One of the safest choices for gift giving, flowers can add color and cheer to any room. However, you do need to be careful when sharing a bouquet of blooms. Allergies can turn your thoughtful gesture into a torturous experience for the recipient. Fortunately though, some flowers are hypoallergenic—they don’t trigger allergic reactions. What’s more, other flowers can be altered to make them hypoallergenic. Here are some blossoms to consider when you’re perusing flower shops for that perfect floral gesture.
Why Are Some People Allergic to Flowers?
Actually, people aren’t allergic to flowers per se. They react to the pollen that flowers produce. Flowers create pollen as part of their reproductive process. Some pollen floats on the air, while other types of pollen needs insects to transfer it to initiate reproduction.
Because pollen needs to stick where it lands, it can irritate the nasal passages of some people and trigger allergic reactions. Again though, rather float on the air, some pollen stays put until it is moved. So, when you’re shopping for a bouquet to present as a gift, the safest thing to do is choose flowers whose pollen doesn’t float on the air.
Best Flowers for People With Allergies
Some of the most popular hypoallergenic flowers include:
Asiatic Lilies can be one of the worst flowers for people who suffer from allergies. However their structure makes it easy to render them safe for people who appreciate their beauty, but are irritated by their pollen. However, this is pretty easy to fix. All you have to do is snip the stamens (the part of the flower that carries the pollen) from the blooms.
Cactus is likely to be far from top of mind where gift giving is concerned. However, Cactus gets a bad rap in this regard. Cacti produce lovely flowers, in a wide range of colors—and with minimal pollen. Don’t be put off by their porcupine-like appearance, Cacti can be lovely gift — plus they’re hard to kill.
Carnations have a lovely fragrance and are among the least likely flowers to trigger an allergic reaction. Their pollen count is low and the structure of the flower keeps it buried within the bloom.
Hydrangeas make great gifts because they make lots of blossoms and they bloom repeatedly during the warm weather months. What’s more their pollen is sticky, so air currents don’t move it.
Irises are both lovely and fragrant. What’s more, they can be found in a wide variety of colors. And, like carnations, their pollen is buried deep within the blossom. It’s also quite heavy and unlikely to become airborne.
Roses are popular gifts because of their beauty, as well as their fragrant nature. However, it turns out Roses are also pretty safe for people with allergies. They do have pollen, but it’s on the larger side, so it tends to stay put. This makes Rose pollen less likely to become an irritant.
Tulips rely more on their bulbs to reproduce, so their pollen count is on the low side. That said, it could stick to the skin and trigger rashes in people who are sensitive to it. It’s a good idea to wear gloves when planting tulips. And, just as we suggested with Asiatic Lilies above, cut the stamens out if you gift tulips to someone who might be allergic.
Last but not least—
Dried flowers are highly unlikely to irritate allergy sufferers because their pollen is long gone. Plus, they have an extremely long shelf life.
Ideal for any occasion, flowers make wonderful gifts, and now that you know which blooms are the safest, you can confidently present them to anyone.
Marijuana is good for so many things now.