how to thin maples?

[michiganfarmer2]

I find clusters of 2,3,4 maples growing within a couple feet of each other. most of them are 6 to 8 inch diameter. Shuld I cut all but one in the cluster?

Ive been clearing beach and ironwood out of my sugar bush and im seeing these clusters

[shane hickey]

I find clusters of 2,3,4 maples growing within a couple feet of each other. most of them are 6 to 8 inch diameter. Shuld I cut all but one in the cluster?

Ive been clearing beach and ironwood out of my sugar bush and im seeing these clusters I bought a woods that had the same promblem In one part of the woods most of the trees are 10 to 12 inches and there are 8 to 12 apart. They look like bean poles. So what I did this year I put a tap Every 2'' around the trees that I know THat I will cut down this summer and Left One maple alone every 20 feet to start, I'd picked the best one to grow. Hopefully in 10 years or so they will have a nice crown. But the others I figured I would try to get every ounce of sap out of them before I cut them up for fire wood. shane

[michiganfarmer2]

I think that is a good idea. Ive thguht about that in the past, but Ive never done it

[wattwood1]

It sounds like you're on the right track. The North American Maple Syrup Producers handbook has a lot of good information on thinning your sugarbush. It describes the qualities of the crowns of the trees that you are going to want to keep and how to thin gradually so that it doesn't negatively impact the remaining trees. Clearing out some of the beech is a good idea if they are competing with your maples or if you want to open up the canopy to start some maple seedling regeneration. I would have to disagree though about taking out the ironwood. They are a good understory tree, won't compete with the larger maples and are an important part of a healthy, diverse, balanced forest. Unless there are so many that they make it hard to work in your woods I always leave them be- same goes for dogwoods, hophornbeam, serviceberry and other subcanopy species. Good Luck, Rob

[michiganfarmer2]

so, I shouldnt have a maple only forrest?

[shane hickey]

Apparently not, Yet it kind of funny The 19 acres of woods that I bought The only thing that grows and that is in there is a Maple tree, Or should I start planting oaks, cherry, and walnut. No I think that I'll leave my woods just the way it is. Shane

[maple flats]

A diverse forest is the healthiest. As other species try to grow, give them the sun they want. This does not mean you need to eliminate maples, just thin as needed and let others come in. From a disease stand point, any woods that are all one species will eventually have a problem from lack of diversity.

[wattwood1]

It depends on what your goals are for your forest and what you're starting out with. In northern Ohio there tends to be a fair bit of diversity in the woods. You could thin everything out but the sugars if that is what you wanted but, as Dave mentions, there is an arguement that keeping a mix of species will reduce the likelihood and spread of disease that might happen in a pure sugar stand. If timbering is part of the plan for your woods and for some reason you lost a lot of maples you could still fall back on harvesting the other trees. If you have a mix of canopy trees in your woods you can select for sugars but still not have to cut everything else out if they aren't competing with the sugars. If you have a pure stand of maples and your goal is syrup only then count yourself lucky and tap away. If your sugarbush is smaller and the adjacent properties are mixed woods that may be a reasonable approach. Rob

[michiganfarmer2]

My goal for the woods is to make syrup

[xyz5150]

Shane,

Its nice to see a crop farmer like you into sugaring. Around here (Shiawassee county) we are losing woodlots like crazy thanks to 13.50 soy's and 6.50 corn.:mad:

[red maples]

yes diversity is good each type of tree is benificial in different ways. When the leaves drop and decay it provides nutrients to the soil. So good variety is recommended. I have a lot of huge red oak that is taking up alot of the canopy, So now that I have the all the dead standing gone, I can focus on slowly removing some of those giant oaks. that should really help things out. I have alot of those bean poles myself.

[moeh1]

Cornell has some good articles/webinar info on thinning. One talk I hear last week suggested 1 in 4 tree be a non maple for the diversity benefits... I've got a lot more trees to cut to get down to that. There is a basal area test using a penny at arms length to let you know what you have in an area, you don't want to thin too quickly and sunscald or let the forest floor get so much sun it goes nuts.

[michiganfarmer2]

I appreciate all the responces. thank you

[shane hickey]

I clear cut and destroy fence rows but I leave the woods alone. My dad cleared cut a woods one time and it will take a hundred years before it will ever be the same. This should be elegal maple syrup, farmer thats not rite. Some things are sometimes best left alone, other then fence rows of course. shane

[adk1]

Iknow one thing, I ahve to thin out my stand that is for darn sure. I have alot of hemlock and basically every other specie in there. PRedominatly an even aged maple stand though, msot being that 10" range, urgh.. What I plan on doing is thinning out alot of the smaller hemlock now, flagging all of my maples that are ready to tap now (10"+) and then going to each and looking up into their canopy. cutting any adjacent tree that is touching its branches. It just really needs to be thinned out. its crazy

[ihuntbear]

I have a large wood lot with lots of spruce and balsum fur mixed with my maples....I started thinning last week end but need to know if all these soft woods need to come out

[red maples]

I can say go slow!!! don't remove everything at once. take out a few trees here and there. especially if you have heavy evergreens you will do more harm than good by thinning too much. Sun scald is a real thing. I had a big pine come down a few years ago in a storm and on the other side of it was a nice big red maple. well it now has a big 20ft split in it. its healing its a healthy tree but I haven't tapped it for 2 years.

So if your thinning to make your trees healthier go slow, just relief cuts to slowly let the light in. and besides like some else said in this thread its better to have a diverse trees on your woods because they all give off different nutrients.

[ToadHill]

Go slow is good advice, but ultimately all evergreens should be removed for two reasons. First, they shade the tubing and prevent it from thawing out. Second, they are a haven for squirrels and chipmunks. Any time I've left a few hemlocks or pines in a bush that is where I have the most squirrel damage. If you aren't sure what to do a good forester with maple experience is a good investment. Besides sun scald you don't want to open them up to fast and expose them to wind that they aren't rooted for. Especially in a location that has shallow soils, i.e. less than 3-4 feet to bedrock. Also, if you are planning on using equipment to remove the trees make sure you do it when it is dry and preferably when the ground is frozen. Maples have very fine hairlike capillary roots. If you compact the soil around them or damage them in any way the trees will develop sap streak disease and the crowns will start dying about 3-7 years after you do it. Long enough that you may not relate the damage to the cause and assume it is something else. This is why it is a bad idea to allow livestock into your sugarbush. Hope this helps.

[ihuntbear]

yes it does help alot..I have alot of big sugar maples nestles next to big evergreens so i will be taking them down.I'm thinking around 400 more taps should be good for next year..i'll only try to open two sides.I use a small fifty hp tractor with a walenstien log winch for removal which means i dont need to get to close to haul them out..thinking i can get enough to fill a 18 wheel log truck..$$$$ to buy more line or a filter press

[Sugarbush Ridge]

I'm trying to take wild woods with a fair stand of sugar maples to get it making more sap and syrup. Right or wrong,,, I'm starting out getting almost all the underbrush, less than 4", cut out just to be able to get thru the woods. Many of my maples are too close together so almost all are pole trees from 6-8" up to about 16-18" with a good mix of hickory, a few oaks, ash and elm. I haven't an idea of just how many maple I have per acre,,,, just that I know too many. Some places it was all underbrush so there I have left a few small maples, 2-4" that I hope will now get good growing. With all pole trees and a total crowded canopy and very few trees having good bushy tops I'm only getting about 1 1/2 % sap. So in other words it is going to take years before I've got good maple trees. And yes I have gotten some sun scald from where I cleared out for my house. Had to open up a good sized area but I have more than just splits,,,,, dead spots on trunks 4-8" wide and 4-6 feet high up the tree there around the house area.