Rate of growth of sugar maples.....

[Jim in Clarkston]

I have numerous sugar maples that seem to be stalled at at 9" in diameter. In fact they are all oval so each measures between 8 1/2" and 9 1/2".
Here's the Newbie question: how long do you suppose I will have to wait to in order to tap them (10").

[Pdiamond]

Are they all that size? Did this property recently get logged? I would say if it was logged off and these are your only trees it will take several years for them to reach tapping size. You didn't mention how many trees and if you you had any that were larger.

[Jim in Clarkston]

Thanks for the response.
I have 45 trees that I tap ranging from 10" to 26". About 15 or 20 trees that are 9". Another 30 or 40 trees that range in size from 5" to 7" in diameter.
I started measuring 4 years ago and the 9" trees have not grown significantly. Just curious as to the growth rate.
I'm not getting any younger and would like to think that I could tap these trees before I'm sent off to the Home.

[bill m]

What is the spacing of the trees? For them to add diameter the crowns need room, they should not be touching. You may need to cut a few down so the others will start putting on new growth.

[maple flats]

Have they been stressed? (Defoliation, drought, bigger trees shading them maybe)?

[Jim in Clarkston]

Again thanks for the feedback...
In response to your questions: many of the trees are in the woods under an Oak and Hickory and previously White Ash canopy.
The canopy has opened up significantly since my White Ash all died out about 10 years ago.
No defoliation, or drought.

[TapTapTap]

My woods was surveyed in 2008 and there were many survey ribbons tied to young trees along our boundaries. Most of those trees are still only 1 to 1.5 inch diameter! That's probably near zero growth in 13 years at a time when a trees growth potential is probably greatest.

My conclusion is that trees under a dense canopy will not grow beyond that young whip size until the canopy is opened up and you probably won't want to wait for mother nature to make that happen. I see that you're talking about larger trees but it seems that they might be stuck in the same limitation.

Ken

[DrTimPerkins]

Small maple trees under a dense canopy will grow very slowly. They are basically living just above their minimum carbon acquisition needs, and there is barely enough energy capture (from sunlight) to keep them alive, much less grow very much. They are quite shade tolerant, so will hang in there for a really long time, but will either die eventually (might be many decades) or, if the canopy opens, it becomes a race to the top to see which sapling makes it.

Pole-sized trees have the same issue...they just won't grow very fast or put on much wood unless they have some sun exposure. If you want mature sugar maples that are growing well, you need to thin a bit to get some light onto them. The benefit is that bigger trees produce more sap and sweeter sap. Small understory trees don't produce much sap, and it tends to be low in sugar.

https://mapleresearch.org/pub/m0218treesize/