Red Maple vs Sugar Maple

[Michigan Maples]

syrup season 2016 006.jpgInteresting discussion.........we tapped a couple VERY old reds we found growing in the swamp this year. They were very good producers in that we got nearly 20 gallons each from those two trees. Gonna look for more next winter when the swamp is frozen. But this made me wonder if it wasn't because they are in the swamp.

[Cedar Eater]

Attachment 13828Interesting discussion.........we tapped a couple VERY old reds we found growing in the swamp this year. They were very good producers in that we got nearly 20 gallons each from those two trees. Gonna look for more next winter when the swamp is frozen. But this made me wonder if it wasn't because they are in the swamp.

What kind of other trees are in the swamp? In our cedar swamp, the reds don't do well. It is very dark and very cold under the cedar canopy. And the maples don't thaw until the day and nights get pretty warm. If the swamp is more open and has shorter trees like alders and willows, I think the maples would thaw much sooner.

[Michigan Maples]

When we realized they were out there, we realized the maples dominate everything out there. There are reds and silvers, but I'll need to get deeper into it to see exactly what we've got out there. The photo I've attached is the smaller of the two we tapped, very large old trees. The two we tapped are kind of on the western side of the swamp and likely get warmed up pretty well, nothing really in their way.

[Hannah]

Attachment 13828Interesting discussion.........we tapped a couple VERY old reds we found growing in the swamp this year. They were very good producers in that we got nearly 20 gallons each from those two trees. Gonna look for more next winter when the swamp is frozen. But this made me wonder if it wasn't because they are in the swamp.

Question- I have several trees in a swamp that is much wetter than the one you show. These Maples are three times the one you show in your picture but have very smooth bark. Young sapling Maples have smooth bark but usually become rougher as they get older. My trees have just as smooth of bark as young trees, does anyone know if this would be a silver, red or something else?

[Cedar Eater]

Question- I have several trees in a swamp that is much wetter than the one you show. These Maples are three times the one you show in your picture but have very smooth bark. Young sapling Maples have smooth bark but usually become rougher as they get older. My trees have just as smooth of bark as young trees, does anyone know if this would be a silver, red or something else?

Pics of the bark from within 5' and of the whole tree from some distance back would be great, but it really seems unlikely that they would be reds, but if the bark is really extremely smooth, I would guess beech.

[Run Forest Run!]

Hannah, check out this link and see if this looks like your tree. It shows a Freeman maple which is a hybrid of a Silver and a Red. I get good tapping results from my Freeman and its bark is smooth as smooth can be.

http://www.uoguelph.ca/arboretum/thi...ansmaple.shtml

[woodchuck]

First, I fully agree that you tap what you have. Im not so picky that I pass on any maple thats 16” thick and has a decent canopy. I use the term “red” or “soft" to describe most Maples that aren’t sugars. That said, these trees are very fickle in the amount of sap that they produce, but mine rarely create sugar content over 2.0 and get snotty and bud before the sugar maples. I typically pull the taps on the soft maples a few weeks before the sugar maples.

[Hannah]

Hannah, check out this link and see if this looks like your tree. It shows a Freeman maple which is a hybrid of a Silver and a Red. I get good tapping results from my Freeman and its bark is smooth as smooth can be.

http://www.uoguelph.ca/arboretum/thi...ansmaple.shtml

Karen, this is exactly what it is. This is the first I have heard of them. Thank you very much!

[Russell Lampron]

Hannah, check out this link and see if this looks like your tree. It shows a Freeman maple which is a hybrid of a Silver and a Red. I get good tapping results from my Freeman and its bark is smooth as smooth can be.

http://www.uoguelph.ca/arboretum/thi...ansmaple.shtml

The map is unclear as to how large the region for these trees is but I have some of those trees in my woods here in New Hampshire. I always call them smooth bark red maples. Now I know that they are Freeman maples. Thank you for the information.

[GeneralStark]

Fast growing red maples will also keep their smooth bark until they become quite large. I have seen this after crop tree release, when red maples will rapidly grow. I have seen growth rates of 1/2"/year. They are a shade intolerant tree.