The maple tree is one of the more well-known tree types due to its distinctive leaves and the fact that it produces sap which gets made into maple syrup.
Here are 11 questions about maple trees answered in detail to help you learn more about this widely grown and commercially utilized tree.
How long does it take for a maple tree be big enough to tap for sap?
A maple tree typically needs at least 40 years of growth before it is large enough to tap for sap. A maple tree should additionally be at least 10″ in diameter measured at 4.5′ above the ground. A tree of this size can handle one tap.
If a maple tree has reached 20″ – 25″ in diameter, a second tap may be added. A third tap could be added to a tree greater than 25″ in diameter but this is the maximum number of taps that should be used per tree.
It’s important to tap a tree properly which typically means using a drill bit of 5/16″ – 7/16″ and drilling a hole 1.5″ – 1.75″ deep which is just enough to get the sap to flow.
How much sap can a maple tree produce?
The amount of maple syrup produced by one maple tree each year can vary wildly as can harvest times which might last as little as 2 weeks or as long as 2 months. One tap on a maple tree can typically produce 5 gal – 25 gal of sap on average per year depending on the tree type and size, method of tapping the tree and seasonal differences. It takes 10 gal – 40 gal of sap to produce 1 Q of maple syrup since the sap is boiled down to reduce water content to produce syrup.
The most popular maple trees typically produce sap with 2% – 3% sugar content which can vary even during the day i.e. higher sugar content during the day and lower at night. Maple syrup is usually 33% water and 67% sugar content.
As a sweetener, regular maple syrup has less sugar content and fewer calories than both honey and sugar. Sugar free maple syrup sweetened with Sucralose (Splenda brand) has as little as 1.4 calories per 4 tbsp (60 mL) compared to about 209 calories for the same amount of regular maple syrup.
Why is so much maple tree sap required to produce maple syrup?
Tree sap has at best around 2% – 3% sugar content but maple syrup is about 2/3 sugar and 1/3 water. Sap needs to be boiled down to evaporate the water which produces thicker and darker maple syrup which can then be bottled and sold.
It thus takes significantly more sap to produce a smaller amount of maple syrup once the sap has been boiled. When sap flows out of the tree, it’s generally a clear color but as the season progresses, the sap will look slightly cloudy.
The higher the sugar content, the more desirable the sap because it will yield more maple syrup in the end with less sap required.
What types of maple trees produce sap?
Sugar maple trees, black maple, red maple and silver maple trees are all known for producing very sweet maple syrup and are the four most common sap-producing maples. The sugar maple is perhaps the best known maple that produces sap for maple syrup due to its high sugar content.
While every species of Acer maple tree can produce sap (over 100 varieties exist), only several are well known for producing sap as the ones with the highest sugar content are most prized.
Other well-known sap-producing trees include the canyon maple, boxelder maple and big leaf maple. And although not a maple, birch trees are commonly used in Sweden and Norway for producing sap.
The major maple syrup producing states
in the US are Vermont, New York and Maine. The largest Canadian producing provinces are Quebec and Ontario.
What are the most commonly grown maples for maple syrup production?
While red maple is the most commonly grown maple tree in North America, the four most common maples used for sap are as follows:
Sugar maple trees
The high sugar content of the sugar maple of 2% – 2.5% on average makes it the most popular choice for sap. A sugar tree can grow as high as 130′ (40m) and tends to grow best in full sun. It’s known as a slow grower, growing at a rate of about 12″ to 24″ per year.
Sugar maples grow in most parts of the US as well as central and southern Ontario in Canada. It is a very adaptable tree that grows in a wide variety of locales including wet, dry, shaded and poor soil conditions.
Black maple trees
Black maples also produce sap with very high sugar content also at 2% – 2.5% and look similar to sugar maple but for one distinguishing feature: A black maple’s leaves have three lobes whereas a sugar maple has five.
The black maple is grown in the Great Lakes region in Canada and in the Eastern and Central USA.
Red maple trees
Red maple trees produce high quality sap albeit with lower sugar content than either sugar or black maples, at 1.5% – 2%. They are able to grow in both wet and dry environments and as the name suggests, the distinctive red autumn leaf is its signature.
Red maples have a shorter tapping season too so they aren’t as popular for maple syrup production as either the sugar or black maple.
Silver maple trees
Silver maple trees have the lowest sugar content of the four listed and as such is the least desirable for sap. They can grow for up to 100 years on average although they may live up to 130 years of age.
Silver maples are commonly found throughout the US but due to lower sugar content, it produces a thinner sap than sugar, black or red maples. It thus requires much more sap to produce maple syrup.
Can you kill a maple tree by tapping it?
If a young tree is tapped before it’s ready, it could kill the tree. You also need to pay attention to the diameter of the tree to determine whether or not it’s ready to be tapped. The tree should be at least 10″ in diameter. A maple tree should never have more than three taps regardless of how big it is.
The actual process of tapping a maple for its sap does not harm the tree assuming the tapping is done professionally and correctly. But if a maple tree is tapped too early before its time, the tree can be damaged or worse.
You need to tap a tree before buds appear because at that point the sap will be bitter. The best time to tap a maple tree is at night when it’s freezing outside or above freezing during the day.
What else can maple trees be used for?
In addition to being used for sap for maple syrup, maple trees have other uses as well. Maple is considered one of the more popular and durable woods used for many commercial applications including flooring and furniture such as dressers and cabinets as well as many instruments.
You might even find maple used to make toilet seats due to their durability.
Maple can be a hardwood, with sugar and rock maple being two popular examples.
Maple can also be a softwood. Many soft maples exist such as striped maple, silver maple, red maple, bigleaf maple, and box elder to name just a few.
Having said that, a soft maple is only about 25% softer than hard maple.
Maple wood is described as having a light and creamy white color with a subtle grain pattern when it’s harvested from the outer part of the tree. But when harvested from the inner part of the maple tree, the wood is darker and is best described as a deeper brown with a reddish tinge to it. Due to its lack of grain, maple can easily be stained with modern technology to get a precise desired color or hue.
How long do maple trees grow?
Maple trees can grow several hundred years or longer and many can be tapped for sap continuously once they are of age. Maple trees have different lifespans depending on their type.
The four common maple tree species used to make maple syrup can be expected to live as follows:
- Sugar maple: Up to 400 years
- Red maple: Up to 300 years
- Black maple: Around 200 years
- Silver maple: Around 100 years
Where are most maple trees grown for sap production?
Maple trees are found around the world and in particular in Canada, the US, Asia, Europe and north Africa. But maple trees used for sap production are largely located in Canada and secondarily in the US.
Most maple trees grown for sap in Canada are found in Quebec, New Brunswick, Ontario and Nova Scotia and they house the country’s largest syrup producers too. Canada produces around 71% of the world’s maple syrup with the overwhelming majority coming from Quebec.
In the US, Vermont is the biggest sap producer but maples are also found throughout the country in hardiness zones 3 – 9 which includes states from Minnesota down to Texas and Florida.
The major European producers of maple syrup are Denmark, Germany, UK, France and the Netherlands.
The top 10 global producers of maple syrup are Canadian provinces and US states.
Is a maple tree a tonewood?
Maple is a tonewood which means it’s a tree that can carry sounds waves well. As a result, maple is used to build instruments such as violins, violas, cellos, bassoons, and double basses. Maple has also been a popular wood to build drum kits.
Because maple is a heavy wood, it’s generally not used to build guitars or other large instruments due to the weight but it is often used for the neck of a guitar due to its desirable look and tonal qualities over other woods.
What are the biggest threats to maple trees?
Botanic Gardens Conservation International released a report called Red List of Acer that concludes that of the 158 species of maple trees that exist, 36 of them are at a high risk of extinction.
Major threats to maple trees outlined in this report and in general include the following:
Forestry: Timber harvesting is a major threat and according to the report, affects one quarter of the 36 threatened maple trees. Widely used for wood flooring, furniture and wooden instruments, maple trees have a wide number of commercial uses that over time are increasing its forestry.
Disease: Maple wilt is a type of fungus that begins at the root and works its way through the tree, killing it branch by branch over several or more years. Other diseases can harm maple trees including root rot, gall mites, Asian longhorned beetles, aphids and cankerworms.
Climate change: The report also identifies climate change as a major concern for some maple trees moving forward. One of the specific concerns is the affect on maples that grow on mountain tops that already get very little water and appear to be negatively affected by weather changes over time.
Various reasons: Maple trees can also die from vandalism, soil compaction and nutritional imbalance among other reasons that may be specific to one or more trees.