Native Plants
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
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Monday - January 18, 2016
From: Brownsville, ON
Region: Canada
Topic: Propagation, Poisonous Plants, Grasses or Grass-like, Herbs/Forbs, Trees
Title: Will blue eyed grass grow under black walnut trees?
Answered by: Guy Thompson
QUESTION:
Will blue eyed grass grow under black walnut trees? I know the Siberian Iris is tolerant but the scientific names are not the same yet everything I read indicates that blue eyed grass is not in the grass family but it he iris family. I cannot find any information as far as Sisyrinchium is concerned.ANSWER:
The toxic substance, juglone, that is released by Juglans nigra (Black walnut) inhibits the growth of many plant species. I have not seen Sisyrinchium atlanticum (Eastern blue-eyed grass) on any of these lists, and from the types of plants found to be tolerant to juglone I suspect that Blue-eyed grass might grow well under walnut trees. But in order to bloom well, Blue-eyed grass needs sun. If your trees are tall and allow good filtered light to penetrate the canopy you can expect a nice show of blossoms.
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