Crape Myrtles Allergies
 

My wife has a lot of allergies to tree pollen. She is extremely allergic to lilac. This year she is having a problem that she attributes to the blooming Crape Myrtles all over the place.

Does anyone else have a problem with the Crape Myrtles?

Unfortunately for your wife that is a major landscape tree in the south and they bloom a long time.

It also could be the Bottle Brush trees/bushes.

Very unlikely that your wife is allergic to crepe myrtle. Plant allergies are pollen induced. Plants have two strategies for pollination. 1) Make big pretty flowers which attract animals who will move the pollen directly from stamen to pistil. That would be using bees, birds, butterflies. These flowering plants make very little pollen and almost none gets into the air. This pollen tends to be sticky and heavy. 2) Make enormous amounts of pollen that is light enough to be carried by breezes in the hope that a few grains will randomly land on the needed plant. These plants don't waste energy having attractive flowers. Oak trees and ragweed are great examples.

So unless you are putting your nose directly into the flower, your exposure to pollen is very low with crepe myrtle.

My medical provider told me (this was shortly after we moved here 7 yrs ago) that this is considered "Allergy Alley"....but I'd say ALL of FL could quite possibly be called that due to the dampness, mold, fauna etc. I'm sorry your wife is having allergy issues...many folks do here.