Many people wonder why it is so common today to have allergies. It seems that many more people today than 50 years ago are suffering. I know of a school that can not have peanut butter present because one child could suffer life a threatening reaction if exposed to peanut butter. Could our trees that we are planting also be a cause?

54.3% of Americans have allergic reactions severe enough to be mesured by the skin patch test to at one of the "top ten" allergens!

LIST PUT HERE: There have been changes in our urban and rural tree planting to adjust for such plant diseases as the Dutch Elm Disease. Our elm trees which were very common in the landscape have all but disappeared. From a possible 150 million or so trees in 1900 at the turn of the 20th century, the number fell to about half in a 1930's census totalling 76 million, mostly in the cities of the esatern states. A second outbreak following the end of the Second World War in 1945 further reduced the elm tree total to less than 20 million today. This includes all the new elm trees which were planted as replacements too.

This tree had little air born pollen because this tree is mostly pollinated by insects. (Elms have both male and female flowers present on each tree.) Thus elms can cause less allergy problems for people. Since 1949 our USDA, through its yearbook, has recommended trees which are males because they are less messy. No acorns and no fruit but alas more pollen. So what is recommended as suitable for urban plantings does effect the total amount of pollen in the air. Selections should be made with pollen production in mind. Trees with high pollen production should be kept out of urban planting if possible. This is even more important in high density urban areas such as schools, nursing homes, hospitals, and as street trees in downtown areas. Trees with high pollen production should never be near fresh air ducts for buildings. Municipalities should incorporate pollen production of trees into land use regulations. Lists of trees that are allowed in land use plans should reflect good health factors for our communities. Think of all the law suits that could be derived as a result of poor planning.

Best Trees to Plant Female Ash Trees Female Red Maple Trees Female Red Locust Trees Double Flowering Cherry Trees

Good Trees to Plant Flowering Pears and Plums Pines and Spruces Dogwoods

Poor Trees to Plant Male Ash Trees Male Mullberry Trees Male Red Maple Male Junipers Red Oak Trees

See more articles by B Hirst at the farm web site http://www.seedlingsrus.com or http://www.zone5trees.com