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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Sweet Sap Sugar Maples

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  • From: Sarah Kehler Ewing <skkewing@yahoo.com>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Sweet Sap Sugar Maples
  • Date: Sat, 8 May 2010 14:47:20 -0700 (PDT)

I realize now that I should have done more research on sugaring maples prior
to buying these ones!

I wish I'd paid $22.00 a tree as T&T has absurd prices on these trees ($42.50
each which is a high, but not an unheard of price for fruit trees: at least
they are very nice trees!). Unfortunately, T&T are the only source I have
ever seen in Canada selling the Sweet Sap Maple trees. When I ordered them, I
didn't know they were a Silver Maple as they were called Sweet Sap sugar
maples throughout the entire write-up. Sometimes T&T is a little vague with
tree details: last year I bought Capilano apricots from them and then found
out during a phone call that they were seedlings and not grafts which I felt
was implied in their catalogue! I argued with them that I felt their write-up
was misleading and that the seedling vs graft thing was a very important
point that ought to have been included, but the buyer I spoke with disagreed
with me! I'm going to be more than a little annoyed if I find out that these
are seedlings too, they sure aren't grafts but then
vegetative reproduction is not unheard of in maples.

However, I googled the Sweet Sap variety and came across a discussion on a
Sugar Maple web site that expounded on the difference between Silver (Acer
saccharinum) and Sugar maples (Acer saccharum). Basically they said that one
should plant sugar maples unless your soil is too wet and then plant silver
maples. And also that this variety is fairly new on the scene and has the
highest (that may be unconfirmed according to the research, love that!) sugar
content of trees tested. But that isn't a huge issue for me: poplar has
about an 80:1 ratio and the popular Manitoba Maples (Box Elders for you
Americans) is up there somewhere too so I'll be happy if they thrive and give
me something better than that!

My 16 trees are just a start: hopefully I can graft the Sweet Sap onto other
sugar maple rootstock or just plant more real sugar maples. Gotta start
somewhere while still managing a family budget!

Maybe I should try sugar cane... I did buy seeds from Ricters a few years ago
for sugar beets which is a pretty big crop up here!

Sarah
zone 3
Edmonton, AB


Sweet Sap Silver Maple — Acer saccharinum,  C. Larson selection
3 to 4 ft. trees $22.00 each, 100 or more $15 each
A special selection of Acer saccharinum that produces sap with a sugar
content of 3 to 5%. (Sugar maples run about 2 to 2.5%) The advantage to the
syrup maker is less time collecting, hauling and boiling down sap. Silver
Maples will grow on wetter soils than sugar maples and they are much faster
growers, becoming tappable in about 8 to 10 years. They are also tolerant of
clay soils. Discovered in Canada by Cedric Larson, and propagated via tissue
culture.









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