Planting Sugar Maples

[nas]

  I am planning to plant sugar maples in a field at the back of my property.  I was told that I should not plant them there because the field was previously used for potatoes, and there will be some kind of blight in the soil.  Does anyone know anything about this?

Nick

[Phorester]

This may be referring to verticillium wilt, a soil-borne disease that infects probably over 100 plants, including potatoes and some tree species, including maples. This wilt is a serious disease in maples. The farmer growing the potatoes should be able to tell you if verticillium wilt was in the potatoes in this field.  

If so, or just to be safe, waiting a full year after the potato vines have died before planting sugar maples would be a good idea.  This year without any plants to keep the wilt fungus alive will cause it to die. If there are still vines alive here and there in this field, it would be good to rake them all out, then wait a year before planting the maples.

[nas]

Thanks Phorester.  I was told that the wilt stays in the ground forever.  There has not been potatoes in the field for at least 10 years.

Nick

[Phorester]

10 years - verticillium wilt from those potatoes will certainly not be a problem.

[SwampDonkey]

Plant the maples nas, the only trouble your going to have is rodents. Gotta keep the grass down so they don't infest the field. Oh, and the deer and hare, got any coyotes? ;)

I am surrounded by thousands of acres of potatoes in the growing season and I never seen our maples die off. If it weren't for sugar maples, rather the soil under'm, there wouldn't be any potato fields around here. It's our best soil. Our potato industry in on old hardwood forest land dominated by sugar maple. Anywhere in the province that hasn't similar soil, ain't growing potatoes. ;)

[JimTwoSticks]

definitely plant the trees. SwampDonkey is right, you will have other problems to worry about in addition to Verticillium wilt (which should be minor if anything).

Two species of Verticillium cause the wilt disease the person was likely referring to. One of the species (also the one found most often infecting trees) can persist in the soil for ten or more years given good conditions since it is able to form a resting structure. 
Keep in mind with a disease like Verticillium wilt that it can infect MANY hosts (lambs quarter/goosefoot as one example) so whether the field has been planted to potato recently or not may or may not affect incidence of disease. Hope that's not clear as mud 
Again, this disease is likely to account for a very small percentage of the mortality you are almost certainly going to experience when the rodents, deer, rabbit, root rot, the almost guaranteed drought the year you plant them (it always happens), etc. etc.

[nas]

I will plant them.  It is only a couple of acres, and I am going to buy potted stock tall enough to hopefully avoid deer damage.  I am hoping to be able to tap them for maple syrup in my lifetime.

Nick

[SwampDonkey]

Deer don't seem to touch them at sapling stage. They are a very tough tree and I've seen moose try to scrape them and barely marks the bark. Red maple however, they will destroy.

[nas]

We don't have to worry about moose around here, and I plan to put tubes on them to protect against rodents.  I also have some resident rabbit control that will probably graduate into deer control soon. ;D 8)



I will also water the trees if we have a dry season.  Is there any fertilizer I could give them as a boost at planting?  Maybe a 10-52-10?

Nick

[SwampDonkey]

Yeah, I like that. :D

Should wait a couple years on the fertilizer and use very small amounts, like 1/3 of a cup out away from the stem.

[Phorester]

A healthy tree needs no fertilizer.  Have a soil test done first, to determine if the soil is lacking in any elements for sugar maple. If the soil test indicates fertilizer is needed, as Donk says, don't fertilize the first year.  Fertilizing the first year a tree is planted actually stresses the tree.  1/3 cup per tree the 2nd or 3rd year should be good, spread out in a circle at the dripline of each tree.  I'd fertilize only once every 4 - 5 years, again, only if it is needed.    Around the dripline of each tree, widening this circle as the trees grow.

The first year in the ground, a tree's main need is water. If you're not getting normal rainfall during certain periods, then water to make up for that. Even in winter.

But don't fertilize just because you think it will help.  Do the soil test to determine what is needed.