When to tap maple trees in Missouri
Maple season in Missouri usually opens mid-January to early February and winds down early March. Here's the long-run pattern, the year-by-year record, and what the forecast says right now.
- Opens
- mid-January to early February
- Closes
- early March
Forecast for Jackson
Updated Sep 26, 9:16 AM EDT
No freeze-thaw days in the forecast
Blue = below 32°F · Amber = thaw · dashed line = freezing
- SunSep 27No freeze, no run75°high57°low0h frozen
24h thawed - MonSep 28No freeze, no run76°high54°low0h frozen
24h thawed - TueSep 29No freeze, no run79°high55°low0h frozen
24h thawed - WedSep 30No freeze, no run80°high63°low0h frozen
24h thawed - ThuOct 1No freeze, no run79°high67°low0h frozen
24h thawed - FriOct 2No freeze, no run78°high63°low0h frozen
20h thawed
Data: National Weather Service. Verdicts use freeze-thaw thresholds from maple field research; your woods may run a little differently.
Sap runs on a temperature swing, not a date. A night below freezing loads the tree; a day above freezing pushes sap out of the taphole. Field research treats a low under about 30°F followed by a high over about 37°F as a real freeze-thaw day, and big runs almost always come on days like that.
So watch the 10-day forecast. When you see a string of nights in the 20s and afternoons in the 40s, get your taps in a day or two ahead. Tap south-facing slopes first — they warm and run earlier.
No NASS season data for Missouri. MU Extension describes an early sugaring season (late December to early February, with sweeter sap) and a later season (February to early March). The Missouri Department of Conservation says the best time to tap for most of the state is usually mid-to-late January or early February.
Seasons are shifting. In New England and New York, the sugaring season now begins about 8 days earlier and ends about 11 days earlier than it did 40 years earlier, leaving it roughly 3 days (about 10%) shorter, according to UVM Proctor Maple Research Center survey records analyzed in 2007.
Plan your season
Sources
- Missouri Maple Syrup: Hobby to Sales (DM3037) — University of Missouri Extension
- Maple Sugaring — Missouri Department of Conservation
- USDA 2022 Census of Agriculture, County Data — Table 37. Maple Syrup: 2022 and 2017 (Missouri) — USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
- Statement of Timothy D. Perkins, Ph.D., Director, UVM Proctor Maple Research Center — Global Warming Mountaintop 'Summit': Economic Impacts on New England (June 4, 2007) — U.S. House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming
Common questions
- When is maple syrup season in Missouri?
- Usually from mid-January to early February to early March. The exact start moves by weeks from year to year with the weather.
- When should I tap my trees in Missouri?
- Tap just before the first good run: when the forecast shows nights below freezing and days climbing to around 40°F. Tapholes dry up within 6 to 10 weeks, so tapping far too early can cost you the late runs.
- What weather makes sap run?
- Freezing nights and thawing days. Field research counts a freeze-thaw day as a low under about 30°F and a high over about 37°F; nights in the 20s and days in the 40s are the classic sap days.
Get a heads-up when Missouri's sap will run
LuckySap checks the forecast for your trees and can ping you the night before a strong sap day — then keeps every collection and boil in one season log. Free on iPhone.
