tree size

[emti]

On our woodlot we only tapped trees that were bigger than 10 inches at breast height. We used bags this year. Our wood lot was poorly managed and we have many trees at 9 inches, that are 40 foot tall. Should we tap these taller, less than 10 inch, trees? Or, just be patient and let them come up to size.

[maple flats]

Many start at 8", thus 9 should be OK. Be sure to use 5/16 taps

[spud]

If your 20 years old then just tap trees 10 inch or larger. If your 30 years old drop down to 9 inch. I’m 55 years old so a 6.5 inch tree looks pretty good :). Organic says 9 inch. I tap a bunch of smaller trees and do very well. If I had a woods of nothing but 7-8 inch trees I would tap them all. Others would not.

Spud

[tcross]

i tap a handful of trees that are 9" give or take. i tend to look for how healthy the crown of the tree is, or the tree is in general. i've found that a smaller tree with a good crown heals the wound much faster than a larger tree does... with the studies showing not much of a loss in yield taping below the lateral, i don't pass up a healthy 9" tree if it's in line with other trees being tapped.

[DuncanFTGC/SS]

Where are people taking their measurements at, I've always used DBH, diameter at breast height, when measuring any tree?
I have a little over 200 trees greater than 10 inches DBH, and another 80 that are 8 to 10 inches DBH, that I check every couple years.

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[DrTimPerkins]

Our wood lot was poorly managed and we have many trees at 9 inches, that are 40 foot tall. Should we tap these taller, less than 10 inch, trees? Or, just be patient and let them come up to size.

My first reaction to this is...has it been managed (thinned) recently? That would be the first step. Assuming the answer is "yes", then tapping 9" and up is probably OK. Tapping those that are smaller that you (honestly) intend to thin out within 10-15 yrs is also acceptable. If you haven't thinned and don't intend to thin, then the growth rates will be very low in this stand, so you'll find that after 10-20 yrs of tapping you might be hitting a good amount of stained wood.

[DrTimPerkins]

Where are people taking their measurements at, I've always used DBH, diameter at breast height, when measuring any tree?

Standard measurements of tree size are taken at DBH, diameter breast height. This is 4.5' above the ground on the uphill side of the tree. Generally taken with a tape calibrated to directly read diameter or with a Biltmore stick.

[Russell Lampron]

I'm one of those guys that taps 8" trees. I also tap mostly red maples and consider clusters of trees that grow out of one root ball to be culls. In a cluster like that if one or two trees are 8" or larger anything 4" and larger will get a tap. I use 5/16" taps and high vacuum. My syrup per tap is usually around a qt per tap. If I was going for a higher spt number I would only tap the larger trees.

[emti]

Thank you for the replies. The wood lot definitely needs thinning, we are working with the NYSDEC on our forestry plan. This would release the better maples. Many of the trees have damaged, small crowns and rot at the top from the ice storms. It sounds like if it is 9 inches, (or even smaller?) and destined to be firewood its o.k. to tap? Ill take a look at some of the wood we just cut to see what the growth rate over the last 10 years looks like. Thanks emti

[Russell Lampron]

It sounds like if it is 9 inches, (or even smaller?) and destined to be firewood its o.k. to tap?

Absolutely! If it's destined for the wood pile get as much sap out of it as you can before you cut it down.