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This article is about the saplings obtainable by breaking leaves of their respective tree types. For the block used to grow an azalea tree, see Azalea. For the block used to grow a mangrove tree, see Mangrove Propagule. For the block used to grow bamboo, see Bamboo shoot.

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.

Natural generation[]

Spruce

Potted spruce saplings generate in taiga and snowy taiga[BE only] village mason houses.

Birch

Potted birch saplings generate in a room in woodland mansions.

Dark oak

58 dark oak saplings generate naturally in a "sapling farm room" in woodland mansions. 28 dark oak saplings are also found inside a chest in that room.

Acacia

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

Chest loot[]

Item Structure Container Quantity Chance
Java Edition
Oak Sapling Village Plains house chest 1–2 48.2%
Weaponsmith's chest 3–7 25.6%
Spruce Sapling Village Taiga house chest 1–5 40.6%
Acacia Sapling Village Savanna house chest 1–2 71.7%
Bedrock Edition
Oak Sapling Bonus chest Chest 4 14.3%
Village Cartographer's chest 1–2 26.3%
Plains house chest 1–2 48.2%
Weaponsmith's chest 3–7 25.6%
Spruce Sapling Bonus chest Chest 4 14.3%
Village Taiga house chest 1–5 43.7%
Acacia Sapling Bonus chest Chest 4 14.3%
Village Savanna house chest 1–2 71.7%
Dark Oak Sapling Bonus chest Chest 4 14.3%

Post-generation[]

When leaves decay, or are broken by any tool except shears, they have a 5% chance of dropping a sapling, except for jungle leaves, which have a 2.5% chance of dropping a sapling. The Fortune enchantment increases the rate to 6.25% (2.78% for jungle leaves) at level I, 8.33% (3.125% for jungle leaves) at level II, and 10% (4.17% for jungle leaves) at level III.

Trading[]

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

Usage[]

Growing trees[]

See also: Tree

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

Saplings have two growth stages (with no visible difference between them) 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 not 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 sapling requires a light level of at least 9, and require a certain volume of space 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 (6x6 column) when planted as 4 saplings in a 2×2 square. Also requires the 4x4 area centered on the saplings at the same level to be empty.[1]
  • 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 4x4 area centered on the saplings at the same level to be empty.[1]
  • Acacia needs at least 6 spaces above (5×5 column).
  • Dark oak needs at least 7 spaces above (6×6 column) and must be planted as 4 saplings in a 2×2 square.
  • A cherry tree requires a 5×5 area of unobstructed space 8 blocks above its sapling to grow (9 blocks including the sapling itself). No horizontal clearance is needed at the base of the tree (a sapling planted in a hole 1 block deep can still grow). Their growth is not hindered by logs, leaves or saplings.

In addition:

  • Saplings can grow only if a player is within a certain radius, even in loaded chunks. For oak saplings, this check applies to individual blocks; for dark oak, acacia and birch, it applies to each chunk.
  • 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).

Dirt blocks in the space above the sapling are an exception. Dirt blocks do not stop the sapling from growing. For most tree types, including giant versions, the dirt remains in place and the rest of the tree generates normally around it (it is possible to grow a tree that contains only one log block at the original sapling location, with a column of dirt above where the rest of the trunk should be and leaves spreading out from it). For the large variant of oak trees, the dirt blocks are replaced with log blocks wherever they would normally occur. In Java Edition, all types of log block and wood block and their stripped versions are also treated like dirt blocks (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 and birch trees grown from saplings that are within 2 blocks of any flower, flowering azalea,‌[JE only] or flowering azalea leaves[JE only] have a 5% chance to grow with a bee nest and 1-3 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:

SoundSubtitlesSourceDescriptionResource locationTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
File:Bamboo Sapling dig1.oggFile:Bamboo Sapling dig2.oggFile:Bamboo Sapling dig3.oggFile:Bamboo Sapling dig4.oggFile:Bamboo Sapling dig5.oggFile:Bamboo Sapling dig6.oggBlock brokenBlocksOnce the block has brokenblock.cherry_sapling.breaksubtitles.block.generic.break1.00.816
Block placedBlocksWhen the block is placedblock.cherry_sapling.placesubtitles.block.generic.place1.00.816
File:Bamboo Sapling hit1.oggFile:Bamboo Sapling hit2.oggFile:Bamboo Sapling hit3.oggFile:Bamboo Sapling hit4.oggFile:Bamboo Sapling hit5.oggBlock breakingBlocksWhile the block is in the process of being brokenblock.cherry_sapling.hitsubtitles.block.generic.hit0.250.516
None[sound 1]Entity-DependentFalling on the block with fall damageblock.cherry_sapling.fallNone[sound 1]0.50.7516
FootstepsEntity-DependentWalking on the blockblock.cherry_sapling.stepsubtitles.block.generic.footsteps0.151.016
  1. a b MC-177082

Bedrock Edition:

SoundSourceDescriptionResource locationVolumePitch
File:Bamboo Sapling dig1.oggFile:Bamboo Sapling dig2.oggFile:Bamboo Sapling dig3.oggFile:Bamboo Sapling dig4.oggFile:Bamboo Sapling dig5.oggFile:Bamboo Sapling dig6.oggBlocksOnce the block has brokenblock.bamboo_sapling.break0.90.8-1.0
BlocksWhen the block is placedblock.bamboo_sapling.place0.850.8-1.0

Other saplings[]

Java Edition:

SoundSubtitlesSourceDescriptionResource locationTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
File:Grass dig1.oggFile:Grass dig2.oggFile:Grass dig3.oggFile:Grass dig4.oggBlock brokenBlocksOnce the block has brokenblock.grass.breaksubtitles.block.generic.break1.00.816
Block placedBlocksWhen the block is placedblock.grass.placesubtitles.block.generic.place1.00.816
File:Grass mining1.oggFile:Grass mining2.oggFile:Grass mining3.oggFile:Grass mining4.oggFile:Grass mining5.oggFile:Grass mining6.oggBlock breakingBlocksWhile the block is in the process of being brokenblock.grass.hitsubtitles.block.generic.hit0.250.516
File:Grass hit1.oggFile:Grass hit2.oggFile:Grass hit3.oggFile:Grass hit4.oggFile:Grass hit5.oggFile:Grass hit6.oggNone[sound 1]Entity-DependentFalling on the block with fall damageblock.grass.fallNone[sound 1]0.50.7516
File:Grass hit1.oggFile:Grass hit2.oggFile:Grass hit3.oggFile:Grass hit4.oggFile:Grass hit5.oggFile:Grass hit6.oggFootstepsEntity-DependentWalking on the blockblock.grass.stepsubtitles.block.generic.footsteps0.151.016
  1. a b MC-177082

Bedrock Edition:

SoundSourceDescriptionResource locationVolumePitch
File:Grass dig1.oggFile:Grass dig2.oggFile:Grass dig3.oggFile:Grass dig4.oggBlocksOnce the block has brokendig.grass0.70.8-1.0
BlocksWhen the block is placeddig.grass0.80.8-1.0
File:Grass hit1.oggFile:Grass hit2.oggFile:Grass hit3.oggFile:Grass hit4.oggFile:Grass hit5.oggFile:Grass hit6.oggBlocksWhile the block is in the process of being brokenhit.grass0.30.5
PlayersFalling on the block with fall damagefall.grass0.41.0
PlayersWalking on the blockstep.grass0.31.0
PlayersJumping from the blockjump.grass0.111.0
PlayersFalling on the block without fall damageland.grass0.211.0

Data values[]

ID[]

Java Edition:

NameIdentifierFormBlock tagsItem tagsTranslation key
Oak Saplingoak_saplingBlock & Itemsaplingssaplingsblock.minecraft.oak_sapling
Spruce Saplingspruce_saplingBlock & Itemsaplingssaplingsblock.minecraft.spruce_sapling
Birch Saplingbirch_saplingBlock & Itemsaplingssaplingsblock.minecraft.birch_sapling
Jungle Saplingjungle_saplingBlock & Itemsaplingssaplingsblock.minecraft.jungle_sapling
Acacia Saplingacacia_saplingBlock & Itemsaplingssaplingsblock.minecraft.acacia_sapling
Dark Oak Saplingdark_oak_saplingBlock & Itemsaplingssaplingsblock.minecraft.dark_oak_sapling
Cherry Saplingcherry_saplingBlock & Itemsaplingssaplingsblock.minecraft.cherry_sapling

Bedrock Edition:

NameIdentifierNumeric ID FormItem ID[i 1]Translation key
Saplingsapling6Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.sapling.oak.name
tile.sapling.spruce.name
tile.sapling.birch.name
tile.sapling.jungle.name
tile.sapling.acacia.name
tile.sapling.big_oak.name
Cherry Saplingcherry_sapling-547Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.cherry_sapling.name
  1. ID of block's direct item form, which is used in savegame files and addons.
  2. a b Available with /give command.
  3. a b The block's direct item form has the same id as the block.

Block states[]

See also: Block states

Java Edition:

Sapling
Name Default value Allowed values Description
stage00
1
Specifies the sapling's growth stage.

Bedrock Edition:

NameMetadata Bits Default value Allowed valuesValues for
Metadata Bits
Description
age_bit0x8falsefalse
true
0
1
Specifies the sapling's growth stage.
sapling_type0x1
0x2
0x4
oak acacia4Acacia Sapling
birch2Birch Sapling
dark_oak5Dark Oak Sapling
jungle3Jungle Sapling
oak0Oak Sapling
spruce1Spruce Sapling

History[]

Java Edition pre-Classic
rd-161348Oak Sapling JE1 Added saplings.
Java Edition Classic
0.0.13aOak Sapling JE2 Changed texture and model of saplings.
August 25, 2009Notch showed saplings growing into trees.
0.24_SURVIVAL_TESTAdded tree growth.
Java Edition Indev
0.3120091223-1Oak Sapling JE3 Saplings now have a stretched model with wider texture planes.
20100110Oak Sapling JE4 The texture of saplings has been changed.
Java Edition Infdev
20100413Saplings can now grow into big trees instead of the original pattern.
20100607Saplings grow into regular trees again.
Java Edition Beta
1.5Spruce Sapling JE1 Birch Sapling JE1 Spruce Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 Birch Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 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.[more information needed] This was presumably due to the data now used for specifying sapling type previously being used for age calculations.[verify]
1.8Pre-releaseOak Sapling JE5 move Changed lighting.
Java Edition
1.112w01aOak saplings can now be found in the new village blacksmith chests.
1.2.112w04aJungle Sapling JE1 Jungle Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 Added jungle saplings.
Oak Sapling JE6 Oak Sapling (texture) JE4 BE2 The texture of oak saplings has been changed.
1.3.112w17aSaplings now have names based on their type of tree.
1.4.212w34aPotted Oak Sapling JE1 Potted Spruce Sapling JE1 Potted Birch Sapling JE1 Potted Jungle Sapling JE1 The ability to place saplings in flower pots has been added.
1.7.213w43aAcacia Sapling JE1 Dark Oak Sapling JE1
Potted Acacia Sapling JE1 Potted Dark Oak Sapling JE1
Acacia Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 Dark Oak Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 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.
1.814w07aOak Sapling JE7 Spruce Sapling JE2 Birch Sapling JE2 Jungle Sapling JE2 Acacia Sapling JE2 Dark Oak Sapling JE2 Sapling texture planes are no longer stretched by a factor of sqrt2.
14w10aMissing Model JE2 Missing Model JE2 Missing Model JE2 Missing Model JE2 Missing Model JE2 Missing Model JE2 Saplings of metadata 8-13 (closer to growth) now have no model.
14w10bSaplings 8-13 now have models again.
14w10cOak Sapling JE8 move Spruce Sapling JE3 Birch Sapling JE3 Jungle Sapling JE3 Acacia Sapling JE3 Dark Oak Sapling JE3 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.
14w17aOak Sapling JE9 Spruce Sapling JE4 Birch Sapling JE4 Jungle Sapling JE4 Acacia Sapling JE4 Dark Oak Sapling JE4 Sapling texture planes are now the same size as they were before 14w07a.
14w25aOak Sapling JE10 move Spruce Sapling JE5 Birch Sapling JE5 Jungle Sapling JE5 Acacia Sapling JE5 Dark Oak Sapling JE5 Saplings are now affected by the same shading full blocks are.
14w26aOak Sapling JE11 move Spruce Sapling JE6 Birch Sapling JE6 Jungle Sapling JE6 Acacia Sapling JE6 Dark Oak Sapling JE6 Saplings are no longer subject to shading.
1.8.2pre4Blocks can no longer be replaced using dark oak tree growth.
1.1116w39aDark oak and birch saplings now generate in woodland mansions.
1.1418w43aOak Sapling JE12 Spruce Sapling JE7 Birch Sapling JE7 Jungle Sapling JE7 Acacia Sapling JE7 Dark Oak Sapling JE7
Potted Oak Sapling JE4 Potted Spruce Sapling JE4 Potted Birch Sapling JE4 Potted Jungle Sapling JE4 Potted Acacia Sapling JE4 Potted Dark Oak Sapling JE4
Oak Sapling (texture) JE5 BE3 Spruce Sapling (texture) JE2 BE2 Birch Sapling (texture) JE2 BE2 Jungle Sapling (texture) JE2 BE2 Acacia Sapling (texture) JE2 BE2 Dark Oak Sapling (texture) JE2 BE2 The textures of all saplings have been changed.
18w48aOak saplings can now be found in chests in plains village houses.
18w49aAcacia saplings can now be found in chests in savanna village houses.
Acacia saplings now generate in front of savanna village libraries.
18w50aSpruce saplings can now be found in chests in taiga village houses.
Potted spruce saplings now generate in taiga village mason houses.
19w03aPlacing a sapling into the new composter block has a 10% chance of raising the compost level by 1.
19w05aSaplings now have a 30% chance of increasing the compost level in a composter by 1.
Added wandering traders, which sell all types of saplings.
1.1519w34aBee nests were added, which have a chance to generate on trees grown from saplings.[more information needed]
19w35aBee nests can no longer generate on trees grown from saplings.
1.15.2Pre-Release 1Oak 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.
1.1721w11aOak Sapling JE13 Changed lighting.
21w16aSaplings can now be planted and grown on mycelium and moss blocks.[2]
1.1821w39aOak Sapling JE14 The default brightness has been changed from "Moody" to 50.
1.20
(Experimental)
23w07aCherry Sapling JE1 Cherry Sapling (texture) JE1 Added cherry saplings behind the Update 1.20 experimental datapack.
1.19.4-pre2Cherry Sapling JE2 Cherry Sapling (texture) JE2 Changed the texture of cherry saplings.
1.2023w12aCherry saplings are now available without using the "Update 1.20" experimental datapack.
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.3.2Oak Sapling JE4 BE1 Spruce Sapling JE6 BE1 Birch Sapling JE6 BE1
Oak Sapling (texture) JE3 BE1 Spruce Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 Birch Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 Added oak, spruce, and birch saplings.
v0.3.3Saplings are now available in the creative inventory.
v0.8.0build 1Oak Sapling JE10 BE2 Oak Sapling (texture) JE4 BE2 The texture of oak saplings has been changed.
Saplings can now be used as fuel in a furnace.
v0.9.0build 1Jungle Sapling JE6 BE1 Acacia Sapling JE6 BE1 Dark Oak Sapling JE6 BE1
Jungle Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 Acacia Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 Dark Oak Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 Added jungle, acacia and dark oak saplings.
build 5Spruce saplings can now be used to grow mega spruce trees.
Pocket Edition
1.1.0alpha 1.1.0.0Dark oak and birch saplings now generate in woodland mansions.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.0beta 1.2.0.2Saplings can now be found in bonus chests.
1.10.0beta 1.10.0.3Saplings 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.
Oak Sapling JE11 BE3 Spruce Sapling JE7 BE2 Birch Sapling JE7 BE2 Jungle Sapling JE7 BE2 Acacia Sapling JE7 BE2 Dark Oak Sapling JE7 BE2
Oak Sapling (texture) JE5 BE3 Spruce Sapling (texture) JE2 BE2 Birch Sapling (texture) JE2 BE2 Jungle Sapling (texture) JE2 BE2 Acacia Sapling (texture) JE2 BE2 Dark Oak Sapling (texture) JE2 BE2 The textures of all saplings have been changed.
1.11.0beta 1.11.0.1Oak 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.
1.16.0beta 1.15.0.51Oak 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.
Next Major Update
(Experimental)
beta 1.19.80.20Cherry Sapling JE1 Cherry Sapling (texture) JE1 Added cherry saplings behind the "Next Major Update" experimental toggle.
1.20.0beta 1.20.0.21Cherry saplings are now available without using the "Next Major Update" experimental toggle.
Legacy Console Edition
TU1CU1 1.0 Patch 11.0.1Oak Sapling JE4 BE1 Spruce Sapling JE6 BE1 Birch Sapling JE6 BE1
Oak Sapling (texture) JE3 BE1 Spruce Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 Birch Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 Added oak, spruce, and birch saplings.
TU12Jungle Sapling JE6 BE1 Jungle Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 Added jungle saplings.
TU31CU19 1.22 Patch 3Acacia Sapling JE6 BE1 Dark Oak Sapling JE6 BE1
Acacia Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 Dark Oak Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 Added acacia and dark oak saplings.
1.90 Oak Sapling JE11 BE3 Spruce Sapling JE7 BE2 Birch Sapling JE7 BE2 Jungle Sapling JE7 BE2 Acacia Sapling JE7 BE2 Dark Oak Sapling JE7 BE2
Oak Sapling (texture) JE5 BE3 Spruce Sapling (texture) JE2 BE2 Birch Sapling (texture) JE2 BE2 Jungle Sapling (texture) JE2 BE2 Acacia Sapling (texture) JE2 BE2 Dark Oak Sapling (texture) JE2 BE2 The textures of all saplings have been changed.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0Oak Sapling JE4 BE1 Spruce Sapling JE6 BE1 Birch Sapling JE6 BE1 Jungle Sapling JE6 BE1 Acacia Sapling JE6 BE1 Dark Oak Sapling JE6 BE1
Oak Sapling (texture) JE3 BE1 Spruce Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 Birch Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 Jungle Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 Acacia Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 Dark Oak Sapling (texture) JE1 BE1 Added saplings.

Data history[]

Java Edition
1.814w10aSaplings with numerical metadata variants 6, 7, 14 and 15, which are inaccessible through normal gameplay, now have no model Missing Model JE2 rather than appearing identical to dark oak saplings.
14w25aSaplings 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 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
[more information needed]
14w26aSaplings with metadata values 6, 7, 14 and 15 have been completely removed from the game.
1.1317w47aThe different type block states for the sapling ID have been split up into their own IDs.
Prior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 6.

Issues[]

Issues relating to "Sapling" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

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[]

Renders[]

See also[]

References[]

External Links[]

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