2 Questions about Thinning

[BlueMaple]

Should I take out the small trees in clumps like in picture 1? And is it ok to clean the evergreens out all at once in picture 2? 15862 15863

[maple flats]

The clump should really only have 1 stem left, but if you cut all but 1 the last one sometimes dies too. I might try removing all but 2 and have those not be next to each other,
On the evergreens, that is a pretty dense stand, you may do best if you remove 1/3 every other year. That will give the remaining trees a chance to adapt to more sun and wind and be stronger than if all were removed at once. With that you are ikely to get lots of windthrow (broken out tops or totally uprooted trees because they were being protected by the evergreens and then they are not.

[Michael Greer]

Also, trees in a stand like that have never had to endure much sun on their trunks and can get baked if you remove everything at once.

[BSD]

i had a clump like that last year that would produce double or triple per tap that other nearby trees would make, I never knew why, but it was like tapping the fountain of sap when i tapped it.

[gmcooper]

I have several red maples like that. I found leaving the larger ones and taking out the smaller ones to the right works. I had several I took a larger stem out and about 5 years later the remaining stem was clearly dying. With the evergreens maybe best to thin over a few years. I would create some roads and access with the first thinning. Weed out the ones crowding the maples you are planning to keep first. Just my opinion.

[calvertbrothers]

I cut alot of small hemlock out that are only 20 foot high this winter. I wish I read this before... I have alot of different​ types of trees in my woods. This been logged every 15 years. And hard maple are starting to thrive in woods more than any other type of tree. My question is should I cute everything out but maples? Or so I do it slowly and start with the anything bigger than the smaller maple like 4" diameter? My sugar content is between 1.2 and 1.5 I would like to see 2.

[BAP]

I would not cut everything at once unless the maples are really close to each other for support. If you thin too much too fast and leave a bunch of small spindly trees, they are susceptible to blow down in high winds or bending over in heavy wet snow. The best way to see if you are thinning enough is to look up at the tree tops. You want to open it up enough so that the maple tops are not touching other tops and have room to expand into the open area. I usually like to have at least a 5-8' space between tree tops after thinning so that the tree is encouraged to reach out to the sunlight. Also, leaving some trees of other speacies and having some biodiversity is good as long as you aren't hampering your maples. The biggest thing that will help your sugar content is to keep the trees thinned enough so that they are constantly adding new branches in the crown for more light gathering.

[Daveg]

Call your local extension office and make an appointment with a forester to walk your woods to get suggestions. They will take into account things such as prevailing winds, soil types, stem density, water table, time of year, when choosing trees to thin.

[wally]

I would not cut everything at once unless the maples are really close to each other for support. If you thin too much too fast and leave a bunch of small spindly trees, they are susceptible to blow down in high winds or bending over in heavy wet snow. The best way to see if you are thinning enough is to look up at the tree tops. You want to open it up enough so that the maple tops are not touching other tops and have room to expand into the open area. I usually like to have at least a 5-8' space between tree tops after thinning so that the tree is encouraged to reach out to the sunlight. Also, leaving some trees of other speacies and having some biodiversity is good as long as you aren't hampering your maples. The biggest thing that will help your sugar content is to keep the trees thinned enough so that they are constantly adding new branches in the crown for more light gathering.

sugar maple saplings are very good at remaining unbent when released either by overstory removals or low thinning. other northern/appalachian hardwoods are more susceptible to bending and partial uprooting, so the release of those should be more conservative.

wally

[Daveg]

Also, in Hancock County local residents have access to the resources and expertise of the University of Maine.
University of Maine Cooperative Extension Hancock County Office
63 Boggy Brook Road, Ellsworth, ME 04605-9540
Phone: 207.667.8212 or
800.287.1479 (in Maine)

[Daveg]

Another idea is to reduce the clump gradually AND tap the undersized stems since they're going to be eliminated in the future. You could even put multiple taps on a tree that was destined for elimination.

[Run Forest Run!]

You could even put multiple taps on a tree that was destined for elimination.

This tree is being culled in a week. I have 32 taps in it. It went out with a bang!

16366

Sorry the pic is sideways. The tree is getting one last jab at me.

[mspina14]

How much sap did you get from that thing?
Might be a record for number of taps on one tree....

Mark

[Run Forest Run!]

How much sap did you get from that thing?
Might be a record for number of taps on one tree....

Mark

Not as much sap as I had hoped for. I think that because the tree was falling over due to ice storm damage last year, some of the feeder roots were likely damaged. I got as much as you'd expect from about 3 buckets. Disappointing sap results, but REALLY fun to do. It was so wrong. :lol: :evil: