SaplingShare article feedback

Sapling

• Oak
• Spruce
• Birch
• Jungle
• Acacia
• Dark Oak
• Cherry
• Pale Oak

Renewable	Yes
Stackable	Yes (64)
Tool	Any tool
Blast resistance	0
Hardness	0
Luminous	No
Transparent	Yes
Flammable	No
Catches fire from lava	No
Map color (Java)	7 PLANT

{
    "title": "Sapling",
    "rows": [
        {
            "field": "Yes",
            "label": "(link to Renewable resource article, displayed as Renewable)"
        },
        {
            "field": "Yes (64)",
            "label": "Stackable"
        },
        {
            "field": "Any tool",
            "label": "Tool"
        },
        {
            "field": "0",
            "label": "(link to Explosion#Blast resistance article, displayed as Blast resistance)"
        },
        {
            "field": "0",
            "label": "(link to Breaking#Blocks by hardness article, displayed as Hardness)"
        },
        {
            "field": "No",
            "label": "(link to Light article, displayed as Luminous)"
        },
        {
            "field": "Yes",
            "label": "(link to Opacity article, displayed as Transparent)"
        },
        {
            "field": "No",
            "label": "(link to Flammable article, displayed as Flammable)"
        },
        {
            "field": "No",
            "label": "Catches fire from (link to lava article, displayed as lava)"
        },
        {
            "field": "<span style=\"display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap;\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; background-color:  rgb(0, 124, 0)\n; border: 1px solid #888; border-radius: 0.3em; width: 1em; height: 1em; vertical-align: -0.36em; margin-right: -0.1em\"><br></span>  7 PLANT\n</span>",
            "label": "(link to Map color article, displayed as Map color) <small>((link to Java Edition article, displayed as Java))</small>"
        }
    ],
    "invimages": [
        "Oak Sapling",
        "Spruce Sapling",
        "Birch Sapling",
        "Jungle Sapling",
        "Acacia Sapling",
        "Dark Oak Sapling",
        "Cherry Sapling",
        "Pale Oak Sapling"
    ],
    "images": [
        "Oak Sapling.png",
        "Spruce Sapling.png",
        "Birch Sapling.png",
        "Jungle Sapling.png",
        "Acacia Sapling.png",
        "Dark Oak Sapling.png",
        "Cherry Sapling.png",
        "Pale Oak Sapling.png"
    ]
}

A sapling is a non-solid block that can be grown into a tree.

Obtaining

Breaking

Saplings can be broken instantly using any tool, including the player's fist, and always drop themselves.

Block	Saplings
Hardness	0
Breaking time (secs)
Default	0.05

Legend

• incorrect tool, drops nothing
• correct tool, drops nothing or something other than the block itself
• correct tool, drops the block itself
• italicized can be instant mined

Axes are considered the preferred tool, and swords would also increase the breaking speed, however these ultimately have no impact due to the instant default mining speed.

Natural generation

Spruce

Potted spruce saplings generate in taiga and snowy taiga‌ village mason houses.

Birch

Potted birch saplings generate in the "Large dining room" and "Master bedroom" rooms in woodland mansions.

Dark oak

The "Sapling farm" room in woodland mansions naturally generates with 58 dark oak saplings and a chest that always contains an additional 28 dark oak saplings.

Acacia

Two acacia saplings generate in front of each savanna village library.

Generated loot

Item	Structure	Container	Quantity	[hide]Chance
Java Edition
Oak Sapling	Village	Weaponsmith's chest	3–7	25.6% { "item": "Oak Sapling", "stacksize": "3–7", "chance": 0.2564122099176498, "structure": "Village", "container": "Weaponsmith's chest" }
		Plains house chest	1–2	48.2% { "item": "Oak Sapling", "stacksize": "1–2", "chance": 0.4819569376305396, "structure": "Village", "container": "Plains house chest" }
Spruce Sapling	Village	Taiga house chest	1–5	40.6% { "item": "Spruce Sapling", "stacksize": "1–5", "chance": 0.4058792240743314, "structure": "Village", "container": "Taiga house chest" }
Acacia Sapling	Village	Savanna house chest	1–2	71.7% { "item": "Acacia Sapling", "stacksize": "1–2", "chance": 0.7169464744127282, "structure": "Village", "container": "Savanna house chest" }
Bedrock Edition
Oak Sapling	Bonus Chest	Chest	4	14.3% { "item": "Oak Sapling", "stacksize": 4, "chance": 0.1428571428571429, "structure": "Bonus Chest", "container": "Chest" }
	Village	Cartographer's chest	1–2	26.3% { "item": "Oak Sapling", "stacksize": "1–2", "chance": 0.26288199999999995, "structure": "Village", "container": "Cartographer's chest" }
		Plains house chest	1–2	48.2% { "item": "Oak Sapling", "stacksize": "1–2", "chance": 0.4819569376305396, "structure": "Village", "container": "Plains house chest" }
		Weaponsmith's chest	3–7	25.6% { "item": "Oak Sapling", "stacksize": "3–7", "chance": 0.2564122099176498, "structure": "Village", "container": "Weaponsmith's chest" }
Spruce Sapling	Bonus Chest	Chest	4	14.3% { "item": "Spruce Sapling", "stacksize": 4, "chance": 0.1428571428571429, "structure": "Bonus Chest", "container": "Chest" }
	Village	Taiga house chest	1–5	43.7% { "item": "Spruce Sapling", "stacksize": "1–5", "chance": 0.4373709452178328, "structure": "Village", "container": "Taiga house chest" }
Acacia Sapling	Bonus Chest	Chest	4	14.3% { "item": "Acacia Sapling", "stacksize": 4, "chance": 0.1428571428571429, "structure": "Bonus Chest", "container": "Chest" }
	Village	Savanna house chest	1–2	71.7% { "item": "Acacia Sapling", "stacksize": "1–2", "chance": 0.7169464744127282, "structure": "Village", "container": "Savanna house chest" }
Dark Oak Sapling	Bonus Chest	Chest	4	14.3% { "item": "Dark Oak Sapling", "stacksize": 4, "chance": 0.1428571428571429, "structure": "Bonus Chest", "container": "Chest" }

Trading

Each type of sapling can be sold by the wandering trader for 5 emeralds.

Post-generation

When leaves decay, or are broken by any tool except shears or tools with Silk Touch, they have a 5.1% chance of dropping a sapling, except for jungle leaves, which have a 2.6% chance of dropping a sapling. The Fortune enchantment increases the rate to 6.26% (2.79% for jungle leaves) at level I, 8.34% (3.126% for jungle leaves) at level II, and 10.1% (4.18% for jungle leaves) at level III.

Usage

Growing trees

Saplings come in eight varieties, each of which can grow into a corresponding tree: oak, birch, spruce, jungle, acacia, dark oak, pale oak, and cherry. In addition, azaleas and mangrove propagules can also grow trees.

Saplings have two growth stages (with no visible difference between them using default resources) before growing into trees. When a tree is to be grown, a height is chosen and then the ground and space above are checked; if the ground is bad or there is no space for the chosen height, the tree does not grow. Bone meal can be used to speed up the growth of the sapling, even to grow the tree without sufficient light.

Saplings can grow into trees when placed on all variants of dirt (except dirt paths) or moss blocks. The block above the sapling requires a light level of at least 9. A certain volume of space is required above the sapling, based on its type:

• Oak needs at least 5 spaces above (3×3 column) to grow normally. If a block is present in the growth space (but not directly above the sapling), the tree still grows, but is forced to grow a large variant.
• Birch needs at least 6 spaces above (3×3 column).
• Spruce needs at least 6 spaces above (5×5 column) when placing a single sapling.
  • Giant spruce needs at least 14 spaces above (6×6 column‌ or 5×5 column centered on the northwest sapling‌) when planted as 4 saplings in a 2×2 square. Also requires the 4×4 area centered on the saplings‌ or 3×3 area centered on the northwest sapling‌ at the same level to be empty.
• Jungle needs at least 5 spaces above (3×3 column) when placing a single sapling.
  • Giant jungle needs at least 11 spaces above (6×6 column) when planted as 4 saplings in a 2×2 square. Also requires the 4×4 area centered on the saplings at the same level to be empty.
• Acacia needs at least 6 spaces above (5×5 column).
• Dark oak and pale oak need at least 7 spaces above (6×6 column) and must be planted as 4 saplings in a 2×2 square.
• Cherry needs at least 9 spaces above (5x5 column).

In addition:

• A spruce or jungle sapling cannot grow if it is part of a 2×2 square of saplings that doesn't meet the requirements for a giant tree.
• Except for giant jungle and giant spruce (as noted above), sapling growth is not affected by nearby blocks on the same level as the sapling(s).

In Java Edition, blocks in the #replaceable_by_trees tag are treated as empty, and all types of log blocks, wood blocks, stripped variants, and leaves are exceptions (they don't stop growth). In Bedrock Edition, log and wood blocks are treated like other block types and stop the sapling from growing if they are above it.

When a sapling on a grass block grows into a tree, the grass block becomes a dirt block.

Bee nests

Oak, birch, and cherry trees grown from saplings that are within 2 blocks of any flower, flowering azalea,‌ or flowering azalea leaves‌ have a 5% chance to grow with a bee nest and 2-3 bees in it.

Decoration

Any kind of sapling can be placed in a flower pot.

Fuel

Saplings can be used as a fuel in furnaces, smelting 0.5 items per sapling.

Composting

Placing a sapling into a composter has a 30% chance of raising the compost level by 1. A stack of saplings yields an average of 2.74 bone meal.

Sounds

Cherry sapling

Java Edition:

[hide] v t e cherry_sapling sound type
Sound	Subtitles	Source	Description	Resource location	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	​Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	block.cherry_sapling.break	subtitles.block.generic.break​	1.0	0.8	16
	​Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	block.cherry_sapling.place	subtitles.block.generic.place​	1.0	0.8	16
	​Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	block.cherry_sapling.hit	subtitles.block.generic.hit​	0.25	0.5	16
	​Something falls on a block	Entity-Dependent	Falling on the block with fall damage	block.cherry_sapling.fall	subtitles.block.generic.fall​	0.5	0.75	16
	​Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	block.cherry_sapling.step	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.15	1.0	16

Bedrock Edition:

[hide] v t e bamboo_sapling sound type
Sound	Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
	Blocks	Once the block has broken	block.bamboo_sapling.break	0.9	0.8-1.0
	Blocks	When the block is placed	block.bamboo_sapling.place	0.85	0.8-1.0

Other saplings

Java Edition:

[hide] v t e grass sound type
Sound	Subtitles	Source	Description	Resource location	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	​Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	block.grass.break	subtitles.block.generic.break​	1.0	0.8	16
	​Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	block.grass.place	subtitles.block.generic.place​	1.0	0.8	16
	​Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	block.grass.hit	subtitles.block.generic.hit​	0.25	0.5	16
	​Something falls on a block	Entity-Dependent	Falling on the block with fall damage	block.grass.fall	subtitles.block.generic.fall​	0.5	0.75	16
	​Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	block.grass.step	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.15	1.0	16

Bedrock Edition:

[hide] v t e grass sound type
Sound	Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
	Blocks	Once the block has broken	dig.grass	0.7	0.8–1.0
	Blocks	When the block is placed	use.grass	0.8	0.8–1.0
	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	hit.grass	0.3	0.5
	Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	fall.grass	0.4	1.0
	Players	Walking on the block	step.grass	0.3	1.0
	Blocks	Jumping from the block	jump.grass	0.11	1.0
	Blocks	Falling on the block without fall damage	land.grass	0.21	1.0

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Form	Block tags	Item tags	[hide]Translation key
Oak Sapling	oak_sapling	Block & Item	saplings	saplings	block.minecraft.oak_sapling
Spruce Sapling	spruce_sapling	Block & Item	saplings	saplings	block.minecraft.spruce_sapling
Birch Sapling	birch_sapling	Block & Item	saplings	saplings	block.minecraft.birch_sapling
Jungle Sapling	jungle_sapling	Block & Item	saplings	saplings	block.minecraft.jungle_sapling
Acacia Sapling	acacia_sapling	Block & Item	saplings	saplings	block.minecraft.acacia_sapling
Dark Oak Sapling	dark_oak_sapling	Block & Item	saplings	saplings	block.minecraft.dark_oak_sapling
Cherry Sapling	cherry_sapling	Block & Item	saplings	saplings	block.minecraft.cherry_sapling
Pale Oak Sapling	pale_oak_sapling	Block & Item	saplings	saplings	block.minecraft.pale_oak_sapling

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Alias ID	Numeric ID	Form	Item ID	[hide]Translation key
Oak Sapling	oak_sapling	sapling / 0	6	Block & Giveable Item	Identical	tile.sapling.oak.name
Spruce Sapling	spruce_sapling	sapling / 1	1080	Block & Giveable Item	Identical (Numeric: -825)	tile.sapling.spruce.name
Birch Sapling	birch_sapling	sapling / 2	1081	Block & Giveable Item	Identical (Numeric: -826)	tile.sapling.birch.name
Jungle Sapling	jungle_sapling	sapling / 3	1082	Block & Giveable Item	Identical (Numeric: -827)	tile.sapling.jungle.name
Acacia Sapling	acacia_sapling	sapling / 4	1083	Block & Giveable Item	Identical (Numeric: -828)	tile.sapling.acacia.name
Dark Oak Sapling	dark_oak_sapling	sapling / 5	1084	Block & Giveable Item	Identical (Numeric: -829)	tile.sapling.big_oak.name
Cherry Sapling	cherry_sapling	None	802	Block & Giveable Item	Identical (Numeric: -547)	tile.cherry_sapling.name
Pale Oak Sapling	pale_oak_sapling	None	1261	Block & Giveable Item	Identical (Numeric: -1006)	tile.pale_oak_sapling.name

Block states

Java Edition:

Name	Default value	Allowed values	[hide]Description
stage	0	0 1	Specifies the sapling's growth stage.

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Metadata Bits	Default value	Allowed values	Values for Metadata Bits	[hide]Description
age_bit	Not Supported	false	false true	Unsupported	Specifies the sapling's growth stage.

History

[hide]Java Edition pre-Classic
rd-161348							Added saplings as the fifth placeable block in the game.
							Pressing 6 will select it. (It was not on 5, which was empty, as Notch thought his sapling texture was "ugly" and tried to hide the block.)
[hide]Java Edition Classic
0.0.13a							Changed texture and model of saplings.
August 25, 2009							Notch showed saplings growing into trees.
0.24_SURVIVAL_TEST							Added tree growth.
[hide]Java Edition Indev
0.31			20091223-0040				Saplings now have a stretched model with wider texture planes.
			20100110				The texture of saplings has been changed.
			20100124-2119				A full stack of saplings now generates in a chest inside the starting house.
			20100129-1447				Saplings no longer generate in a chest inside the starting house.
[hide]Java Edition Infdev
20100413-1949							Saplings can now grow into big trees instead of the original pattern.
20100607							Saplings grow into regular trees again.
[hide]Java Edition Beta
1.5							Added spruce and birch saplings. Before, trees dropped only oak saplings, regardless of the tree.
							Saplings can now be used as fuel in furnaces.
							Oak saplings from prior to this update could convert to spruce or birch saplings.​ This was presumably due to the data now used for specifying sapling type previously being used for age calculations.
1.8			Pre-release				Changed lighting.
[hide]Java Edition
1.1			12w01a				Oak saplings can now be found in the new village blacksmith chests.
1.2.1			12w04a				Added jungle saplings.
							The texture of oak saplings has been changed.
1.3.1			12w17a				Saplings now have names based on their type of tree.
1.4.2			12w34a				The ability to place saplings in flower pots has been added.
1.7.2			13w43a				Added acacia and roofed oak saplings.
			1.7				"Roofed Oak Sapling" has been renamed to "Dark Oak Sapling".
			?				Blocks can now be replaced with log by growing dark oak saplings. If pre-existing parts of a dark oak tree exist, the tree may randomly grow downward, replacing any block in the way with wood.
1.8			14w07a				Sapling texture planes are no longer stretched by a factor of sqrt2.
			14w10a				Saplings of metadata 8-13 (closer to growth) now have no model.
			14w10b				Saplings 8-13 now have models again.
			14w10c				Sapling texture planes are now stretched a bit more than they were previously - were the texture full, it would reach the corners of the block.
			14w17a				Sapling texture planes are now the same size as they were before 14w07a.
			14w25a				Saplings are now affected by the same shading full blocks are.
			14w26a				Saplings are no longer subject to shading.
1.8.2			pre4				Blocks can no longer be replaced using dark oak tree growth.
1.11			16w39a				Dark oak and birch saplings now generate in woodland mansions.
1.14			18w43a				The textures of all saplings have been changed.
			18w48a				Oak saplings can now be found in chests in plains village houses.
			18w49a				Acacia saplings can now be found in chests in savanna village houses.
							Acacia saplings now generate in front of savanna village libraries.
			18w50a				Spruce saplings can now be found in chests in taiga village houses.
							Potted spruce saplings now generate in taiga village mason houses.
			19w03a				Placing a sapling into the new composter block has a 10% chance of raising the compost level by 1.
			19w05a				Saplings now have a 30% chance of increasing the compost level in a composter by 1.
							Added wandering traders, which sell all types of saplings.
1.15			19w34a				Bee nests were added, which have a chance to generate on trees grown from saplings.​
			19w35a				Bee nests can no longer generate on trees grown from saplings.
1.15.2			Pre-Release 1				Oak and birch saplings grown within 2 blocks of a flower on the same y-level now have a 5% chance to have a bee nest.
1.17			21w11a				Changed lighting.
			21w16a				Saplings can now be planted and grown on mycelium and moss blocks.
1.18			21w39a				The default brightness has been changed from "Moody" to 50.
1.19.4 Experiment Update 1.20			23w07a				Added cherry saplings behind the "Update 1.20" experimental data pack.
			1.19.4-pre2				Changed the texture of cherry saplings.
1.20			23w12a				Cherry saplings are now available without using the "Update 1.20" experimental data pack.
1.21.2 Experiment Winter Drop			24w40a				Added pale oak saplings.
1.21.4			24w44a				Pale Oak Saplings can now be sold by the wandering trader.
1.21.5			25w02a				Pale Oak Saplings now have an updated map color.
[hide]Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.3.2							Added oak, spruce, and birch saplings.
v0.3.3							Saplings are now available in the creative inventory.
v0.8.0			build 1				The texture of oak saplings has been changed.
							Saplings can now be used as fuel in a furnace.
v0.9.0			build 1				Added jungle, acacia and dark oak saplings.
			build 5				Spruce saplings can now be used to grow mega spruce trees.
[hide]Pocket Edition
1.1.0			alpha 1.1.0.0				Dark oak and birch saplings now generate in woodland mansions.
[hide]Bedrock Edition
1.2.0			beta 1.2.0.2				Saplings can now be found in bonus chests.
1.10.0			beta 1.10.0.3				Saplings can now be bought from wandering traders.
							Potted spruce saplings can now be found in taiga and snowy taiga village mason houses.
							Acacia saplings now generate in some savanna village houses.
							The textures of all saplings have been changed.
1.11.0			beta 1.11.0.1				Oak saplings can now be found in village cartographer and plains village house chests.
							Acacia saplings can now be found in savanna village house chests.
							Spruce saplings can now be found in taiga and snowy taiga village house chests.
							Saplings can now be used to fill up composters.
1.16.0			beta 1.15.0.51				Oak and birch saplings grown within 2 blocks of a flower on the same y-level now have a 5% chance to have a bee nest.
1.19.80 Experiment Next Major Update			Preview 1.19.80.20				Added cherry saplings behind the "Next Major Update" experimental toggle.
1.20.0			Preview 1.20.0.21				Cherry saplings are now available without using the "Next Major Update" experimental toggle.
1.21.50			Preview 1.21.50.20				Added pale oak saplings.
1.21.60			Preview 1.21.60.21				Saplings no longer appear mirrored when viewed from certain angles.
[hide]Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU1	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added oak, spruce, and birch saplings.
TU3							The texture of oak saplings has been changed.
TU12							Added jungle tree saplings.
TU14		1.04					The ability to place saplings in flower pots has been added.
TU31	CU19	1.22	1.22	1.22	Patch 3		Added acacia and dark oak saplings.
TU54	CU44	1.52	1.52	1.52	Patch 24	1.0.4	Dark oak and birch saplings now generate in woodland mansions.
			1.90				The textures of all saplings have been changed.
			1.91				Added wandering traders, which sell all types of saplings.
							Saplings can now be used to fill up composters.
[hide]New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added saplings.

Data history

[hide]Java Edition
1.8			14w10a				Saplings with numerical metadata variants 6, 7, 14 and 15, which are inaccessible through normal gameplay, now have no model rather than appearing identical to dark oak saplings.
			14w25a				Saplings are now defined via block states rather than by numerical metadata. Prior to this version, the numerical metadata variants of sapling were as follows: DV [hide]Description 0 Oak Sapling 1 Spruce Sapling 2 Birch Sapling 3 Jungle Sapling 4 Acacia Sapling 5 Dark Oak Sapling 6-15 Inaccessible "boring" variants of saplings ​
			14w26a				Saplings with metadata values 6, 7, 14 and 15 have been completely removed from the game.
1.13			17w47a				The different type block states for the sapling ID have now been split up into their own IDs.
							Prior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 6.
[hide]Bedrock Edition
1.20.80			Preview 1.20.80.20				The different sapling type block states for the sapling ID have now been split up into their own IDs.

• 

  Unused sapling snow overlay texture.

• 

  The texture over a sapling.

Issues

Issues relating to "Sapling" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Java Edition

• MC-8187 – Two-by-two arrangements of jungle or spruce saplings cannot grow when there are adjacent blocks located north or west of the sapling formation
• MC-195168 – Swords consume double durability than they normally would when destroying bamboo saplings, bamboo, or cobwebs
• MC-265461 – Sapling stage state changes do not appear to be communicated to the client
• MC-266936 – Snow layers prevent saplings from growing into trees
• MC-15224 – Saplings can grow with a different type of log above
• MC-168446 – Single dark oak and pale oak saplings accept bone meal despite not being able to grow
• MC-228758 – Most saplings cannot grow if there is a block diagonally above it
• MC-239082 – Saplings can be bone mealed and grow on invalid blocks such as air and bedrock, replacing them with dirt/rooted dirt
• MC-112975 – 2 × 2 trees only check if northwestern-most sapling has a valid block below it
• MC-175975 – Pine trees ("Matchstick" and "Lollipop" small spruce tree variants) can never be grown from saplings
• And 6 other open issues.

Bedrock Edition

• MCPE-190286 – The sapling growth stage retreats incorrectly
• MCPE-62935 – Breaking bamboo creates bamboo sapling particle
• MCPE-93524 – Saplings will not grow next to logs
• MCPE-123453 – Oak/Birch Sapling planted next to Flowering Azalea & Flowering Azalea Leaves doesn't have a chance to grow with bee hives
• MCPE-145177 – Trees can grow through dirt, dark oak trees grow incorrectly if dirt is above the north-west sapling
• MCPE-155833 – Oak saplings grown without a flower nearby can generate bee nests in the tree
• MCPE-158081 – Spruce saplings only grow the same spruce tree variant

Trivia

• If the player stands on the same block as a placed tree sapling, the tree still grows over the player, causing suffocation as it pushes the player out of the block.

Gallery

Screenshots

• 

  Old Oak Sapling

In other media

• 

  Official render of Zuri, Sunny, and Efe planting an oak sapling for Arbor Day.

• 

  Kai thinking about planting a cherry sapling.

See also

• Fungi

External links

• Taking Inventory: Sapling – Minecraft.net on April 8, 2020