SUGAR SAUNA

We all say we like the seasons, and granted I know I would miss them if I ever moved away, but no one truly, I mean really truly, likes the cold that makes it all possible. Granted brisk weather can be nice in limited doses, when you can go outside for a bit and escape back to some place warm and cozy once you've had your fill. But to say we embrace the gray, stale, sub-freezing (or in some cases sub-zero) days of winter in the same way that we do fresh sunny days of spring is just being dishonest, delusional or both..... There is after all a pretty good reason why we don't all go on picnics in mid-February. But, while cold weather alone might be pretty unforgiving, there is absolutely nothing like the feeling of stepping out of the bitter cold into some place warm. It's this feeling that makes the cold not only tolerable, but well worth all the numb fingers and frozen boogers that comes along with the territory. Pair this juxtaposition with an intoxicatingly sweet fragrance and BOOM!, you got yourself one of the strongest memories I have from when I was growing up.



As it so happened one of my mom's best friend's family made maple syrup semi-professionally, and I was lucky enough to be able to tag along every so often when they tapped trees, granted I wasn't always super thrilled about it (there's only so much standing around in the damp March cold watching your friend's dad drill holes in trees that an 8 year old can take), but the part that made it all worth it came later when they actually got around to boiling the sap in the little sugarhouse they had built themselves. Given that this was really only a one person job (if that) I wasn't able to partake quite as often as the tree tapping, which made the times I actually got to go in the sugarhouse that much more awesome. There was one pretty damn cold and soggy night that stands out for me when I had come to stay the night and got sent down to the sugarhouse to help. The instant I opened to door to the little shack I was enveloped by a thick sugary steam. The contrast of going from a damp cold night (still plenty if snow on the ground mind you), to a relatively small, warm, nearly glowing space is pretty much indescribable, but an experience a highly recommend.



Unfortunately for me, and the rest of the northeastern United States, maple sugaring may be a dying industry. And while the science behind why this is happening involves a bit more detail than I am willing to go into on here.... if you want an in depth explaination you can find it here, here, or here. But the long and short of it is the sugaring industry is ultimately getting hit from both ends, the trees at the center of it all (Sugar Maples) are gradually getting more and more stressed with each passing growing season (which equates to less sugar production) and then the time to harvest (the time between when the sap first starts flowing and when the buds begin to break) is getting shorter and shorter. While this doesn't necessarily speak to the long term ecological viability of North-Eastern Sugar Maples (Acer saccharum) as a whole, it doesn't hurt to stop and appreciate the species before the industry moves north of the border all together.


Acer saccharum, Sugar Maple
Hardiness: Zone (3)4-8
Size: 60-75', spread is generally 2/3 the height, but vaiable.
Bark: Smooth and gray-brown in youth, furrowed and scaly in old age.
Purchase from: Clear Ridge Nursery, Cold Stream Farm, Forestfarm, Maple Creek Nursery, New England Wetland Plants Inc., Plant and Gnome, Shooting Star Nursery, Sooner Plant Farm, Toadshade Wildflower Farm, Tree Seeds for Sale, University of Idaho Forest Research Nursery, White Oak Nursery

As far as New England-i-ness goes this tree ranks right up there with Tsuga canadensis (Canadian Hemlock) and Betula populifolia (Gray Birch). In almost every quaint autumn image of some red, white-framed barn you can bet there's some sugar maple nearby in full fall regalia. Unfortunately for the horticulture industry sugar maples are not very accommodating when it comes to culture and they are particularly adverse to urban conditions (pollution, high ph, salt, heavily compacted and/or overly saturated soils). But, as long as you meet its basic needs, Sugar Maples will prove to be a top notch and long lived shade trees. One should be aware, when considering cultivars, that the species has a few kissing cousins that often contribute to (or in some instances actually are) misnamed cultivars of A. saccharum. The most common culprit often mislabeled as A. saccharum is A. nigrum (Black Maple) which has a similar distribution to the species and is often quite difficult to identify. According to the literature this tree is a bit more forgiving of inhospitable growing conditions. The other two species (A. barbatum and A. leucoderme) are southern representatives of the sugar maple clan and are sometimes listed as subspecies, but act more as smaller understory trees in their native ranges.

Despite the fact that A. saccharum will most likely never replace Honey Locust, or Bradford Pear as the next "go to" urban street tree there are quite a few cultivars out there and even though I can't say I've grown any of 'em thought I'd list a few of the standouts.

Cultivars:

Acer saccharum 'Crescendo' (aka 'Morton' also formerly listed as A. nigrum 'Morton')
Most likely derived from western seed stock. Good heat and drought tolerance.


Acer saccharum 'Caddo'
A general catchall used to describe stock derived from one of the western most populations of A. saccharum. Selections derived from this population exhibit superior drought and heat tolerance. Named cultivars include 'Flashfire,'aka 'JFS-Caddo2.'


Acer saccharum 'Laciniatum'
May not be a legitimate cultivar. This may be a general term for all wild individuals with deeply incised foliage.


Acer saccharum 'Legacy'
Based on all the literature, this seems to be one of the superior selections of sugar maple. Dense rounded outline. Thick waxy leaves. Good fall color and excelent drought resistance.

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Acer saccharum 'Mountain Park'
A hardier selection (zone 3), with uniform branching and mildew resistant foliage. Briliant fall color.


Acer saccharum 'Northern Flare'
Another zone 3 selection tolerant of cold, heat, and drought. Good selection for the plain states.

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Acer saccharum 'Summer Proof'
A heat tolerant wide-spreading selection. Does not suffer from windburn.


Acer saccharum 'Sweet Shadow'
Perhaps a vigorous selection of 'Laciniatum.' Rounded to vase shaped outline.


Acer saccharum 'Temple's upright'
One of the better upright selections, very narrow, with the unique characteristic of maintaining its central leader as it ages.


Acer saccharum 'Wright Brothers' (fomerly 'Moraine')
Another good zone 3 selection with excelent fall color

These and other cultivars of Sugar Maple can be purchased from these retail sources:
Forest Farm, Nature Hills, Sooner Plant Farm

BLOG UPDATE:
Saw this video this past week and I got a little sick.... I know it might have its place, but YUCK!!! (wait till the second half of the video)