Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Fiddlehead Creek Farm and Native Plant Nursery have an extensive list of New York native plants that are tolant to Juglone that is produced by Black Walnut Trees and other Juglandaceae family members. They have a subgroup of their list that is tolerant of deep shade.

About black walnuts, the Fiddlehad Creek Farm website says ... Plants sensitive to juglone show signs of wilting, yellow leaves, stunted or slow growth, and eventually death. Many highly sensitive plants cannot tolerate even a small concentration of juglone and die within a few months. Unless one is aware of the toxicity problem, it is easy to blame these symptoms on other disease or nutritional problems. Unfortunately, there is no cure once plants are affected.

Planting near a black walnut tree (Juglans nigra) requires special precautions in the home landscape. Black walnuts produce a chemical called juglone, which occurs naturally in all parts of the tree, especially in the buds, nut hulls, and roots. The leaves and stems contain smaller quantities of juglone, which is leached into the soil after they fall. The highest concentration of juglone occurs in the soil directly under the tree’s canopy, but highly sensitive plants may exhibit toxicity symptoms beyond the canopy drip line. Because decaying roots can release juglone, toxicity may occur for several years after a tree has been removed.

And the Native Plant Database on our website has the following information about Black Walnut:

Black walnut is a large, rugged, deciduous tree, 50-75 ft. in height and width, sometimes reaching 150 ft. tall. Dark, furrowed bark on the trunk. Wide-spreading branches form an upright, umbrella-like crown in the woods or a round-topped crown in the open. The well-formed trunk is usually devoid of branches a considerable distance from the ground. Leaves up to 2 feet long with 5 to 11 pairs of leaflets along a central axis and a single leaflet at the tip; midrib of the lateral leaflets off-center with the wider part of the blade toward the leaf tip. Leaflets emerge very late in spring and are yellow-green. Fall color is clear yellow, unless the tree has been troubled with insects or leaf blight. Flowers inconspicuous, in elongate, green clusters. Fruit 1 1/2 to 2 1/4 inches in diameter, consisting of a hard-shelled, furrowed nut enclosed in a green husk, darker when ripe.

One of the scarcest and most coveted native hardwoods, Black Walnut is used especially for furniture, gunstocks, and veneer. Individual trees fetch attractive prices and a few prized trees have even been stolen. Since colonial days and before, Black Walnut has provided edible nuts and a blackish dye made from the husks. Tomatoes and apples do not survive near mature trees. The delicious nuts must be gathered early, before squirrels and other wildlife can consume them. Of all the native nut trees of North America, the Black Walnut is the most valuable save only the Pecan (Carya illinoinensis), and in the traditions of pioneer life and rustic childhood it is even more famous.