Norway Maples good for tapping???

[TC matt]

I've had the good fortune of having a friend with a great 30-acre wood lot full of nice sugar maples to tap.
My back yard has a giant Norway Maple in it and it never occurred to me to tap it. Can you you make syrup from Norways? And if I mix the sap with the sugars will it taste any different?

[Revi]

I think it tastes fine. Tap it! I have made syrup with Norways, Reds and Sugars and it all was delicious.

[Run Forest Run!]

I agree with Revi. I tapped mine last year with great results. DO IT!!

[PapaSmiff]

At my old house, we had Sugars and Norways in the yard. The Norways put out just as much sap as the Sugars. Because they all had a large canopy (lots of space around the threes), it seemed just a sweet as the Sugars. I don't believe there is any difference in the flavor of the syrup.

[Michael Greer]

Last year, I tested sap from five different kinds of maples. Some were above 2% and others were below 2%, but none of these numbers seemed linked to species. One of my biggest and most beautiful sugars...one that would fill four buckets every day, turns out to be at the lower end of the scale. Tap 'em all.

[Spartazoo]

I tap Sugars and Norways, and notice no difference in flavor. My Norways test out at about 2.5 while sugars 3.5. Mix it all together and you end up with a respectable 3.0 or higher.

[Clarkfield Farms]

In the book, "Trees of the Eastern and Central United States and Canada" by William M. Harlow, in the remarks under the Silver Maple section is this paragraph:

"Michaux states that a whiter, 'more tasty' sugar is made from the soft maples than from sugar maple but that from the same amount of sap, only about one-half as much sugar is obtained."

So, while the latter part of that statement is completely dependent upon sugar content of the sap, the first part about the sugar being whiter and more tasty is interesting.

So, sure! tap the Norways. Even the box elders. They ARE maples, one and all. Enjoy, and if you can, compare and see for yourself if Mr. Michaux was right. ;)

BTW, Dr. William Harlow was Professor of Wood Technology, Emeritus, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY. Better known to us around here as "ESF." Just thought that was interesting.

[Run Forest Run!]

The sugar content in my Norway has been running around 2% so far this year. No complaints here!

[chep]

Norway maples are invasive. Firewood!!!!! Keep an eye out and you will notice Norway maple in the understory everywhere there is a parent tree. You think they are Sugar maples when they are little, but watch out! Definetly seeing them invade our more urban environments and push Sugars and Reds out of green spaces... I say buck em if you got em

[Revi]

Norway maples are invasive. Firewood!!!!! Keep an eye out and you will notice Norway maple in the understory everywhere there is a parent tree. You think they are Sugar maples when they are little, but watch out! Definetly seeing them invade our more urban environments and push Sugars and Reds out of green spaces... I say buck em if you got em

I agree they are invasive, but they are tough in an urban environment. They will make it in places that will kill a sugar maple dead. They planted a couple of sugars next to a Norway on my street and the sugars have long since given up the ghost, but the Norway is really healthy. Unfortunately Sugar Maple is no good as a street tree any more. If you want a great street tree, plan Acer Freemanii x. They are a hybrid of Red and Silver and are great street trees. They have leaves like a sugar and will take a lot more salt and abuse than them. Since they are a hybrid they won't take over either.

I looked out over Gardiner, Maine in the spring and it's clear that the Norway is everywhere. They put out a greenish round flower and it's easy to spot them then. I am afraid they are the dominant species in the urban and suburban areas now. One good thing is you can dispense with the usual tapping guidelines unless it's a Norway that is ailing. Tap the heck out of them.

[Michael Greer]

I'm with Chep on the Norway Maple. They're only slightly invasive here in Potsdam, but the Village, and others have planted them all around town and I wonder WHY?? They split in super cold weather, they break off in big summer storms, and they don't turn to nice colors in the fall. Saddest of all, Sugar Maples grow very nicely all around town, where some clever folks saw the value and planted them 100 years ago. If only folks had been so clever 50 years ago...

[Clarkfield Farms]

Sugar maple leaves also decompose readily, while Norway maple leaves are like leather. They're persistent and form mats on lawns.

As for why sugar maples were planted the way they were, remember the history? Ben Franklin? Concerns about British sugar blockades? Our own domestic production and supplies? And all that? :)

[MustardSeedMum]

An interesting podcast about Norway Maples. http://www.cbc.ca/breakaway/2013/01/16/the-scourge-of-quebecs-norway-maples/

[aws]

We have forty Norways on tubes this year. They run as good as anything else and the sap has been a consistent 2%. Tap away.