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Allergy-free Flowers and Plants for Churches
Flowers Say "I Love You"Some people dismiss flowers as old-fashioned, but the truth is that, in general, women adore them, and men are secretly pleased and .....
Allergy-free Flowers and Plants for Churches
Thomas Ogren
Certain flowers seem more appropriate for particular
occasions. Weddings ought to be bright, fun, and cheerful, and
they require festive flowers. I like "glads," gladiolas, but I
see them used at funerals all too often, so they seem out of
place at fun affairs like weddings. Likewise, although fir trees
and poinsettias feel right for Christmas time, they would
probably seem out of place at Easter. But no matter what the
season, the one thing we don't want with flowers inside the
church is pollen! With floral displays very little pollen is
good, and no pollen at all is by far the best. There are a good
many flowers that when growing outside in the garden pose little
if any risk for triggering allergies or asthma. However, many of
these same flowers when brought inside into a warm, dry
environment, such as that in a church, will then shed allergenic
pollen that can become airborne. Because of this we need to take
special care with all flowers we bring inside. Daises: For
starters avoid using most of the daisy-related type flowers,
daisies, gerbera, chrysanthemums, asters, dahlias, and
sunflowers unless you know they're pollen-free ones. There
actually are quite a few chrysanthemums, dahlias and asters that
are called formal doubles and that have no pollen. All of these
formal doubled flowers will be ones with a very high number of
petals per flower. What has happened with these flowers is that
they have been hybridized so often that the pollen parts (the
stamens) have turned into parts that now look more like petals
(staminoids). All true formal double flowers will be pollen
free. If you look at the center of a formal double daisy or mum,
all you'll see are more petals. But, if you look into the center
of a daisy-type flower and can see the yellow stamens, that is
not a formal double. There are also a considerable number of
pollen-free sunflowers sold, and these can be excellent choices
for the right occasion. Goldenrod flowers (bright yellow) are
often used as filler material in arrangements but goldenrod is a
daisy-ragweed relative and will shed plenty of allergenic
pollen. Don't use goldenrod! White Baby's breath is a popular
cut flower, again, often used as filler between other larger
flowers. Baby's breath is grown and sold as single or double
flowered. If you use baby's breath, use only the doubled
flowered types. Roses: Florist type hybrid tea roses that are
still in a closed bud stage and that are not especially fragrant
are excellent choices and will shed no pollen. If using roses
picked from the garden, choose only those roses with healthy
green leaves, and pick roses that are still in the bud to
half-open stages. Some free-flowering garden roses, such as the
beautiful pale pink 'Cecile Brunner' roses, are always
allergy-free and produce no pollen at all. The Banksia roses,
which will be either yellow or white, are small, cute, come in
dense sprays, and are also pollen-free. If cutting your own
roses from the garden, immediately plunge the stems in water as
soon as they've been cut, and take the time too, to remove any
thorns with your clippers. Pots of blooming hydrangeas,
especially of the old-fashioned "pom-pom" Hydrangea macrophylla
type, are mostly pollen-free and are good choices for using in a
church. Pots of blooming double tuberous begonias, especially
all the erect type cultivars, almost all of these are great,
with very large, pollen-free, colorful flowers. The fancy
flowered begonias called 'Reigers' begonias are also pollen-free
and come in bright colors of white, yellow, red, salmon, and
pink. Lilies of all types can often now be purchased that
already have all their pollen removed, making them pollen-free
flowers. But if the lilies you buy still have their pollen (each
lily flower has six male stamens, and the abundant pollen will
be on the anther, the tip of each stamen) then someone (who
doesn't have allergies), can carefully remove the brown
pollen-bearing anthers from the tip of each of the six stamens
in each lily.... watch this pollen as it will also easily stain
your wedding clothes, especially anything white. Lilies that
have had the anthers removed will be completely pollen-free, and
they will last longer, too, as cut flowers. ** A caution here:
sap from any and all kinds of lilies, especially Alstromeria
(sometimes called Peruvian Lilies), can cause a very nasty,
long-lasting itchy skin rash. With this in mind, watch out for
the sap of all lilies. Also, it would not be a good idea for a
bride to even carry a bouquet of lilies if she has skin that is
in the least bit sensitive. Anyone helping with the cut flowers
would be wise not to stick their hands into the water in which
the lilies have been standing, as this water will have the
allergenic sap in it. *Note: some lilies have strong fragrances
and before any are used, the fragrance should be checked. Avoid
the ones with the strongest fragrance. Tulips and Daffodils will
normally shed very little pollen, but the smallest flowered
types of daffodils, often sold as Narcissus, many of these have
a powerful, sometimes almost obnoxious fragrance, and these are
to be avoided. Remember too, that both tulip and daffodil are
related to lilies (as are iris) so do be careful with their sap,
or with the water in which the stems have stood. Azaleas as
potted flowers are popular and rightly so, as they are highly
attractive and shed little pollen. However, it is well worth
noting that all parts of an azalea are highly poisonous, as is
its pollen. Thus, it would never be wise to stick your nose into
a pot of azaleas to try and smell the flowers. Luckily, few
azaleas have much of any fragrance. Camellias: Camellias come in
bright white, red, or pink colors and few flowers are more
beautiful than nice camellias, however they are not easy to buy
from florists. Still, a gardener friend may have some you could
use if the season is right...spring and fall. If you can find
them, there are many wonderful fully doubled, formal double type
camellias that are pollen-free. These camellias also look
fabulous floating in small bowls of water on tables. Fragrance
issues: People also sometimes like to float single white
gardenia flowers in display bowls, but gardenia fragrance can be
very powerful and can occasionally trigger serious allergic
responses. Jasmine can be attractive in displays but it too has
an overwhelming fragrance and should normally be avoided.
Hyacinths as potted or cut flowers are another that often are
simply too fragrant, as are cut stocks. In springtime lilac
spays are often cut and brought inside our churches. The common,
old fashioned purple lilac, Syringa vulgaris, has flowers that
are heavily fragrant, but some of the different colored newer
lilac hybrids, often called French Hybrids, many of these have
Everyone Loves FlowersFlowers Truly Reach Your Soul. Flowers are a heartfelt, natural way to lift our spirits. They ..... flowers with little fragrance. One thing to watch out for with
all cut flowers, is that quite a few florists will add
fragrances to the flowers, often spraying this on them. This
artificial fragrance could easily trigger allergy or asthma for
perfume-sensitive individuals, and we would be wise to always
insist (ahead of time!), that the florists do not do this to any
flowers we order. Orchids: Very few orchids cause any pollen
allergies and it is now possible to buy small pots of beautiful
blooming orchids at quite reasonable prices. In recent years
orchids have been developed for the cut trade, and it is now
often possible to buy bouquets of cut orchids, grown especially
for florists. Although there is very little allergy risk
connected with orchids, occasionally there is some skin rash
associated with orchids, so watch any and all sap from cut
flowers. Individual orchid blooms should have their stems in
small tubes of water. Poinsettias: Although poinsettia pollen is
not abundant, in a dry church it can become available, and it
would never be wise to sniff these flowers. The white latex sap
from poinsettia plants is a potent allergen, especially for
anyone with allergies to rubber; keep poinsettia sap off your
skin and away from your eyes. Other flowers to use extra caution
with are all types of Euphorbia, and those pretty flowers used
in Hawaiian lei arrangements, Plumeria. Plumeria sap is a
well-known irritant to the eye, and all types of Euphorbias have
sap that is potently allergenic. But probably the number one
most common human health concern with poinsettia plants is that
far too many of them come straight from the store (or florist)
already infested with whitefly. Whitefly dander is highly
allergenic. Whenever you are going to purchase potted poinsettia
plants to bring into your church, always carefully inspect the
undersides of all the leaves, looking for the tiny whiteflies.
These little pests are a bright white and congregate only on the
underside of the leaf, so if you look carefully, if they're
there, you should be able to see them. Do not buy any poinsettia
plants that have whitefly. Although certainly not indoor plants,
pots of growing pansies, viola, and impatiens also can look
terrific when brought inside and they are all very low allergy
potential flowering plants. In California or Florida it might
well be possible to get large sprays of bougainvillea flowers.
These now come in many colors, including bright white. Double
bougainvillea flowers will have no pollen at all, and even the
more typical types of bougainvillea will shed next to no pollen.
Bougainvillea flowers are good too, for using around perfume
sensitive people, as they have next to no smell. Sprays of
bougainvillea flowers will last much longer if they are cut from
softer, vigorous new wood, and if the stems are stuck in water
immediately after being cut. Bougainvillea flowers taken from
older, harder wood will quickly wilt after cutting. With foliage
material to be passed out to the faithful, such as palm fronds,
it would always be sensible to wash the fronds first. The
easiest way to wash palm fronds is to stick them in the shower
and rinse them well with cold water. Christmas trees: There are
always health concerns with cut Christmas trees, and with living
Christmas trees, pines, cedars, or firs, that are brought
inside. I always recommend that if at all possible, these trees
be first hosed down well with a stiff spray from a garden hose.
After the trees have been hosed down, it is wise to then spray
the entire tree with a waxy retail product called "Wiltpruff."
Wiltpruff is a water-soluble material that gardeners sometimes
spray on new transplants to keep them from wilting. Sprayed
liberally on Christmas trees, it will lock in most pollen and
mold spores, and will likewise cut down considerably on the
tree's smell, and as a bonus, it will also keep the tree turgid
and fresher for a much longer time. You can buy Wiltpruff from
many of the better nurseries, and it is easy enough to mix and
spray it on, using an inexpensive one or two gallon plastic pump
garden sprayer. *Note: Make sure that the garden spray rig
itself is perfectly clean before you use it, as we hardly would
want any residues of insecticide on our Christmas trees. (Also
see,
http://www.icangarden.com/document.cfm?task=viewdetail&itemid=471
5&categoryid=0 for more on Christmas trees and allergies.)
Lawns: If a church service is to be held on a lawn, or if a
reception afterwards is, I suggest that the lawn be mowed two to
three days ahead of time, and that a lawn mower with a really
good grass catcher be used, or, if no catcher is available, that
all the grass clipping be raked up right after mowing.
Insecticides and fungicides: With purchased potted plants we can
almost never be 100% sure if they have recently been sprayed
with allergenic chemicals or not. Because of this, if the
weather permits, it is always a good idea to let potted plants
sit outside in the fresh air for at least several hours before
we bring them inside. At the very least, they should be left to
sit in a large airy garage before bringing them inside. Also,
make a point to always take a careful look at the leaves of any
and all potted plants you are considering purchasing. Do not buy
any that have leaves that look fuzzy or sooty (probable mold
issues) or any that appear to have a whitish film on the leaves
(probable insecticide residue). We can fill our places of
worship with beautiful plants and flowers and not make our
parishioners ill, but it does require a little bit of extra
effort on our part.
Thomas Ogren is the author of Allergy-Free Gardening, Ten Speed
Press.
About the author:
Thomas Ogren is the author of Allergy-Free Gardening, now just
out in a secondprinting, and also of, Safe Sex in the Garden.
His work has been featured on National Public Radio, on CBS
Evening News, on NBC, Fox TV, and on HGTV. Tom Ogren's own
website is www.allergyfree-gardening.com
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