I doubt the traditional sugar maples, Acer saccharum, would be very happy in your location. It's a tree that prefers some more distinct seasonal variations and doesn't tolerate high heat or very dry conditions well. I wouldn't recommend it for a high desert setting. Many species of maples will produce a lot of sap during the course of the early growing season but whether these can be tapped to produce enough to bother with, what it would ultimately taste like and whether your climate even encourages that highly seasonal production of sap is kind of up for speculation. Maple syrup production and the high California desert just don't seem to fit well together :-)

I'd look at the maples that could be expected to perform best in a hot, dry climate......maybe a shantung maple (Acer truncatum).

I'm all for zonal denial but sometimes we just have to accept that certain gardening situations will create limitations that are difficult, if not impossible, to overcome. I truly do not think your climate and location will be the slightest bit suitable to the production of any kind of maple syrup.

Thanks gardengal! My logic tells me that what you've said is all too true. However, there is one thing that sticks out in my mind that I just can't seem to get past. Out here, grapes are a big thing, as everyone knows. What isn't known by a lot of folks, is that the hotter and drier it is, the sweeter the grapes turn out, which typically lead to "a good year" for wines. Don't ask me to define it in scientific terms, because I couldn't. But the sugars in the grapes are apparently affected a great deal (in a good way) when the heat is turned up, and they are allowed to be somewhat drier than usual, (not to the detriment of the survival of the vine, though).

Now follow me here for a moment...if sugars behave in generally the same way in all plant life, then wouldn't the same be expected of tree sap in maples? Would hotter, drier weather create sweeter sugars in the sap? Of course, I don't want to try and reinvent the wheel, but I've not seen any instance of where anyone has tried this either. Of course, there's really only one way to find out for sure, and that's to just suck it up, plant a few, and hope for the best, right? :)

Anyway, thanks for the advice....I was hoping desperately that someone had information of a devoloped hybrid....a sugar maple crossed with a drought tolerant variety, and gorgeous fall color wouldn't hurt, of course! :)

You might try Acer barbatum - the Florida Maple or Souther Sugar Maple. Not sure how much value it has for sugar production, but it will definitely grow in hotter areas. See link below:

http://hort.ufl.edu/trees/ACEBARA.pdf

Regards,

K4

I'm no expert on maple syrup, but my understanding is that it's the cold that concentrates the sugars in the sap. Actually cold will concentrate sugars in grapes as well. Cold harvest grapes - those that have been left on the vine and allowed to go through a couple of decent frosts - are those used to create some of the sweeter desert wines, called "ice wines" :-)

Heat can also affect fall coloring as well and not necessarily in a good way.....those areas which don't experience a sharp seasonal turn in the weather in late summer/early fall may not develop much color in their trees either.

I'm also no expert, but I believe you need freezing nights in winter in order to induce sap flow.