Seasonal allergy (hay fever) season is about to begin if indeed it hasn’t already started. In the spring, trees are the main culprits, causing sneezing and eye irritation. But not all trees provoke allergic reactions.
What follows is a list of trees whose pollen is not readily carried by the wind or simply doesn’t seem to cause seasonal allergies in most allergic people. Or they simply don’t produce pollen at all.
The latter situation is very common in dioecious trees, that is to say whose male flowers and female flowers are produced on different specimens. In their case, the male tree often produces copious amounts of allergenic pollen, but the females produces none at all and therefore won’t cause allergies. You’ll often see, in the following list, the mention “female cultivars only”, referring to just such a case.
Ask your garden center to point out pollen-free varieties to you. If they don’t know… you’re probably not dealing with a very professional company!
Planting non allergenic trees is highly recommended for gardeners whose family members suffer from hay fever. You see, although pollen can be carried from afar, most of it falls right near by. Filling your local environment with non-allergenic trees can make spring something hay fever-suffers ll be able to enjoy outdoors rather then being cooped up indoors looking out through a window.
- Amur maackia (Maackia amurensis) zone 4b
- Apple (Malus spp.) zones 3 to 5
- Ash (female cultivars only) (Fraxinus spp.) zones 2b to 7
- Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) zone 4b
- Box elder (female cultivars only) (Acer negundo) zone 2
- Cherry (Prunus spp.) zones 1 to 8
- Cork-tree (female cultivars only) (Phellodendron spp.) zone 4
- Crabapple (Malus spp.) zones 3 to 5
- Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) zone 4
- Fringetree (female cultivars only) (Chionanthus spp.) zones 5b to 7
- Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) zones 3 to 6
- Japanese aralia (Aralia elata) zone 5
- Juniper (female cultivars only) (Juniperus spp.) zones 1 to 7
- Katsura (female cultivars only) (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) zone 5
- Kentucky coffeetree (female cultivars only) (Gymnocladus dioica) zone 5
- Lilac (Syringa spp.) zones 2 to 7
- Magnolia (Magnolia spp.) zones 4b to 9
- Manitoba maple (female cultivars only) (Acer negundo) zone 2
- Maple (other than Manitoba, red, and silver maples) (Acer spp.) zones 2 to 9
- Mountain-ash (Sorbus spp.) zones 2 to 6
- Pear (Pyrus spp.) zones 3 to 5
- Pine (Pinus spp.) zones 2 to 8
- Poplar (female cultivars only) (Populus spp.) zones 2 to 8
- Red maple (female cultivars only) (Acer rubrum) zone 3
- Serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.) zone 3
- Silver maple (female cultivars only) (Acer saccharinum) zone 3
- Spruce (Picea spp.) zones 1 to 7
- Tupelo (female cultivars only) (Nyssa sylvatica) zone 6
- White mulberry (female cultivars only) (Morus alba ‘Pendula’, etc.) zone 4
- Whitebeam (Sorbus spp.) zones 2 to 6
- Willow (female cultivars only) (Salix spp.) zones 2 to 10
- Yew (female cultivars only) (Taxus spp.) zones 4 to 8
Trees that Will Make You Sneeze
Want to know which trees, however, can cause allergies and therefore it should not be planted if you or a family member suffers suffer from allergies? Here is a blog on the subject.
My enterologist told me I was allergic to the pollen from all but 2 trees in the world and neither grows in AR. One only grows in Japan. I’m sorry I didn’t ask him which 2 trees that was, but at the time I had no plans to move. Any idea which 2 trees that might be?
I have no idea. Considering that so many trees are considered non allergenic, that’s very strange indeed.