Flowers are beautiful. They can brighten up a room and make everything in it seem more attractive and cheerful. For most people, a vase of flowers on the table signifies that the room is a happy, comfortable place to be. For most allergy sufferers though, a vase of flowers is far from inviting.

If you’re one of those unlucky people who enjoy fresh flowers but suffer from allergies, plastic flowers are not your only option. You just have to know which types of flowers are dangerous. Of the huge variety of flowers that you can plant or buy, there are many types that will affect your allergies very little, or even not at all.

Dangerous Flowers for Allergy Sufferers

The truth is, if your allergies are particularly severe, most flowers are going to affect you negatively. In general, the more harmful flowers are the ones that have a lot of pollen. So a good guideline when decorating with flowers is to avoid those that have visible pollen.

Tree flowers are particularly bad for allergy sufferers. If you are creating a flower arrangement, be careful not to include almond, cherry, orange or any other kind of tree blossom. Though they are beautiful flowers, they can have quite the detrimental effect on your allergies.

In addition, lilies can be a dangerous flower for allergy sufferers, as parts of them are covered in a powdery orange pollen. Strangely enough, however, they can also be a good choice for allergy sufferers, as it’s easy to simply remove the stems of pollen from each flower. Just have a friend or family member that doesn’t have allergies do this particular job for you, as the pollen will probably leave you sneezing in seconds!

Good Flowers for Allergy Sufferers

There are several types of flowers that affect allergy sufferers less. Chrysanthemums and daisies can be a good choice for those worried about their allergies. Because while regular mums and daisies do have lots of pollen, there are new hybrid types of these flowers called formal doubles that do not have any pollen at all, and therefore won’t aggravate your allergies. Forma double flowers were bred so that the parts of the flower used to produce pollen now produce petals. Watch out for regular mums and daisies, however, as they can affect your allergies. If in doubt, ask your florist.

Another great choice for the allergy sufferer is the rose. Roses are some of the most beautiful and elegant flowers you can find, and fortunately for allergy sufferers, they don’t have much effect on allergies. The reason for this is that their pollen is too large in size to be able to become airborne and truly infiltrate the respiratory system. If you’re still worried, choose a bouquet with little or no smell as less smell equals less pollen.

Last but not least, one of the best kinds of flowers for allergy sufferers is the orchid. Orchids are gorgeous and exotic flowers that come in an amazing variety of shapes and colours. Very few types of orchids cause any pollen-related allergies, and so are quite safe for those allergic to most flowers.

Orchids

There are more than 25,000 species of this rare and beautiful cone-shaped flower. While some of them are extremely expensive, rare and difficult to look after, other varieties are affordable, common and simple to grow. The Lavender Orchid is a great pick for those new to growing this plant.

Hibiscus

There are 10,000 named varieties of the tropical Hibiscus flower. These beautiful and colourful flowers come from places like Florida, Hawaii, Jamaica or India, and are representative of their lush, tropical environments. Hibiscus are wonderful for decoration because the flowers will not wilt until their natural time to close, even if they aren’t watered. In addition, storing Hibiscus in the cold slows down the flowers closing by a few hours. Opening buds can be picked early in the day, stored in a cool place and brought out for your evening centrepiece.

Torenia

Also known as the Wishbone Flower, these annuals and perrenials originate in tropical Asia and Africa. Torenia grow to be about a foot tall, with toothed, ovular leaves. They produce a striking amount of beautiful pouched flowers that can grow to be an inch across, and they are noted for their wide range of beautiful colours. Tornias can be grown with proper care in an environment that maintains a temperature of 70 degrees or more.

Lamium

Also known as White Nancy, Lamium is a beautiful ground-covering plant with white heart-shaped leaves and short spikes of pink flowers. Lamium blooms in the summer, can grow up to eight inches tall and are tolerant of a wide variety of soil conditions. Although the Lamium is accepting of different soil conditions, the optimal growing conditions are in shady, wooded areas.

Portulaca

Portulaca is an annual group of flowers that come in several varieties. Native to Brazil, Portulaca grow stems that spiral up to five inches long and they have cylindrical leaves with bright, colourful flowers up to an inch in diameter. The flowers come in many different colours like purple, yellow, pink, scarlet. To cultivate Portulaca successfully you need to plant them in a spot with plenty of sunlight and sandy soil.

Gazania

Gazania, native to South Africa, is a beautiful, perennial ground cover with colorful daisy-like flowers. Gazania flowers boom in late spring to early summer and come in shades of yellow, orange, white and pink. Gazania thrive in sunny locations with well-drained soil.

Pentas

Simple to cultivate, easy to care for, and beautiful to behold, Pentas is a wonderful choice for your garden. Pentas is native to tropical Africa and its beautiful red, pink, white and lavender blooms are well-known for attracting hummingbirds. The plant grows up to three feet tall and wide and does well indoors, potted in a sunny spot or outside in warmer climates.

Lavatera

Though named for a Swiss botanist, Lavatera are actually native to the Himalayas, Siberia and Australia. These plants come in several varieties, both perennial and annual, and can have bush-like growth or tall straight stalks. Their large, beautiful flowers last only a day or two before wilting, but new flowers are continually produced for an extended period of time.

Sedum

Sedum, which come in hundreds of varieties, are an easy to grow, late-blooming, hardy plant. Sedum plants have thick stems, fleshy leaves, and flowers that resemble lavender broccoli. These plants do best in well-drained soil and can tolerate both droughts and rainy weather. Because they bloom so late in the year, they often remain attractive throughout the winter.

Abutilon

Also known as the Flowering Maple, the Abutilon is a beautiful plant that does well indoors. Abutilon’s lovely blossoms range in colour from red, yellow, and blue to shades of orange. Depending on how much space it has to grow, Abutilon plants can become very large, which is why the plant is best kept indoors in a small to medium sized pot.