Does the size of tree influence the amount of sap per tap

[Florio79]

One tap on a small tree say 10-15 inch diameter versus a larger tree with one tap say 20-25 inch diameter versus an even larger tree. Which tree will predictively produce more sap and how much on average? Any insight would be appreciated! Thanks.

[Sugar Bear]

Larger trees produce more sap.

Its not a guarantee for me but has been a general trend.

A healthy 10" tree may produce more then a healthy 20" tree on any given day.

But I would bet $1000 that the 20" tree would produce from 20% to 100% more sap then a 10" tree for the season.

Any season for the season.

And I will make that bet with any Doctor in the world ... from Vermont to Sri Lanka!

Healthy tree means proportional crown as well.

Crown is as important as diameter.

No woman no pride ... no branches no sap!

[wnybassman]

I bet I get at least 5 times more sap per tap from my large yard trees than smaller woods trees

[Galena]

I also agree that the larger tree means more sap. Initially, a small tree may produce a lot of sap simply because it's smaller and thus there is less tree to thaw out. So this means that right now, my smaller trees are proportionately hitting it out of the ballpark. But once my large trees have thawed out and hit their stride, they can and do produce sap in quantities that smaller trees just can't match.

[spud]

Not only does a larger maple give much more sap it also will double in sugar. My small trees test at just 1-1.5 where some of my large trees will test at 3-4%. The bigger the crown the sweeter the sap.
Spud

[Michael Greer]

It's the leaves that convert sunlight into sugar. The bigger the crown, the greater the sugar. Higher sugar levels are more important that amount of sap.

[DrTimPerkins]

One tap on a small tree say 10-15 inch diameter versus a larger tree with one tap say 20-25 inch diameter versus an even larger tree. Which tree will predictively produce more sap and how much on average? Any insight would be appreciated! Thanks.

As usual the answers are.....it depends.

The course of the sap season has a lot to do with it. One year you may get 5 gal/tap on a 12" tree and the next year you'll get 12 gal. Technology used in sap collection (gravity vs vacuum, level of spout/tubing sanitation) will also alter the yield considerably. However, all things being equal, a larger tree will produce more sap. The relationship isn't exactly linear, but it is close enough to linear for much of the range to use as a general guide. So given all that, I can't really say how with any real precision much you'll get without more information, but typically they say that the average amount of syrup made on gravity is about a quart per tap.

[Sugar Bear]

It's the leaves that convert sunlight into sugar. The bigger the crown, the greater the sugar. Higher sugar levels are more important that amount of sap.

You are wicked smart, you must be a "Doctor"

We leman use the words sap and sugar interchangeably in this context.

[Sugar Bear]

I find that poorly crowned trees still give you sap around 2%, they just don't produce as much sap.

Time and time again.

So for me the most important thing is the amount of sap you get.

[Mille705]

Dr Tim, you talked about the height of the tap. Is there a desired height we should be tapping?

[Russell Lampron]

A lot of what a tree produces for sap depends on location. My yard trees that I tap with buckets generally follow the bigger tree equals more sap theory. I do have one smaller tree that produces more than the bigger ones and one big tree that gives very little but it gives it at close to 4%. The big one that gives little sap is on a side hill and the small one is on flat ground. Both trees are in similar soil about 75' apart.

On the location versus sap production I have a clump of trees on the edge of a field that will fill buckets and a similar clump just into the woods that will barely wet the bottom of the bucket. Guess which ones don't get tapped anymore.

[wnybassman]

A lot of what a tree produces for sap depends on location. My yard trees that I tap with buckets generally follow the bigger tree equals more sap theory. I do have one smaller tree that produces more than the bigger ones and one big tree that gives very little but it gives it at close to 4%. The big one that gives little sap is on a side hill and the small one is on flat ground. Both trees are in similar soil about 75' apart.



I have two seemingly identical yards trees at a neighbors house that I have tapped for three years, two taps on each tree. One of those trees fills buckets easily on a good run, while the other gives about an inch or two in the bucket at best. The first year I figured I hit a bad spot. Second year was frustrating because I knew it should be giving something. Don't know what to think this year, it's the worst one yet. Tree looks very much healthy during the summer, and I can't seem to detect any dead sapwood around the trunk at all. I may not even tap it next year. I think I collected more ants off it than sap this year so far.