9 Idaho Plants That Will Make Allergy Sufferers Absolutely Miserable This Spring

Go for a run they said. It’ll be fun they said. Until you inhale an entire tree during said run and alternate between sniffling and sneezing for the rest of the night. 

The winter that just would not quit may not have been great for those of us craving sunlight and warmer temperatures for our mental health, but for allergy suffers? It was kind of nice that the cold weather kind of delayed allergy season for a little while. But now that temperatures have warmed up, EVERYTHING is blooming at the same time.

Since the end of April, Boise Valley Asthma & Allergy Clinic, the clinic responsible for feeding Boise’s pollen counts to the Weather Channel, has listed the area’s pollen counts in the “extreme category.”  

With the wet weather, we had this winter and early spring, it’s likely those pollen counts will continue to rise. The plants, trees and grasses causing your nose to run and your eyes to itch have what they need to thrive.

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Some of us know exactly what we’re allergic to, whether by testing with an actual doctor or by observation. (For example, this author learned she was allergic to fresh-cut grass thanks to her high school track coach who realized the days she was struggling to breathe at practice were the days they’d cut the infield.) 

Others of us never really cared to figure it out. We know that some plants’ pollen is making us miserable, but our symptoms are severe enough to go get pricked with needles to figure out which one. 

If you experience sneezing, a stuffy nose, runny rose, itchy/watery/red eyes or swelling around the eyes this time of year, these are the plants in the Boise area most likely to be causing your discomfort during the spring allergy season! 

BTW, a company named Lawn Love recently ranked 131 cities that they predict will be the worst for grass allergies during Summer 2023. Boise ranked as the #16 worst. So yay, there’s that to look forward to.