Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

This is a question we get over and over, so we are going to refer you to some previous Mr. Smarty Plants Questions for some of the other answers.

No. 7884

No. 7413

No. 7427

No. 6917

No. 6844

No. 4701

Okay, we are sure you get our drift, and please don't shoot the messenger. You will have to make some hard decisions about where on your lot your house can be located, or if the tree is in danger of having to be removed to protect the house. We have given you a lot of information, but we can't make the decision for you.

In reference to Question No. 3, here is an extract from another former Mr. Smarty Plants question:

"Various studies have demonstrated that oaks can have allelopathic affects on surrounding plants. Allelopathy is the production of plant inhibiting chemicals by one plant to regulate the growth of others in its vicinity. One important group of chemicals produced by oaks is tannins. They are produced in leaves and litter and also directly by root systems in soil. Tannins are inhibitory to many organisms. Salicylic acid and other organic acids are also produced by oaks and are toxic to other plants. Allelopathy is species specific for the oak in question and the species that is inhibited."

In other words, it depends on which plant and which oak, and we don't have lists of plants that will grow under specific species of oak."

And then, of course, there is the shade cast by a healthy live oak, which also affects negatively the growth of plants beneath it.