multi trunked trees

[Brokermike]

One issue that keeps popping up as I run my laterals is how many taps to put on some of the multi-trunked trees we have behind the sugarhouse. Most of these are red maples with 3,4,or 5 trunks coming from the same roots. Each individual stem is at least 8-10". Does anyone have any rules of thumb they use in these situations.

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

I treat each one as an individual tree. A clump of 5 that were all 8-10 inches would get 5 taps. My 2 cents

[spud]

I would tap every stem. The chances of this tree busting apart due to wind or something is very high. Get what you can out of it before it turns to firewood.

Mike

[Haynes Forest Products]

I would avoid taping on the inside of the trunks. Each branch/trunk is like a seporate tree..............BUT on the inside were the bark and cambium come from a central center I believe you will get less sap. Just like if you damage the barl on a small section of tree it can effect the branches above it. Centers of trees dont have tap roots that supply sap from the roots to the center of the tree

[Russell Lampron]

I consider the whole bunch culls and tap all of the ones that will support a tap. I have found some of the 3" ones with hollow centers. Those get the tap pulled to fix the vacuum leak and a piece of flagging tape. Those trees get removed when I can get out there with a chainsaw.

[TF Maple]

Here is a picture of the silver maple I have in my backyard. I dug it out of my cousin's garden 22 years ago and tapped it for the first time this year. I only tapped one of four trunks so far. I only plan to tap one trunk each year because I consider it a decoration. But if it were out in the woods I think I would tap at least 2 trunks each year, maybe more. It depends on if it keeps growing fast or not. It seems to be growing well since it closed the tap hole by June this year.

[Amber Gold]

What about trees with two trunks greater than 18", does each one get two taps? I have quite a few which are like this.

[nace]

i have a sugar that is over 3' at the ground. it forks 30" from the ground and 4 1/2 feet up each fork is 22" on one side and 25" on the other. it will get 6 tap's. nace

[Brokermike]

a 22" and 25" tree alone are generally considered to small for 3 taps each

[red maples]

I don't do 3 in anything. but I do have 1 tree that has 3 trunks out of the same root and 1 is 12-14" and the other 2 are 18"+ and I only put 1 in each. I do have 1 monster tree that I could put 5 taps by the standard measure but only go 2.