Expert explains what contributes to higher pollen counts

DELMARVA. – It’s that time of year again when that pesky pollen gets everywhere and causes seasonal allergies.

Lower Shore commercial horticulturist, Ginny Rosenkranz, said global warming is partially to blame for the high pollen count this season.

“I just know that our summers are hotter, and the hotter the summers are, the more pollen is produced,” Rosenkranz said. “It’s just one of those cycles that we’re going through.”

But it takes two to tango and you can’t have pollen without a producer. Rosenkranz said a phenomenon called Botanical Sexism, where more male trees are planted than female trees, causes a lot of that pollen to end up in the air.

“A lot of people who want a maple, there are now new varieties of maples that are strictly male, so you can go ahead and have that tree and never have to deal with all those little helicopters flying down or all those little seedlings that pop up,” Rosenkranz said.

“They don’t even think about the fact that that tree is the pollen producer,” Rosenkranz added.

So, before you head to that tree nursery, Rosenkranz said you should consider a polygamous tree, to avoid the headache of green pollen on your car, and allergies in your system.

“Think about the fact that anybody in your family has issues with pollen. Is anybody allergic to it? There’s a lot of people that have allergies and it does make life a little uncomfortable for them,” Rosenkranz said.