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Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

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Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

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Monday - October 13, 2014

From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Diseases and Disorders, Shrubs
Title: Is Sabal minor juglone tolerant?
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Is Sabal minor or any other small and shade tolerant palm juglone tolerant? I’d like to plant one in an area near a pecan tree but I am not sure if they will play well together.

ANSWER:

This Mr. Smarty Plants did a considerable amount of searching on the internet to try to determine the answer with no luck at all.   Then, I asked one of our very knowledgeable staff members, Joe Marcus, if he knew the answer.  He reports that there are very healthy Sabal minor (Dwarf palmetto) growing under both pecan trees and walnut trees along Onion Creek near Austin—pretty good evidence that they are not negatively affected by juglone.

 

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