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Questions about removing black walnut tree and its toxicity

Heruga (7a Northern NJ)

7 years ago

So I am planning to have an arborist come in and take down this 30 feet black walnut tree in the fall/winter when its dormant. My main concern is that after they take down the tree, there will be a lot of sawdust and I have several juglone sensitive plants such as hydrangeas, azaleas, and pine. As they leave my driveway, and if some of the sawdust flies over on my azalea or hydrangea, will it kill it? Should I cover them with a tarp or something while they are cutting it down? Or am I overthinking too much

Featured Answer

brandon7 TN_zone7

7 years ago

"As they leave my driveway, and if some of the sawdust flies over on my azalea or hydrangea, will it kill it?"

You could take shovels full of the sawdust and distribute it around various plants in your landscape and I seriously doubt it would damage a single one of them. Juglone damage isn't anywhere near as big of a problem as you seem to perceive it as being.

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Comments (9)

Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
7 years ago
Don't go too crazy with worry. I have a walnut led thicket and a good number of weeds, shrubs, vines and plants grow in it.
Heruga (7a Northern NJ)
Original Author
7 years ago
Well thats because they are black walnut tolerant plants right? What kind of plants do you grow by it?
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Logan L Johnson
7 years ago
I don't know about hiring an arborist just for removal. It being black walnut, some may cut it for free.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
7 years ago
Logan......when does your school year start? Pretty soon, I would think. Isn't it about your bedtime?
Logan L Johnson
7 years ago
LOL, got a while before that. I am a night owl, hard for me to sleep.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
7 years ago
Schools in my area started back a couple of weeks ago. I told the little girls next door, younger than you, that they needed to practice going to bed early for two full weeks before school started. Maybe you need to try it. :-)
Logan L Johnson
7 years ago
I'm good LOL. We may also be on different time zones.
Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
7 years ago
"Well thats because they are black walnut tolerant plants right? What kind of plants do you grow by it?"

Under or touching in my yard or my neighbor's:

White ash (growing tall & thin into the walnut canopy)

Viburnum (under)

Elderberry (under)

Silver maple (under & touching))

red bud (there are alot of these)

Grape vine (yuck) and a few other vines

Honeysuckle under them (puke)

A couple kinds of Lilies

White Pine (touching)

Scarlett Oak (at the walnut's drip line)

Hostas (under)

Box Elder (touching)

Burning bush (under)

Peach tree (under)

Prickly Pear Cacti (discarded extra pads have rooted are doing well!)

Poison ivy lol

There are a couple more I'm sure. On the south I have a 175 foot long,30 to 75 foot wide area shared with one neighbor where if you look up you might get bonked by a green heavy walnut. On the north east that neighbor has a couple on the property line dominating his brush pile and another a bit further in his property. We don't bag clippings over here, preferring to turn the leaf waste into deeper topsoil.

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