Fastest grower? Autumn blaze vs silver maple vs red maple

[Moparguy55]

Wondering which species would grow the fastest in a previously cultivated corn field? Fairly wet in spots.
Thanks

[maple flats]

Silvers grow faster than reds but5 I'm not familiar with Autumn blaze, it's likely a type of Japanese maple, but that's only a guess. I have no idea on growing speed
I will comment, that silver maples tolerate wet ground better than red maples but both do better than sugar maples if the ground tends to be wet. My guess is that you are thinking future maple syrup production, reds would be my choice, if the drainage issue can grow them because they do better for sap. Silvers must be watched closely to stop collecting the sap as the buds open, whereas reds stop yielding sap as the buds open.
Only because I've never heard of anyone tapping Autumn Blaze maples, my guess is that they are poor choice for making syrup.

[DRoseum]

I believe Autumn Blaze is a trade name for a Freeman Maple, which is a cross between Red and Silver maples. While this hybrid occurs naturally, I believe some like "autumn blaze" are cultivars.

[Pdiamond]

I did a google search, typed in autumn blaze tree. There was one quite interesting site that covered the 10 pros and cons of planting the tree. If you look at this it may help you decide which way to go. There was some good information about the trees both good and bad. Hope this helps.

[Andy VT]

Pdiamond, in your searches did you manage to find anything regarding tapping the Autumn Blaze (or other silver/red hybrids)?
I've googled them as well over the few years I've been sugaring, but haven't found much about people who have tapped them, although it has been briefly mentioned on maple trader.
Eventually, my urban "operation" will have mainly Autumn Blaze.
It's the only maple anyone plants in urban areas anymore, it seems.
Lots of sugar maples here but they're all old and huge, though still very healthy by and large.

[Pdiamond]

Andy - under the 10 autumn blaze trees pros and cons article it stated that animals and insects were attracted to the thick foliage for protection and the sweet tasting sap that the tree produced. Since it is a hybrid tree, I would have to assume that they are a tappable tree. I do not know, nor have I found out yet if anyone has any experience tapping the tress. I plan to keep looking and will report my findings if there are any.

[DRoseum]

Judging by leaves alone, I pretty sure I have a naturally occurring Freeman maple that I tap.

[NoblesvilleIN]

I have two Autumn Blaze trees out of the 12 yard trees that I tap (6 sugar, 3 red, 1 norway, and the 2 Autumn Blaze). One Autumn Blaze produces an amount of sap between what the sugar's and the red's produce - less than than the sugar's, but more than the red's. The other tree, I am giving up on. It has produced very little the last several years and was basically dry this year - maybe a couple of gallons over the month. I am also giving up on the norway maple as it has been producing even less.

[Pdiamond]

Andy and others: the following is what I have been able to gather. All of this information is available on different websites. The tree was first produced in 1933 by a man named Freeman. Hence the name Freman Maple or Autumn Blaze. They are a cross between a silver maple and a red maple. They are a fast growing, shallow rooted tree. It is mentioned that one of the options you can take to prevent it tipping over is to thin the upper branches while it is young. It will still grow the 40 to 60 feet in height, but by trimming allows the wind to go through. The sap is very sweet although some trees do not produce, and some trees are gushers. I would imagine on a tubing and vacuum system you would tend to get more sap. I hope this answers some of your questions.

[Mean_Oscar]

For 20 years, people have tried ona nd off to gravity tap some red maple looking trees where I cook. You might get a little and then it would quit. I mean less than a sycamore. Last winter after engineering a battery powered vacuum system, I suctioned one and got a decent amount. We have always figured they were some kind of hybrid. Have I also heard that about reds elsewhere? Just saying reds may not be what you want for backyard sugaring.

[bmbmkr]

I'm in southernmost Ohio, I have mostly sugars, 350 or so a few dozen reds, 4 natural freemans and 170 silvers. I just cut down a 6" dbh silver next to my driveway that was a finger sized sprout when we moved here in May 16. I tapped the silvers the year before last, they are all on a creek bank and are huge, large canopied trees. Althought they are level, I run them on 3/16 tubing with shurflo pumps, and the sap from them averaged 2.2% while my maples and reds are in thick timber, tall and skinny with small canopies, they start out at 1.6% the last 8 years I've tapped. My silvers don't run every day the hillside trees do, I'm guessing the large creek they are on is a heat sink and they are 2-4x the diameter of my hill trees. But when they do run, they put out almost 2 gpt on the shurflos with 25in/Hg. Silvers grow faster than sugars and reds, but are short lived, and brittle. When one limb gets broken off the main trunk, they rot and the trunk will follow. My folks bought this farm in 1987, and many of the average sized silvers that were here when we moved are long gone. I have been boiling on silver maple wood for the last three years, just too many of em for me to leave to rot when they uproot, or one even washed down the creek, we pulled it out, sawed it up and split it. I am really lookin forward to boilin on hickory and oak this year.