What gives

[325abn]

So I have two HUGE 4 Tap road side trees. These two trees are side by side maybe 5 ft apart. Both trees are simular in health, crown and height. Both are surgar Maples.

Both these trees where tapped on the same day at the same time at the same height with the same drill bit. Now granted one tree is south of the other on a north south road.

Now one tree is flowing ok (the one on the south side) while the other is **** nere dry.

I was thinking the south tree has more sun but it cant really be that much more.

Any ideas what causes such a difference between these two trees?

Interesting for sure!

[forester1]

Could be frost deeper on the road tree. Or more likely it is because trees are individuals just like people. The genetics are different. Why do some people have blond hair, or are really smart, or are good at athletics, or just have to make maple syrup?

[maplehound]

Forester makes a good point,
You may be getting alot of shade from the south tree onto the north or it could just be the way the tree is. I also believe that roadside trees sometimes are affected by salt and other things from the road. May neighbor has 3 roadside trees and 4 trees that gro in a row 90deg to the road. The furthest tree from the road runs better than any of them, then they decrease in amounts as we get closer to the road. The three at the road don't run nearly as well as the other 4 and the middle on hardley runs at all. All the trees are the same size but the roadside trees have had there tops cut by the electric company. I believe that the electric company also have injected something in them to inhibit growth. All trees are very diffrent though no matter if they are roadside, yard, or woodland trees.

[802maple]

Some trees are just not producers. I have one very young healthy roadside tree above our house and we tapped it for 4 or 5 years and finally we just gave up, I bet it didn't run a full bucket combined in those years.

[325abn]

All good points. I am leaning toward the one tree shading the other theroy. But I suspect only mother nature knows for sure.

Both these trees produced great last year and I bet they will run strong this coming week.

With these trees only 5 feet apart is'nt a good bet that they are geneticly related?

[3% Solution]

I had a tree right dead in the open southern aspect, you know everything in line to run like gang busters .............. NOTHING, I mean NOTHING, not a drop and the sucker budded out right along with the others.
Didn't tap that one again, that was 6 years ago.
Every year when we tap my grandson asks "What about that one?" and my answer is "You can't get sap out of a stone!!"
On the other hand, I have one tree that will give up 9 -10 gallons of sap a day and this tree is tapped conservatively (could set 5 or 6 buckets only do 4).
You will have trees that will run and trees that don't.
We have 47 taps on line, when the temp gets to 55 degrees they don't run, shut right down, however, the buckets are running.
I guess it's just the way it is.

Dave

[fred]

Ive Had A Couple Of Trees In My Lifetime That Just Dont Run No Matter When Or Where You Tap Them.

[H. Walker]

I had a whole bush that didn't run the first year that I tapped it. The past 2 years it has run great!

I belive in giving a second chance, now!

[PATheron]

Question for you guys. Was in my woods the other day and found a porcupine living in a hollow but healthy 2-3 foot diameter sugar maple. He had chewed the bark off a large percent of the small branches of the canapy of that tree and also an adjacent smaller tree. Do you think the trees will live? I'm trying to get rid of the porcupine. Theron

[mountainvan]

Yes, the tree should be ok as long as there are not many other stresses on it.

[royalmaple]

I think his days of chewing sugar maples should be just about over. .22 with you next time you go in there and good night.

[PATheron]

Good sugestion on the porcupine problem royal maple. Checked on his bark chewing progress this evening after work, "Payback, this time it's for real"