For most areas, spring tree pollen season is the season with the highest pollen concentrations. It is also the season with the highest number of allergy sufferers. Pollen comes from flowers, but the trees producing the major pollen types have flowers that most people wouldn’t recognize.
Know what to look for.
The flowers of the worst offenders are specifically designed to use the wind to spread their pollen. Birch, elm, oak, cedar, poplar, and olive are examples of trees with flowers designed to spread pollen in the wind. There are many other spring pollen sources and the main sources in your area will be listed in your pollen count feed.
Showy flowers are not the problem.
In many areas, the tree pollen season start is timed with the blooming of ornamental trees. This has caused many people to believe that the beautiful flowering trees like cherry, pear, and others are the cause of the pain. This is almost never the case. A simple rule of thumb is that showy pretty flowers are trying to attract bees and other pollinators because they need them to move the pollen to other flowers.