardening, Mother Nature Network, Health.com, WebMD THE HUFFINGTON POST