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Aug 13, 2023

Cottonwood tree fluff flies in Oklahoma: What to do about the seeds

Dear California transplants and any other newcomers to Oklahoma from west of the

Dear California transplants and any other newcomers to Oklahoma from west of the foothills of the Rockies: Those big white fluffs floating everywhere? Pollen. Wait’ll you see the bees.

We kid! Cottonwood fluff ― from cottonwood trees, females — is just so common this time of year, most of us natives don't pay much attention to it. The fluff flies from late April to early May into June and July at the latest.

Those are seeds, millions of them from each tree, which can grow 100-plus feet tall and nearly as wide. Those cottony fibers help them travel somewhere the seeds can find purchase.

Cottonwood fluff is harmless, unless you're allergic. But it can cause your air-conditioning to lose efficiency, or even fail, if you let the fluff accumulate on your outside AC unit and the condenser overheats. And they can yuck up a swimming pool.

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This short primer on cottonwood fluff started with this innocent question seen the other day on the Nextdoor app: "We are new to Oklahoma. What is the white, fluffy stuff in the air lately?"

Oh, the good-natured snark that followed:

Tough Okie crowd!

Here's the Okie lowdown, from Oklahoma State University Extension.

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Here are some cottonwood tree facts from HGTV:

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Here are some tips for cleaning your AC of cottonwood fluff and other material that can harm it, from Suntech Heat & Air Conditioning in Oklahoma City.

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Senior Business Writer Richard Mize has covered housing, construction, commercial real estate and related topics for the newspaper and Oklahoman.com since 1999. Contact him at [email protected]. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Real Estate with Richard Mize.