What's up, Forsyth?

  Bermuda Grass, or Devil Grass for Allergy Sufferers! Written by Dr. Joel Gallagher, Allergy and Asthma Center of NC, Cone Health Medical Group Bermuda grass… It always brings me back to my teenage days pulling weeds when I worked as a gardener in high school! This grass is extremely tenacious, and it was nearly impossible to completely eradicate it from a garden bed. There was something very appealing about it, however. The blue-green hue of the blades of grass made a distinct impact, and its ability to grow just about anywhere certainly made it one of the hardier strains of turf grass! Bermuda grass is very common on golf courses, as its low growing nature makes it ideal for the perfectly manicured putting greens amongst the rolling hills of the country clubs. It is also serves as a better choice for golf courses since it is more drought-tolerant, more pest-resistant, and recovers quickly from high traffic than many other types of grass. On the other hand, its tenacity also ca...

  Pine: The Pollen with a Bad Rap Written by Dr. Joel Gallagher, Allergy and Asthma Center of NC, Cone Health Medical Group Ahhhh… the sweet smell of pine. The smell of the winter holiday season. The smell of that quintessential cleaning solution that my mom used to clean just about anything around the house when I was growing up. Pine definitely brings me back to where I grew up in northern Louisiana. Pine trees were everywhere (including several 100+ year old pine trees in my own backyard). The names of establishments around my hometown literally began with “Piney Hills” (Piney Hills Golf Course, Piney Hills Tackle Shop, etc.). Pine trees are a big part of my new home here in North Carolina as well, although hardwoods tend to be more prominent in the Piedmont Triad. It was always taught during my fellowship and all board review books that pine (member of the genus Pinus ) is a non-allergenic pollen. Although it gets a LOT of the blame for spring allergy symptoms (at least whe...

  Spring’s Gold Rush: An Oak Pollen Adventure Written by Anne Ambs, Allergy and Asthma Center of NC, Cone Health Medical Group My latest weekend adventure took me to Winston-Salem in search of oak trees and oak pollen. I was quickly rewarded with my first sighting of the mighty oak while ambling down the Old Salem causeway and again while wandering around Salem Lake.   These giant beauties inspired me to look up a few fun facts about oak trees. Fun facts about oaks:  They are home to migrating warblers. Although oak trees are wind-pollinated, they support a wide variety of pollinators, including 500+ species of butterflies and moths. Symbolizing strength, the oak tree became the national tree of the US in 2004. Raleigh is known as the City of Oaks because it is home to many oak trees. Oak trees are struck by lightning more than any other tree due to their height and high water content. Some oak trees that are over 1000 years old include the Great Oak in Temecula, CA, ...

What's up, Forsyth? It's time for another pollen blog post from a guest writer and expert with the Allergy and Asthma Center NC.  On the Lookout for Elm Pollen: An Elm Pollen Adventure Written by Anne Ambs, Allergy and Asthma Center of NC, Cone Health Medical Group Hi, I’m Anne, nurse practitioner at the Allergy and Asthma Center of NC ! As a nature enthusiast, I can be found hiking and exploring everything outside in North Carolina on most weekends. While soaking in Nature’s beauty this past weekend , I went on a short quest to find elm trees in the Pilot Mountain area , as elm pollen will soon make an appearance in the environment. W hile I did not spot any elm trees on my outdoor adventure this weekend , m y eyes and nose were itching to tell a different story, that they had , indeed , already arrived.   Elm trees belong to the Ulmus genus, and they live primarily in North America, Europe, and parts of Asia. Interestingly, elms can be found in every US state e...

What's Up, Forsyth? The Forsyth County Office of Environmental Assistance and Protection officially began our pollen monitoring and forecasting program for the 2025 season on February 10th. In addition to reading our daily report, which you can access by following us on Facebook and X , checking our website , or subscribing to emails and faxes, we are excited to provide more in-depth information through a series of pollen-focused blog posts. These short blogs will feature some of our "worst offenders" throughout the year and will be written by allergy specialists from the Allergy and Asthma Center of NC. We're kicking off the series with cedar, which are abundant this time of year.  Cedar Fever Written by Dr. Joel Gallagher, Allergy and Asthma Center of NC, Cone Health Medical Group Pollen season is traditionally thought of as occurring in the early spring – March into May – when the characteristic yellow plumes float through the air when we get a lovely breeze and ca...