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The Pollen-trapping Power Of A Lawn
By Tom Ogren, Fri Dec 9th
The Pollen-Trapping Power of a Lawn Thomas Leo Ogren Think twice before you give up your lawn.
Lawns are often blamed for causing allergies but the right lawnis actually a powerful allergy suppressor. The best grasseseither do not bloom at all or will not bloom (and producepollen) if they are regularly mowed. What is little understoodor appreciated is that a thick is a very effective pollentrap. Pollen blows about and when it lands on smooth surfaces(cars, cement, roofs, decks, large leaves) it doesn't often staythere for long. The next good breeze to come along picks thepollen up and gets it back into the air. However, consider what happens when airborne pollen lands on awell-maintained lawn. The is composed of millions of long,slim leaves and the pollen grains fall down between theseleaves. When it rains or when the is sprinkled, the pollengrains are pushed further downward, down to the ground level.There the pollen is trapped and remains. An average sized lawnat an ordinary house will trap and remove hundreds of millionsof grains of pollen each season. A strong growing will trapand remove far more pollen than it will ever produce itself. To be fair here, a few types of lawns, such as ordinary commonBermuda grass lawns, can be large producers of allergenicpollen. However, common Bermuda produces much more pollen whenit is stressed. When a Bermuda grass is kept wellfertilized, regularly mowed, and well watered, even it willproduce little pollen. By the way, there are many wonderful new kinds of Bermuda grassthat don't ever produce any pollen. There are also types ofother grasses that are separate-sexed, and with these the femalelawns are also pollen-free. The bottom line here is this: a goodlawn is a thing of beauty; it adds considerably to the qualityof the landscape and to the actual property value. A healthylawn is the safest place for our children to play and where theylike to play the most. Our dogs and cats also appreciate a nicelawn. A is an excellent area for trapping rainwater fromstorms. Rain that falls on a will soak in, not run off tothe gutters. A lush green has powerful cooling qualities and will cutour cooling costs in the heat of the summer. A well-kept lawnwill not produce pollen and it
will trap millions of grains ofallergenic pollen from nearby trees and shrubs. A good is amarvelous thing! Certain types of mowers may kick up pollen that does landon a lawn. A rear-bagging mower will trap and bag pollen alongwith the grass clippings. A well-maintained mulching mower willdeposit pollen back down below the mower and then it will workits way downward with irrigation. A side-discharge mower, usedwithout a bagger, may kick up some loose pollen and this is notrecommended. Push reel mowers bring up little pollen and mostpower reel mowers are also pollen-safe. There are some allergenic people though who will reactnegatively to volatile organic compounds that are released whenthe blades of grass are cut. People who experience this problemwould be wise to get someone else to do the actual mowing. A few types of grasses are somewhat stiff and prickly and lesspleasant to lie on. These grasses may irritate the skin ofsensitive people. Bahia grass and some of the types of zoysiagrass will cause this itchiness. Leaf blowers do in fact kick up a good deal of pollen that maybe lying about on cement. If you have allergies it is a goodidea to wear a facemask when using a leaf blower. Do not blowtowards the direction of your house either. It is always a goodidea to close the windows in your house too, before using a leafblower. Pollen is tiny and can easily pass right through thetightest window screens. Lastly, I want to re-emphasize that the right is a veryeffective pollen trap. Some years ago I measured this bysprinkling cedar pollen on different surfaces and then testingto see how much of this pollen became airborne. Of all thesurfaces we tested (car roofs, shingles, cement, bricks,different ground cover plants, gravel) none was nearly aseffective at capturing incoming pollen as a thick lawn. About the author:Thomas Leo Ogren is the author of five published books includingAllergy-Free Gardening, and Safe Sex in the Garden. He doesconsulting on landscape plants and allergies for the AmericanLung Association, county asthma coalitions, hospitals,allergists, individuals, and landscape and nursery associations.His most recent book, published by AOL Time Warner Books, iscalled, What the Experts May NOT Tell You About: Growing thePerfect Lawn.
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