A sapling is an item that can be grown into a tree.
Obtaining
Saplings can be broken using any tool, and will always drop themselves.
Leaves
When leaves are broken by any tool except shears, they will have a 5% chance of dropping a sapling. Jungle leaves instead 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.
Natural generation
| Item | Structure | Container | Quantity | Chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Java Edition | ||||
| Oak Sapling | Village | Plains house chest | 1–2 | 48.2% |
| Weaponsmith's chest | 3–7 | 25.6% | ||
| 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% | ||
Dark oak saplings generate naturally in a certain room in woodland mansions. They are also found inside a chest in that room.
Usage
Growing trees
Saplings come in six varieties, one for each kind of tree: oak, birch, spruce, jungle, acacia, and dark oak.
Saplings can grow into trees when placed on dirt, podzol or a grass block. Oak, birch, and (normal) spruce can also grow on farmland, and 2×2 trees only check for dirt or grass under the northwestern-most sapling. The sapling requires a light level of at least 9, and require a certain amount of space around the sapling, based on its type:
- Oak needs at least 5 spaces above
- Birch needs at least 6 spaces above
- Spruce needs at least 7 spaces above when placing a single sapling
- Giant spruce needs at least 14 spaces above when planted as 4 saplings in a 2×2 square
- Jungle needs at least 5 spaces above when placing a single sapling
- Giant jungle needs at least 11 spaces above and 1 space adjacent when planted as 4 saplings in a 2×2 square
- Acacia needs at least 6 spaces above
- Dark Oak needs at least 7 spaces above and must be planted as 4 saplings in a 2×2 square
Bone meal can be used to speed up the growth of the sapling, and to grow the tree without sufficient light.
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 are checked; if the ground is bad or there is not space for the chosen height, the tree will not grow.
Oak saplings will grow through dirt, replacing it with wood trunks.
Single and Giant trees will not grow when they have an adjacent block next to them above ground, including half blocks. Single trees will allow objects to be placed at their diagonals without impeding growth, Giant will not.
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.
Data values
A sapling has the ID name minecraft:sapling and is further defined by its block data. A sapling also has a block state which is expected to replace the functionality of block data in a future version.
Block data
| Bits | Values |
|---|---|
| 0x1 0x2 0x4 |
A three-bit field storing a value of 0 to 5 specifying the type of sapling:
|
| 0x8 | Set if sapling is ready to grow into a tree. |
Block state
- Sapling
| Name | Default value | Allowed values | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| stage | 0 | 01 | Specifies the sapling's growth stage. |
| Name | Metadata Bits | Default value | Allowed values | Values for Metadata Bits |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| age_bit | 0x8 | false | falsetrue | 01 | Specifies the sapling's growth stage. |
| sapling_type | 0x10x20x4 | oak
| acacia | 4 | Acacia Sapling |
birch | 2 | Birch Sapling | |||
dark_oak | 5 | Dark Oak Sapling | |||
jungle | 3 | Jungle Sapling | |||
oak | 0 | Oak Sapling | |||
spruce | 1 | Spruce Sapling |
History
| pre-classic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rd-161348 | File:SaplingClassic0.0.13a.png Saplings were added to the game. | ||||
| classic | |||||
| 0.0.11a | File:SaplingClassic0.0.11a.png Changed texture. | ||||
| 0.0.13a | File:SaplingClassic0.0.13a.png The texture was changed back to the original. | ||||
| 0.24_06 | Saplings can grow into trees. | ||||
| indev | |||||
| ? | File:Sapling Indev.png Changed texture. | ||||
| infdev | |||||
| April 20, 2010 | Saplings can grow into fancy trees instead of the original pattern. | ||||
| June 7, 2010 | Saplings grow into regular trees again. | ||||
| beta | |||||
| 1.5 | Added birch and spruce saplings. Before, trees only dropped oak saplings, regardless of the tree. | ||||
| Saplings can now be used as fuel in furnaces. | |||||
| release | |||||
| 1.1 | Oak Saplings can be found in the new village blacksmith chests. | ||||
| 1.2.1 | 12w04a | File:Grid Sapling.png Changed texture of oak saplings. | |||
| Added Jungle saplings. | |||||
| 1.3.1 | 12w17a | Saplings now have names based on their type of tree. | |||
| 1.4.2 | 12w34a | Added the ability to place saplings in flower pots. | |||
| 1.7.2 | 13w43a | Added Acacia and Roofed Oak saplings. | |||
| 1.7-pre | Renamed Roofed Oak to Dark Oak. | ||||
| ? | Blocks can be replaced with wood by growing dark oak saplings. If pre-existing parts of a dark oak tree exist, the tree may randomly grow downwards, replacing any block in the way with wood. | ||||
| 1.8.2 | 1.8.2-pre4 | Blocks can no longer be replaced using dark oak saplings. | |||
| 1.11 | 16w39a | Dark oak and birch saplings now generate in woodland mansions. | |||
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||
| 0.3.2 | Added oak, birch and spruce saplings. | ||||
| 0.9.0 | build 1 | Added jungle, acacia and dark oak saplings. | |||
| build 5 | Spruce saplings can be used to grow mega spruce trees. | ||||
| Pocket Edition | |||||
| 1.1 | build 1 | Dark oak and birch saplings now generate in woodland mansions. | |||
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||
| TU1 | CU1 | 1.0 | Patch 1 | Added oak saplings. | |
| TU9 | Added birch and spruce saplings. | ||||
| TU12 | Added jungle saplings. | ||||
| TU31 | CU19 | 1.22 | Patch 3 | Added acacia and dark oak saplings. | |
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 sapling, the tree will still grow over the player, which will cause suffocation as it pushes the player out of the block.
- Saplings can grow without the required amount of light if bone meal is used.
Gallery
