ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – ‘Tis spring! That means many trees and plants that cause allergies are starting to bloom around Albuquerque. So, what will we start seeing in people’s gardens and around town?
Daniel Humbles, Horticulturist with the City of Albuquerque’s Parks and Recreation Department, says there are tons of pollinators to watch out for. “Some of the big names that we hear a lot are Gallardia, Coreopsis, Tufted primrose; those are some of the main ones that we work with,” said Humbles. Also, Chocolate flowers and Globe mallows are very common.
As far as common allergens, nothing new here, just a lot of the same for Albuquerque. “Juniper usually starts to pollinate now, and that’s probably one of the biggest allergens that we have. Whether it’s juniper trees or juniper hedges, that’s probably one of the biggest ones,” said Humbles. “Ash [trees] pollinate really heavily, and there are several different varieties and so they’ll be active for probably six to eight weeks throughout the springtime while they’re coming into bloom…Elm trees as well.”
Humbles says Elm trees were not native to the Albuquerque area and could have been introduced as far back as 80 years ago, and primarily used asa canopy in areas like Old Town. “As far as naturally occurring, you’ll get some junipers up along the foothills, and a lot of pines and junipers have been planted up there. It was one of the things that happened about 20 or 30 years ago, where people were moving into, up along Tramway is that they planted a lot of juniper in that area,” said Humbles.
He said even if you’re only able to plant a few things in your garden or home, it can make a big difference. “Before Albuquerque was populated, and it was just the Rio Grande and the mountains, we had so many varieties of plants that have been lost over the last two or 300 years,” says Humbles. “Any amount of planting that you can do, any amount of work that you can do with any type of natives or pollinators is something that’s going to help to restore the natural balance here in the city.”