CELEBRATING 28 YEARS! Welcome to My weekly series! THE LANDSCAPE ASK PROFESSIONAL ASK Linda K. Lillie of Sprigs & Twigs Linda K. Lillie has been President of Sprigs & Twigs, Inc. for the last 26 years. She is a graduate of Connecticut College in Botany, an accredited NOFA Organic Land Care Professional, a Connecticut Master Gardener and a national award winning landscape designer for her design and installation projects. Q: I am highly allergic to pollen and every fall my allergies go crazy. I always thought I was allergic to Golden Rod, but my neighbor says I'm probably allergic to ragweed. Are they different? Golden Rod A: Every year in late August through October, hay fever sufferers everywhere have sneezing attacks caused by pollen from Ragweed. Many people often confuse Ragweed and Golden Rod and blame both for their allergic reactions. Ragweed is the culprit, not Goldenrod. Even though they both bloom at roughly the same time, they are completely different plants and look quite different. To start, Golden Rod is a perennial and Ragweed is an annual. Their stems and leaves are dramatically different- Golden Rod has a single stem with compact branches at the top, whereas Ragweed has many branches along the entire stem. Goldenrod has single leaves and Ragweed has lobed/dissected leaves. Golden Rod flowers are bright yellow and beautiful and Ragweed flowers are boring and non-descript. The biggest difference between the two is the way they pollinate. Golden Rod has heavy, sticky pollen, which is well adapted to insect pollinators, whereas Ragweed has light, wind- blown pollen. Ragweed pollen can travel hundreds of miles in the air. Ragweed Golden Rod is a beautiful and beneficial native plant - not responsible for any seasonal allergies. WE'RE GOING DIGITAL! DON'T MISS OUT! USE THE QR CODE, OR SUBMIT QUESTIONS TO: Email: info@sprigsandtwigs.net, or Mail: Linda Lillie, Sprigs & Twigs Inc, PO Box 245, Gales Ferry, CT 06335 Sprigs & Twigs 860-235-0752 WWW.SPRIGSANDTWIGS.NET CELEBRATING 28 YEARS ! Welcome to My weekly series ! THE LANDSCAPE ASK PROFESSIONAL ASK Linda K. Lillie of Sprigs & Twigs Linda K. Lillie has been President of Sprigs & Twigs , Inc. for the last 26 years . She is a graduate of Connecticut College in Botany , an accredited NOFA Organic Land Care Professional , a Connecticut Master Gardener and a national award winning landscape designer for her design and installation projects . Q : I am highly allergic to pollen and every fall my allergies go crazy . I always thought I was allergic to Golden Rod , but my neighbor says I'm probably allergic to ragweed . Are they different ? Golden Rod A : Every year in late August through October , hay fever sufferers everywhere have sneezing attacks caused by pollen from Ragweed . Many people often confuse Ragweed and Golden Rod and blame both for their allergic reactions . Ragweed is the culprit , not Goldenrod . Even though they both bloom at roughly the same time , they are completely different plants and look quite different . To start , Golden Rod is a perennial and Ragweed is an annual . Their stems and leaves are dramatically different- Golden Rod has a single stem with compact branches at the top , whereas Ragweed has many branches along the entire stem . Goldenrod has single leaves and Ragweed has lobed / dissected leaves . Golden Rod flowers are bright yellow and beautiful and Ragweed flowers are boring and non - descript . The biggest difference between the two is the way they pollinate . Golden Rod has heavy , sticky pollen , which is well adapted to insect pollinators , whereas Ragweed has light , wind- blown pollen . Ragweed pollen can travel hundreds of miles in the air . Ragweed Golden Rod is a beautiful and beneficial native plant - not responsible for any seasonal allergies . WE'RE GOING DIGITAL ! DON'T MISS OUT ! USE THE QR CODE , OR SUBMIT QUESTIONS TO : Email : info@sprigsandtwigs.net , or Mail : Linda Lillie , Sprigs & Twigs Inc , PO Box 245 , Gales Ferry , CT 06335 Sprigs & Twigs 860-235-0752 WWW.SPRIGSANDTWIGS.NET