Planting Sugar Maples

[SSS2017]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but I hope so.

I’m thinking of buying 100 sugar maple saplings for $100. I’m wondering if I can expand my 2.5 acres of woods out into my grass area. The area shaded in the pics is currently grass and it would be the area I’d plant in for 15-20 years from now:)

The area is wide open, about 1 1/4 acres, 54,000 square feet, and about 300’x 275’. I’m just wandering how many trees I can get in that area without them being to crowded. I have areas in my woods where I’m clearing out ash trees little by little that I can plant them as well.

I guess I’m just wandering if anyone has ever done something like this before and can give me a ballpark number. I’d go out and measure and mark but my yard is snow covered.

How much space does a sugar maple need to grow full. Currently in my 2.5 acre woods I have nearly all reds and I tap 84 trees 16-26” in diameter right now with about 35 in-tapped reds still under 10” in diameter. I’m thinking long term making syrup and in 15 years when I’m about to retire(god willing), the sugars would be nearly ready to add to my workload as my full time hobby.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[tbear]

Hi Mick,
I'd probably over plant the area, we get a good deal of critter damage here, with the idea of thinning as needed. It sounds wasteful but at a buck a tree what the heck. Where are you finding sugars at that price? I wouldn't mind planting a couple of acres with an eye towards the future. I can see it now, who planted all these trees (as they start up the chainsaws)? Ted

[maple maniac65]

I am 52 and started a mix of maple last spring. I planted 10 to 15 foot trees. Reds, sugars and a hybrid maple that is supposed to grow 3 feet a year. It is a cross between a silver and a red. All under the acer name.

[WhistlePig]

There is also this thread about planting super sweets;
http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?11620-Super-Sweet-Maples&highlight=super

Pretty expensive, but if you took really good care and they really perform as advertised ....

"We have super sweets available for sale right here in central Wisconsin if anyone is interested. They were part of a tree improvement program back in 1982 and were planted in the middle of a hay field on the north side of our home. We let them go to seed 3 years ago and now we have about 500,000 8 - 12 inch high seedlings that we have been selling. We transplanted 1300 of these little seedlings this spring to a small open area in the hope of creating a good forest of these. If I had the land I would love to plant a 40 or 80 full of these things and let my children reap the benefits of the created bush."

www.skinnysticksmaplesyrup.com

[maple flats]

SSS, with good care and good soil, a planting of sugar maples just might be ready in 20-25 years, In the wild it usually takes 40 years. If you can get certified super sweets, they are said to be ready in 10-15 years. However seedlings from super sweets can run any where from normal silver maples up to maybe super sweet. You have no way to know what they are until you test the sap in a few years. The odds are that you would get a few real good ones but there's no way to know when planting seedlings. But if you read this Cornell Maple link, the odds are better than would be normally expected: https://www.fknursery.com/page/Cornell-Super-Sweet-Sugar-Maples-Meet-RPM-Production-Techonology

[RC Maple]

I planted 20 sugar maples in the grassy area I have alongside my woods. I measured the area I had and decided that 21 ft spacing was the best I could do in that spot. I did that 5 years ago. I used 4 ft tree tubes to get away from deer damage and found it wasn't enough. I had to add another 1.5 ft. The trees were 3-4ft when I planted them and as soon as they got much above the tops of the tubes I noticed the tops of the trees were gone. The trees have continued to grow but I have lost a few. I replaced them with some saplings dug from a neighbors woods. I may continue to add to the number I have there and have enjoyed watching them grow. I won't ever be tapping them but hopefully - if the chainsaws stay away, someday they can be used to produce some syrup for the family.

[SSS2017]

The more I’m reading, it looks like trees you want to use for maple production should be around 30’. If my math is correct, that’d be about 70 trees or so in my area...

Yeh, I’m concerned about deer too but I plan on putting up 4’ of chicken wire around every tree from day 1 to hopefully help a bit. I’ll have more money in that than the trees lol.

Local 4-H does a sale every spring
https://extension.psu.edu/programs/4-h/counties/northampton/fundraisers/4-h-seedling-tree-sale/seedling-tree-brochure-18

[Ahnohta2]

I have heard and stick to the 30' rule in planting and in thinning out the sugar bush. I feel the more crown the better the tree.

[minehart gap]

Mick, perhaps you could talk to your County conservative district person that takes care of the forested buffers. They have spacing guidelines based on soil and species of tree that would probably help you the most. They will most likely recommend a soil sample (the kit is $10.00 usually).

[Michael Greer]

I have several big yard-trees that I tap around my neighborhood, and indeed they produce well with their full dome shaped crown but, I also tap trees along the streets and sidewalks that are much closer..like 10 to 15 feet. I'm getting the very best results from rows of trees running East-West. These trees are spaced 10 to 15 feet, and in rows 60 feet apart, which happens to be the lot size and also the street width. Whether gathering with buckets or tubing, I would think that rows are more efficient.

[karl evans]

I have planted many trees in different areas of my property. I have found what works good for me is to intercrop a mix of trees so you,(or the next generation) can remove trees years down the road, leaving your sweet maples eventually. Some trees can help with the nutrient needs of your maples. Also at 30' spacing, it is hard to keep a good central stem & not end up with a bush instead of a tree.

[Cedar Eater]

4' is not enough to protect from deer damage. If a deer doesn't have to lift its forefeet off the ground, to get over the barrier you've put the best part of the tree where it will see it and smell it. 5' minimum for tree tubes to protect from deer.

[bobbyjake]

The "ideal" spacing is typically 25'-35' depending on the literature, slope of land, etc. A diamond pattern will be the most efficient per acre. Perfect 30' diamond pattern spacing yields about 64 trees per acre.

A 35'-36' square grid has a diagonal distance across the grid of 50', planting an offset row in the middle would create an imperfect diamond pattern at about 72 trees per acre.

Remember, sugar maples like drier soils. Drainage will significantly affect the growth rate and survival of sugars, Reds are obviously more forgiving. Some sugars planted in NH were ready in about 27 years and are now 15" across dbh, others (wetter) are still not there after 36 years.

[Michael Greer]

I would tend to "overplant" on a closer spacing just because you can never predict what disaster might happen. Some years ago we did some very nice thinning in a mixed species stand, and it was beautiful, but a year later we had the great ice storm of '98. 20% of the perfect trees in that stand were severely damaged or completely destroyed, leaving large gaps that took a decade to fill in. In a hand planted sugar-bush, I would want a little bit of excess.