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Yes, most tree sap is very watery so that it can flow more easily through the tree. You're probably thinking of the congealed sap that you can find on a Black Cherry tree--that sticky goo that traps insects and forms amber after a few million years.
Maple sap, in particular, is very watery. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup, so the sugar concentration is quite low--even though you can still taste it if you sip a bit of sap. Once the trees start to bud, though, it doesn't taste very good. That's why tapping maple trees takes place early in the year--at the end of winter when there are freezing temperatures at night but the temperature rises to 40 degrees or more during the day. This really gets the sap flowing as it rises from the roots in the trees towards the budding leaves above. There's a short time frame to collect maple sap to make maple syrup since the quality of the sap (taste-wise) changes rapidly. Even though most of the maple syrup operations in my area are already wrapping up for the year, this time of year the sap is still flowing quite a bit. So if a tree gets injured, which appears to be your case, you can notice sap flow out of the wound quite a bit, too.
I'll watch for any signs of tree borers. There are some areas where the bark is peeling but I seem have that problem on my evergreen tree too.
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at the end of winter when there are freezing temperatures at night but the temperature rises to 40 degrees or more during the day. This really gets the sap flowing as it rises from the roots in the trees towards the budding leaves above.
I'm in NY and we've had a really cold winter with more snow and freezing temps than usual but
these last few days have been really warm and the trees are just starting to bud now, so maybe it is just sap that's coming out of the tree.
I didn't know sap was watery. I thought sap was like the consistency of pancake syrup.
aha.. you may be on to something. I've seen a squirrel in that part of the tree quite a few times.
But would a squirrel be able to make a cone shaped hole in the tree?
I think of cone shaped holes as woodpecker damage. Squirrels do not have to dig a deep hole to get the sap flowing - all they do is just barely cut the bark. The woodpeckers are not making deep holes for no reason or just for the sap - they want a meal. Years ago our house was attacked by a woodpecker and we repainted the house with stain that contained insecticide - no more problems with woodpeckers.
If you have a sprayer that can shoot as high as your tree holes; you might want to try spraying with an insecticide like Seven. Possibly you can kill the insects and save your tree from further attacks?
I live in Montana and have several Boxelder trees in my yard. I love the shade and wildlife but this year I seem to have a LOT of sap. More than I remember ever having before. Just curious if it stops during the summer after the trees leaf out? Everything in my yard is sticky and it's pretty gross!! Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
We had to have the dripping tree cut down because it didn't survive the winter. It was completely dead. I found out from the tree guy that it was a sugar maple. My other maples aren't looking too great either. The bark is splitting.
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I thought sap was like the consistency of pancake syrup.
