Spring is an exciting time for most.
The weather gets warmer, flower bloom, and the days get longer.
But for those of us who suffer with allergies, it can also be an uncomfortable time of itchy
eyes and a runny nose.
Though you can’t control the pollen in your neighborhood, you can control it in your garden
and around your home.
To help you determine how to choose plants that won’t trigger your allergies, FTD put
together a comprehensive guide to the best and worst plants for allergies based on the
Ogren Plant Allergy Scale.
According to Thomas Orgen, a horticulturist who invented the Ogren Plant Allergy Scale
(OPALS), pollen is the most common allergen that we are exposed to.
It’s also something we can control by adjusting our landscapes to reduce plants that cause
irritating allergies.
The OPALS scale ranks plants from 1 to 10, with one being least allergenic and 10 being
most allergenic, based on things like how long the plants bloom, the size of the pollen
grains, the type of flowering season, and more.
It’s quite easy to use this guide:
1 = Least Allergenic
10 = Most Allergenic
For example, the lovely bourgainvillea plant above is 1 on the OPALS scale, making it one
of the least allergenic plants.
So now you’ll know what plants are provoking your allergies and what to plant for an
allergy-friendly garden!
Do you or a loved suffer from plant allergies?
Do you find the Ogren Plant Allergy Scale useful?
Share your thoughts and comment with us.
“Shared on Kind and Healthy Fridays”
I had never heard of the OPALS scale. Those are definitely ones I was allergic to, however as I cleaned up my diet and improved my health, I find I am only mildly allergic to a few plants. Thanks for sharing on #LetsGetReal Link Party
Wow- I never even thought about this, really! So glad you put this information out there for gardeners who may have family members with allergies. Thanks so much for sharing on my weekly linkup!
Hi Randi,
I’m so glad you found this information useful Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I appreciate it.
Oh allergies… 🙁 Since moving to the south there’s always something blooming that I’m allergic to! I need to move back to a state where everything dies. Haha.