sugars running silver not

[Milton]

I am in St Lawrence county and it is the beginning of our season here. I put out taps the 19th and got a good run from the sugar maples. I also tapped a really nice silver maple yard tree, about 2+ feet wide and very healthy looking. I put 2 5/16th taps in and not a drop out of it yet, where the sugars in the same yard have given up gallons. Should I be patient with this tree or is it a dud? I am not sure if this is normal for the silver/soft maples.

[Run Forest Run!]

That's totally normal. Don't forget that a tree with that big of a trunk will need more time to thaw out and offer up sap than a tree of smaller diameter. Give it time.

[Russell Lampron]

If silvers are finicky like reds it may not run or may run sporadically. I have a red by my sugar house like that and one year I was going to cut it down to use as firewood for my OWB. The very next run it gave me a half bucket of sap. Needless to say it is still standing. I don't hang buckets anymore so it got a new lease on life.

[Michael Greer]

I tap them all, including the box elders. None of the others are as reliable as the Sugar Maples. Some of the Reds and Silvers give plenty of good sweet sap, you just never know when.

[littleTapper]

Yes, silvers decide in their own when they're going to run, especially with buckets. I've put a bunch of mine on vac and they turned into totally different trees. I've watched silvers on buckets shut off when the temp starts to go down even a degree, but those on vac will run hard until they freeze up.

Some days though, the huge silvers on buckets will overflow before you blink. Weird.

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[Z/MAN]

I only have 2 reds and 2 silvers on my property. They are finicky on how much sap they deliver, sometimes lots and sometimes not much. They usually give good sugar content especially the silvers which are usually around 3% or better.

[Run Forest Run!]

My Norway maple was giving 3.5% today. My best is a silver. It's generally stingy with sap, but on several occasions has offered up 6% during the height of the season.

[Milton]

Silver is finally starting to run. Only about a quarter of the sap as the sugars. Tasted sweet I want to get a refractometer. Any recommendations?

I also got a solid 2 gallons per tap off the big yard maples yesterday. 3/16 drop tubes to 5 gallon buckets

[bspiece]

My best is a silver. It's generally stingy with sap, but on several occasions has offered up 6% during the height of the season.[/QUOTE]

I think your silver maple should be tested for PED's....6% WOW