Underproducing trees...I tap, no sap!

[Jim in Clarkston]

I have 50 trees that I have tapped for 5years. 5 Red Maples and 45 Sugar Maples. Last season I collected about 900 gallon of sap in all. However, the 5 Reds (16"to24"dia.) have consistently given me less than a gallon of sap each per year.
The trees are odd in that although they have the distinctive canker target, they have the smooth gray bark of a beech tree. Not what I would expect from an older Red Maple.
I have spoken with a local forester, experienced people at our supply store, and folks at MSU (Michigan) forestry department. No answers.
Any incite would be appreciated.

[Ed R]

I have found that reds that are covered in water for a long period of time the previous year do not run well the following year. Some reds will really run, others are duds. They are hard to predict ahead of time but after 5 yrs you probably have nonproducers.

[VTnewguy]

Do you have them under vacuum? Reds will produce best with vac.

[jrgagne99]

I tap about 150 reds, and they don't run for beans on gravity. They run decent on 25 inches of vacuum though, average seasonal syrup production is 0.25 gpt.

[DRoseum]

Vacuum made a HUGE difference on my reds. About 90 of my 99 are reds and with vacuum this year I got over 0.27 gpt of syrup. This is far more than I have gotten in the past on buckets and this season was short and lousy. I had a lot of non-producers before I put them on vacuum.

If you put them on a simple diaphragm pump style vacuum system I'd bet you will be much happier with the results.

[maple flats]

I also only ever got much off reds without vacuum. Are you on vacuum. It seems, at least on my reds that 3/16 gravity generated vacuum can't work because the reds are not on the hills, you need mechanical vacuum. I had mine on 27", they did well, back before I had good vacuum I never tapped any reds, only sugars.

[DrTimPerkins]

On good vacuum, red maples can produce reasonably well...quite close to sugar maple in volume, sometimes a bit less sap sugar. However, they are quite variable from tree-to-tree and even from one taphole to another on the same tree. Why is still a bit of a mystery.

[Jim in Clarkston]

Thanks for all the input.
I got the message. Don't expect much from Reds if not on vaccum.
Unfortunately I do not have them on vaccum, only buckets.

[Sugar Bear]

Thanks for all the input.
I got the message. Don't expect much from Reds if not on vaccum.
Unfortunately I do not have them on vaccum, only buckets.

Do you have your sugars on vacuum. If you don't and you got 20 gallons of sap out of each tap ( 900 / 45 = 20 ) you should forget about your reds and find more sugars in your area.


Or take your chances with the law and sneak onto a neighbors property and tap their sugars.


20 gallons per tap, per season on gravity is rare.