Spacing for planting maple seedlings

[pls009]

Just starting to research this topic - I have a few acres of open land that I would like to plant maple seedlings - any advice on the proper spacing needed to promote growth in the hopes of it being a tapable area in 30 years or less?

[Spanielslovesappin]

Search "Cornell Sweet Tree"

Lots of info

[Michael Greer]

In my woods, nature plants them on a two inch spacing. About half of them die in their second year, and another half disappear in the third year. By about year ten, they're on about a 12 inch spacing, and may linger at 12 inches tall for as much as a decade, waiting for just the right opportunity to find a space with a bit of sun and a bit of rain. After maybe fifteen years they're five feet tall and three feet apart, and eventually a few of them may reach the canopy. That's how nature does it, and in each of those die-offs, some little thing has allowed one to survive while others perish. I reach the conclusion that those survivors are somehow tougher than tough, and this factor may be missing from any plantation. no matter what spacing you use, expect some die-off...they weren't all meant to survive.
That said, I've got trees in my woods that are ten to fifteen feet apart that make very good sap, but my happiest, and leafiest trees are mostly thirty or forty feet apart...and 100 years old.

[JoeJ]

When I planted my first "maple woods " at my parents house in 1964 or 1965, (I was 15 or 16 and already hooked on maple sugaring for 10 for years), I had access to a vacant lot up the street with a lot of
8'-10' tall 3/4" saplings. I planted the about 40 saplings around my parents lot 10' apart. Only 2 or 3 died, my father cut 5 or 6, but the rest survived. I taped those trees in the mid 80's when they reached 12" in diameter. My 13 years old nephew taps these trees now and brings the sap for me to boil. The tree are 22" to 24" in diameter. Sugar content, 3.5 at the start of the season down to 3.2 at the end.

Those saplings in 64 or 65 could have been 15-20 years old for all that I know, may be more. I would not start with 12" saplings. If you do, I would put tubes around them to train the branches. To insure success, I would suggest watering the saplings EVERY SINGLE DAY. I put 5 gallons on each sapling from when I planted them in the spring to the fall leaf drop.

[mudr]

I planted mine on a 20x20 grid. This was a terrible year to decide to do it. I watered 4-6 gallons per week (depending if I watered once or twice). Unfortunately I go on week long work trips during the summer so I couldn't water as much as needed. I'm at about 70% survival. I will do some cuttings and root hormones next year to fill in the holes.

[ennismaple]

I've been told to plant on a 16x16 grid. In 10 years or so you go back in and remove 3/4 to keep only the healthiest trees. This should give you an average 32 foot spacing and 100 trees per acre.