Did I hurt my JM garden trees?

[ForThemWhatCare]

This is winter right? I just was doing some winter pruning on my garden JMs and they started dripping sap (very watery). I did this last year at this time and didn't see anything like this. Did I wait too long?

 

[dbonsaiw]

I'd wait for the experts, but I don't believe this is odd and should not be detrimental to the tree. Seal the wound?

 

[0soyoung]

Not a problem. All maples do this when the temperatures are switching between freeze and thaw. Some died starch gets converted back into sugar that gets dumped into the xylem lumens. A stem pressure develops by osmosis. So when you cut there's a little leakage of this sugary sap. Btw, this is where maples step comes from.

The worst that happens in your case is that the residue of this sugary sap becomes the substrate for some blackish mildew. All you need do is to wipe/wash it off.

 

[rockm]

Sap is "moving" in maple trees now, as they prepare for spring. Someone a long time ago noticed what you did--sap can be collected and boiled into sugar syrup. Would't worry about it. THe top of my big in-ground arakawa maple got snapped off in the foot of snow we had a couple of weeks ago. It developed two foot long "sapsicles" from the sap bleeding. I expect it will be fine.

 

[Wulfskaar]

That's how they make bonsai maple syrup!