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beyond_hatred t1_j2lpuk8 wrote

That's messed up. Trees can be injured by coming out of their winter state too early, then getting hit with a hard freeze. That must happen pretty frequently with sugar maples, though. Hopefully they've evolved to tolerate it.

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largeb789 t1_j2murbd wrote

I don't think they have. I've heard it predicted that it will soon be too warm for sugar maples in the southern part of the state.

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nullcompany t1_j2mwavq wrote

I've been feathering in higher-zoned saplings here and there in the (increasingly reasonable) chance that we're headed for zone 6a and up here in the NH seacoast area

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trolllord45 t1_j2od53y wrote

As someone who knows pretty little about the intricacies of syrup making and the weather it takes what does zone 6a mean?

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nullcompany t1_j2oq251 wrote

there's these bands of 'zones' across the USA, and as the weather gets warmer, the zones drift north. Trees and plants are assigned to a zone, and if you stick to your zone, you should be less disappointed by them dying or underperforming.

You can google a picture up, just search for "USDA Zone Map" and voila, you'll pretty much get 90% of it in 10 seconds or less.

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beyond_hatred t1_j2mx0m9 wrote

They might mean that it's too warm to get a good sugar harvest. I don't think the warmth would kill the trees.

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AnythingToAvoidWork t1_j2ohdql wrote

I've been seeing a lot of trees shedding bark this year. Wonder if the warmth has anything to do with it. I've got a huge silver elm tree that I'm going to need to cut down unfortunately.

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ZacPetkanas t1_j2svvj9 wrote

> I've been seeing a lot of trees shedding bark this year.

I don't know if this is what you're seeing, but inconsistent cold can cause the bark on trees to crack and pop off. During the warmth of the day (or if a tree gets a lot of direct sun) the sap can begin to flow but then night falls and the sap freezes and expands, pushing the bark off the wood. This is why you'll often see trees that get direct sun be wrapped in white tape/fabric or painted white from ground level up a foot or two.

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