Tapping trees

Hello, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Tapping trees has a long history in the U.S. In the south, pine trees were extremely valuable sources of pitch products: turpentine, rosin, and more. That practice has dwindled, but tapping sugar maples is still big business in northern states. Sugar maples are best for this – fewer gallons of their sap are needed to make a gallon of syrup. Sugar maples are also a touchstone for fall color. Vermont has more sugar maples than any other state. Two and a half million people visit to see them every fall. Red maples that grow well in South Carolina also have lovely fall color if they are grown in the right conditions. They’re also called "swamp maples" and need plenty of water. Don’t plant them in the middle of your lawn.