"Not so Good Friday" disaster

[Run Forest Run!]

Hydro is now back on after 24 hours. Last night's ice storm took a terrible turn for the worst. I lost THREE of my best producers - - uprooted and ripped right out of the ground. Sap jugs crushed. :cry: I even heard the trees coming crashing down, but had to wait until sunrise to see the extent of the damage. It didn't get warm enough today to melt off the ice, so all of my trees are still in serious jeopardy. Many of my other trees have sustained major damage including my lilacs, hazelnut, smokebush, honeysuckle, pussywillow, beauty bush, heritage apple, mountain ash, black cherry, the list goes on. If the wind picks up tonight, there will be more casualties by morning. With the amount of ice we had it's no wonder the trees couldn't keep from breaking. Hopefully others in my area have faired better.

13991

1399213993

[RileySugarbush]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I hope whats left survives the night.

john

[Run Forest Run!]

Thanks John.

Does anyone know if I should continue to collect sap from the remaining trees if they have lost limbs or branches as a result of the storm? The spiles are already in the tree, so the sap is going to come out either way, but if I pull the spiles on the most damaged trees will it help close the holes faster or will it make any difference at all? I don't want to make matters worse....

[Chip Burner]

Karen
Sorry to hear about the damage to your sugar bush. We are very lucky to have missed anything like in a long time. Good luck.

Jim

[wnybassman]

Oh noooo!!!! That's awful :(

I guess I'd leave taps in, I don't think it will help any faster pulling them.

I wonder if there are enough roots in the ground on the downed trees that sap will still flow in those for a short time?

[Run Forest Run!]

I only have nine maples in my yard and a handful of box elders in the mixed forest at the back or our property. Losing three in one night was rather harsh. I'm thankful that my friends let me tap some sugar maples on their property down the street, especially now.

[Run Forest Run!]

I wonder if there are enough roots in the ground on the downed trees that sap will still flow in those for a short time?

I wondered the same thing Noel. If I hung lots of buckets on them perhaps there is some sap that will make it up from what few roots are left in the ground.

[wnybassman]

I wondered the same thing Noel. If I hung lots of buckets on them perhaps there is some sap that will make it up from what few roots are left in the ground.

Only one way to find out.

[Ghs57]

Karen, I'm sorry to read this. But it sounds like no one was hurt.

Your enthusiasm for the hobby has revived mine when at times I didn't want to see another bucket of sap. Here's to hoping that we can do the same for you.

[Galena]

OMG Karen, I am so sad for you - losing three of your best trees in one fell swoop. :-( Not to mention everything else of yours that suffered damage. And to think I was moaning earlier about losing a trunk off of a red that I don't even tap. Wish I could help or offer advice, all I can think is just leave those spiles in and salvage what you can.

[c0ps]

Hydro is now back on after 24 hours. Last night's ice storm took a terrible turn for the worst. I lost THREE of my best producers - - uprooted and ripped right out of the ground. Sap jugs crushed. :cry: I even heard the trees coming crashing down, but had to wait until sunrise to see the extent of the damage. It didn't get warm enough today to melt off the ice, so all of my trees are still in serious jeopardy. Many of my other trees have sustained major damage including my lilacs, hazelnut, smokebush, honeysuckle, pussywillow, beauty bush, heritage apple, mountain ash, black cherry, the list goes on. If the wind picks up tonight, there will be more casualties by morning. With the amount of ice we had it's no wonder the trees couldn't keep from breaking. Hopefully others in my area have faired better.

13991

1399213993

Karen. I am in the same boat as you. Im also in caledon and have lost most of my maples. I registerd just a cpl days ago to share my expsrience and new found hobby, and this happens.

[Run Forest Run!]

Geez cOps, so sorry to hear that you are also in the same boat! How many maples do you (or did you) have?

Mother Nature has certainly kicked our butts with ice in Caledon over the past three years. I lost so many trees here during the Christmas ice storm a couple of years ago that last Fall I even hired a pro come in to clear out the dead wood and trim off the ratty and shredded limbs that were stuck high up in the trees.

Regardless of our current woes, let me officially welcome you to the forum! This setback won't hold us back for long. There are lots of trees in our beautiful countryside, and there are always people who would be thrilled to be part of the process by having you tap some of their trees if the ones on your property aren't useable. If you can find a sugar maple or two, they are still VERY 'tappable' for this year. However, I'd shy away from any soft maples right now as they are currently in various stages of flowering.

Let me know if I can offer any "local" advice as you try your hand at sugaring. Sugaring really is fun, although on days like today it does test your resolve.

[Lespetras]

Karen,

I am so sad for you 😢 What the heck.. Best producers being uprooted. It sucks, I can't believe the storm was that bad

Les

[MaxJ]

Sorry for your loss Karen:(


Gee we really only had a kiss compared to what happened to you! That looks like the same storm as three years ago that hit we lost a few trees and the others were damaged. It's not bad if a person has a lot of trees, but when the count is on one hand it's a heart wrenching feeling to see the damage that has been done.
I'd hang buckets like Christmas lights on the downed trees, boil up the sap (if any) and use it for the special times to remember the givers.

[BrutemanAl]

Sorry to hear this Karen, that is allot of Ice. I would leave the taps in, what do you have to lose right? If it flows, then you still get "some" sap. Wish you were closer, I am over run with sap right now and I would give you some to make up for your lose.

[Russell Lampron]

Sorry to hear of your loss Karen. I've got so many maples here that I can't tap them all. I wish that I could give you some of them.

Leave the buckets on the trees. The amount of sap that you get now isn't going to make much difference in the overall health of the tree. The only good thing that I can tell you is that the trees are stressed less by limb damage from ice storms etc then they are by drought. They will be fine as long as they don't get blown down too before the ice melts.

[MapleLady]

Karen, I am so sorry to read your post of the ice storm. So many don't realize the damage these storms leave - My heart sunk when I saw the photo of the branch encased in ice on your red mitten. I hope that Easter weekend brings a gentle melt of this ice with no further damage.

Like MaxJ said, you might as well hang as many buckets on the downed trees as possible. As for the other trees, I wouldn't pull the spiles over here, just keep an eye on those trees for further damage and watch for branches that may come down on you. Why waste any sap that will inevitably run down the tree once that spile is gone?

Happy Easter!

[Run Forest Run!]

Thanks everyone for your replies. To update, we haven't yet had any of the ice melt off the trees, but thankfully there was barely a whisper of a wind last night and that's still the case this morning. From what I can see, there aren't any more trees or major limbs on the ground so far. When the ice melts at some point this weekend, and it's safer to go near the trees, I'll take a drill to the downed trees and see if they've got a last gasp of sap running through them.

Russ, thanks for the information about drought vs. ice damage. That's encouraging to know. Also on the plus side, most of the people who live around me still don't have hydro, so I'm fortunate to be able to enjoy a hot coffee with my toast and syrup.

[ridgerunner394]

sorry to hear of the damage Karen! Hopefully you will be on the mend today, lots of strong sunshine to melt that ice! Be cautious around the bush there will be many new widow makers after such a heavy ice load...

We really dodged the bullet here with virtually no ice build up and now lots of sun. Always look forward to your posts, as others have said your enthusiasm is contagious :{)
john

[DrTimPerkins]

Does anyone know if I should continue to collect sap from the remaining trees if they have lost limbs or branches as a result of the storm? The spiles are already in the tree, so the sap is going to come out either way, but if I pull the spiles on the most damaged trees will it help close the holes faster or will it make any difference at all? I don't want to make matters worse....

Hi Karen,

Sorry to hear about this episode. Some of the things we learned from the ice storm of January 1998 are that:
1. Maple trees have an amazing ability to recover lost branches. Even trees with 75% or more branch loss can recover if the growing conditions over the next few years are good.
2. It probably won't make any difference whether the trees are tapped this year or not. The amount of reserves you are taking out (especially if you're not using vacuum) is quite small compared to the total amount the tree has.
3. The trees that are damaged will be fine for production within a year or two (again, depending upon growing conditions).

Hope the ice melts quickly before you get any wind.

[Run Forest Run!]

Thanks for your reply John. And Dr. Tim, thanks so much for the information about whether or not to keep my spiles in, and for the insight on the timeline of recovery for damaged trees. I feel so much better now about how best to handle the remainder of the sugaring season. During the coming growing seasons I'll keep an eye on the damaged trees and make sure that they get adequate moisture. I can at least manage that fairly easily.

The ice melted very quickly when the sun came out yesterday afternoon. Everyone around here was holding their breath. Without a breeze there was no additional damage done overnight. For that I am thankful. On the plus side there's no shortage of wood for burning now.

As for my experiment on whether I could still get sap from the fallen trees, I drilled many tap holes into them but got nothing. Even though some of the roots were still in soil, there was not a drop to be had. Oh well. At least I know there's nothing going to waste. I was able to detach the collection jug from one of the trees and poured out the sap that was in it. I got its last 1 litre of sap.

[5050racing]

WOW sorry to see what happened,as long as it didn't get u n family,every year is a different experience ,not a good year!

[ennismaple]

The trees are very resilient Karen. We lost 55% of our crowns in the '98 ice storm. Some trees were snapped in half, some died within a few years but many we are still tapping.

[Run Forest Run!]

I'm happy to now report that the limb damage to the trees on my property appears to be minimal. I guess it was 'all or nothing'. Either the trees crashed to the ground, or only lost a few limbs, no grey zone. Judging by all the advice I've been given in this thread, those trees should completely recover from the damage. Thanks everyone.

However, I think the sap gods are trying to send me a message. The spot where I park my car to collect sap down the street was covered by a downed tree when I went to empty the buckets this afternoon. (Thank goodness I didn't go to collect there yesterday afternoon when the wind started gusting or my car would be under the tree.) But, ten minutes into my sap collection this afternoon a 100 footer came crashing to the ground in the forest. :o I heard some cracking and crunching, and then down it came. That gets your heart started. I quickly gathered all of the sap and left. Buckets would be all overflowing by this evening, but they can stay that way for another day.

[TerryEspo]

Hi Karen:

Just saw your story, nasty storm and your poor trees. Looks like your going to get through this mishap though.

Best of luck for your trees recovery.

[saphound]

Just seeing this now too. Holy crap!, I don't think I've ever seen ice that thick before. :o Sorry about your trees, Karen. So glad to read that since that storm you got your sap tsunami and saved your season. Mother nature owed ya one! :)

[Run Forest Run!]

Thanks saphound. Yes, thankfully my season was saved with the constant gushers after the ice storm. I'm hoping for another run or two this week and then it's time to pull out the chainsaw and the clippers so that we can clean up the carnage in the yard. It's quite a mess out there.

[Run Forest Run!]

Today I see that two more of my home trees are down. One was a three banger, and one a single trunk. They are ones that I had hoped to clear a path to this year so that I could tap them next year. The bad news is that they are down. The good news is that I don't have to take time to make the path.... :confused:

[Galena]

Aw Karen, that sucks...wish I could help!

ETA: Ow ow ow ow.....I was out checking trees and breaking off sapsicles and slid on some frozen leaves (wasn't wearing icespikes, didn't think I needed them on plain ol snow). Crash down I went on the side of my left thigh, gonna have a giant bruise soon. Heated it for a bit, but whenever I sat down it hurt like snot. Now using a trick from my years in the horse biz and sweating it with some IcyCold. Wonderful stuff!!

[c0ps]

Hopefully there won't be anymore!

[Run Forest Run!]

Hopefully there won't be anymore!

I can't believe that trees are still ripping out of the ground. The ground must be super-saturated with moisture for this to be happening. You know what c0ps? The holes that I drilled in the fallen trees were really soaking the tree bark today, so I put in a few spiles and a couple of jugs to see what I can collect. Since it's going to be below freezing until Monday, I'll have to wait until then to see what happens.