Because of the mild Arizona weather, allergies can be year-round with plants blooming even during the winter months.
Tucson News Now Pollen Alert
The University of Arizona Health Sciences Center has a Pollen Calendar for Tucson and the surrounding desert so you can track what pollen is affection your sinuses from month to month.
Tucson Urban Pollen Calendar
Tucson Desert Pollen Calendar
For January the Center says "The only plants that release much pollen this month are Rhus lancea and members of the Cupressaceae family, including Juniper and Cypress. Desert broom (Baccharis) is at the end of its flowering season. Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) is beginning to flower. Although it produces wind-borne pollen, its allergenicity is unkown. Cupressaceae pollen, of minor allergenic importance, will continue in the air through February and March. Cottonwood and Ash should begin to flower near the end of January. Most of the grasses have stopped flowering, and will not release much pollen until late February."
Hiking the Maiden Pools trail in the Catalina Mountains recently, I noticed a few early blooming flowers on south facing slopes. On my Facebook page some viewers reported other early signs of spring, including neighborhood ocotillo sprouting leaves and some fruit trees starting to bud. Chief Meteorologist Chuck George is tracking the wildflower bloom forecast on TucsonNewsNow.com.
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