Black Maple?

[sbedilion]

3rd year tapping. I tapped some new woods and ran my first lines this year. 75 taps on 3/16...3 lines. After collecting 200 gallons+ and finishing with just over 2 gallons, I started to wonder what type of maple trees I was dealing with. I tested the sap and it's barely 1%.

Attached are some pictures. Are these Black Maples? I was told Black Maples are good sugar producers.

tree.jpg

leaf2.jpg

buds.jpg

Could I expect my sugar to rise as the season progresses or is 1% all I can expect from these trees? I'm 400 gallons of sap into the season and only made 4 gallons. I'm only selling a small batch to cover cost...the rest will be for family and friends....so its not a huge concern. I might need to build an RO setup for next season to help.

Thanks!
Steve

[Galena]

Very cool, I've never heard of tapping black maple! Maybe PM Dr Tim Perkins, he's the expert.

ETA: Maybe they are good producers, in terms of volume. That doesn't necessarily mean a high sugar content, though.

[maple flats]

Black maples are supposed to be up with Sugar maples, but only if they have a good top. It's the leaves that make the sugar. What diameter is the tree in the picture? it looks too small for 2 taps just judging the spile size related to the tree trunk. On gravity a tree should be at least 18" diameter to get 2 taps, about 20"+ if on vacuum. I don't put 2 taps until 23-24".
As the freeze thaw cycles become more frequent, the sugar does go up.

[sbedilion]

It's mostly around 18". I measured an 18" tree...hugged it, then just went from there. (treehugger...I know...haha)

I'm glad you mentioned the tops. I guess I never really knew that. My trees are close together and the tops probably aren't huge. They are on the edge of a field and get lots of sun, so they run really well.

[maple marc]

Many of my trees that I tap here are black maples. Except for a different leaf, they are nearly indistinguishable from sugar maples. Black maples and sugar maples hybridize and create a tree that looks somewhere between them. Generally the sugar content and sap production are identical. Some literature indicates that black maples grow slightly slower than sugars.