Originally Posted by
maple flats
You say some areas are wet, those areas might be best planted to silver maples, but if 2' or more above where there is normally standing water after a heavy rain, or in the spring reds usually do well. Any sugars should be only on the driest, best drained areas.
I my bush, which is all natural growth, planted by nature, I have some silvers in the wettest spots, often on little knolls, then higher up, that 2' roughly, the reds start and about half of my maples are reds, then on the highest spots is where my sugar maples are, at maybe 4' or more above typically where standing water might be, and the 4' is pushing it, most sugars are at 8' or more above the wetter areas. I however don't as such have any hills (thus I'm known as maple flats.) I haven't gotten exact elevation readings, but my guess is that my highest portion of my bush is between 8-10' higher than the wettest. That's all in a 15 acre area.
When a forester helped me make up a forest stewardship plan he labeled my land as undulating lake bottom. After the last ice age what is now Oneida Lake (the thumb of the finger lakes in NYS) which is about 6 miles from my land to the north west. Apparently back then Oneida lake was several times larger until erosion formed the creeks and rivers to carry the water to Lake Ontario. My land was near the shoreline. My home is another 2 miles as the crow flies to the south west, and it was likely where the shoreline was. Just 50' from our home the hills climb a few hundred feet, at a 15-20% incline. My home isw about 12' higher than the median elevation of my sugarhouse property.
