How to Use This Tree Spacing Calculator

This calculator quickly tells you how many trees you can plant per acre based on the distance between rows and the distance between trees in each row.

• Choose the row spacing (X) in feet from the first dropdown – this is the distance between each planted row.
• Choose the tree spacing within the row (Y) from the second dropdown – this is the distance between individual trees in the same row.
• Click “Compute trees per acre” to calculate how many trees you can plant on one acre at that spacing.

Tip: Use wider row spacing when you need access for tractors, harvesters, or pruning equipment, and tighter in-row spacing when you want a denser stand, orchard, or windbreak.

Understanding Cave Ecosystems: An Overview

Use closer spacing for short-rotation biomass, pulpwood, or Christmas trees, and wider spacing for high-value sawlogs, nuts, or long-lived shade trees. Pair this tool with the Tree Value Calculator and Tree Carbon Calculator to align tree spacing with your ROI and carbon sequestration goals.

Are Hardwood Trees Spaced Farther Apart Than Softwood Trees?

In most timber plantations, hardwood trees are spaced farther apart than softwood trees—often by a factor of 1.5–2×—to give their broad crowns and deep roots room to develop. For example:

• Two Black Walnut hardwood trees grown for high-value timber should be planted at least 30 feet apart.
• Two Loblolly Pine softwood trees grown for pole wood can be planted as close as 12 feet apart.

Wider spacing allows hardwoods to reach diameter at breast height (DBH) and clear log lengths suitable for veneer and sawlogs, while closer spacing in softwoods produces straighter poles and more tonnage per acre on shorter rotations.

Recommended Planting Distances Between Different Types of Trees

Tree Spacing Calculator – Recommended Hardwood Spacing

These distances are typical final spacing for hardwood plantations grown for timber. Some growers start closer and thin, but most hardwoods are not heavily thinned like softwoods.

• Beech: 20 ft. Tree Spacing Calculator recommendation: 20 ft for American Beech, 24 ft for European Beech.
• Black Cherry: 18 ft between trees.
• Black Locust: 24 ft between trees.
• Black Walnut: 30 ft between trees.
• American Chestnut: 28 ft between trees.
• Elm: 20 ft between trees. Calculator recommendation: 20 ft for American Elm, 24 ft for Dutch Elm.
• Eucalyptus: 25 ft between trees.
• Mahogany: 25 ft between trees.
• Birch: 17 ft between trees. Calculator recommendation: 17 ft for Paper Birch, 21 ft for Yellow Birch.
• Oak: 22 ft between trees. Calculator recommendation: 23 ft for Red Oak, 26 ft for White Oak.
• Rosewood: 23 ft between trees.
• Teak: 22 ft between trees.
• Ash: 20 ft between trees. Calculator recommendation: 20 ft for Green Ash, 23 ft for White Ash.

Tree Spacing Calculator – Recommended Softwood Spacing

Softwoods are often planted closer together, especially where trees will be thinned for pulp, poles, or biomass before final timber harvest.

• Douglas Fir: 16 ft between trees.
• Hybrid Poplar: 15 ft between trees.
• Loblolly Pine: 12 ft between trees.
• Paulownia: 16 ft between trees.
• Western Red Cedar: 18 ft between trees.
• White Pine: 20 ft between trees.

What Is the Spacing Between Trees When You Grow Trees in Rows?

In traditional row plantations, softwoods are often double-spaced: planted at 6–8 feet apart initially with the expectation of thinning every second tree for pulp or pole wood. Hardwoods grown for timber are usually planted wider—between 15 and 25 feet apart—and may not be thinned as aggressively.

Row plantations leave ample space for mechanical harvesters, skidders, and log trucks. Row spacing typically ranges from 20 to 30 feet, depending on tree species and equipment size. Softwood plantations require less spacing than hardwoods, which need room for wide-branched crowns (oaks, maples, etc.) to fall safely during harvest.

For long-term forest health and diversified income, it is often recommended to alternate tree species by rows—for example, a row of maples next to a row of oaks, or conifer rows alternating with deciduous rows. This diversifies ROI, spreads risk, and improves overall stand resilience. While the number of trees per acre in a row plantation can be higher than in a spiral plantation, growth rates are often slower than in optimized spiral patterns.

Spiral Tree Plantations – A Better Way to Grow

Although fewer trees are planted per acre in a spiral plantation, the geometric layout of a Crop Circle tree plantation can increase growth rates by as much as 20%. Faster growth means that harvest and return on investment occur sooner than in a conventional row plantation, more than making up for the lower trees-per-acre count.

Spacing between trees in a spiral layout is similar to a rowed plantation, but spacing between “rows” (spiral arms) is typically set at 25 feet for both softwoods and hardwoods. Mixing species along the spiral—such as planting a white pine, then a sugar maple, then a red oak and repeating—achieves both investment diversification and improved plantation health.

Timber is usually hand harvested and trucked out of the plantation, preserving veneer sawlog quality and supporting secondary revenue activities such as branch-trimming for pellet production and periodic pole-log harvesting.

Donate Land

Partner with us in a land management and tree asset project that repurposes agricultural lands into appreciating forest and carbon assets. We have partnered with Growing to Give , a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, to create tree planting partnerships with land donors.

Hire Us as a Consultant

• To design and plant a tree plantation on your land.
• To help you enroll trees into a carbon credit program.
• To build a fast-growing tree nursery for seedlings or liners.

Your Land: Our Trees

We have partnered with Growing to Give , a Washington State nonprofit, to create a land and tree partnership program that repurposes flat, fallow farmland into appreciating tree assets.

The program uses privately owned land to plant trees that benefit both the landowner and the environment. You provide the land; we provide the tree plantation design, planting, and management plan.

If you have 100 acres or more of suitable farmland and would like to plant trees, we would like to talk with you. There are no upfront costs to enter the program. You own the land and you own the trees we plant, and there are no restrictions—you can sell or transfer the land with the trees at any time.

Tree Spacing Calculator FAQ

How do I calculate distance between trees in a plantation?

Start by choosing your planting pattern: square, rectangular, or triangular. For most timber and orchard layouts, you’ll use a square or rectangular grid. Set the row spacing (X) and the in-row spacing (Y), then plug those into the Tree Spacing Calculator to see trees per acre. For diagonal distance between trees in a square or rectangular grid, use the Pythagorean theorem (a² + b² = c²) to calculate corner-to-corner spacing. Always adjust for mature canopy width, equipment access, and the critical root zone.

How do I figure out how many trees per acre?

Convert your spacing to feet, then multiply row spacing by in-row spacing to get the square feet per tree. Divide 43,560 (square feet in one acre) by that result. Example: 10 ft × 12 ft = 120 sq ft per tree; 43,560 ÷ 120 ≈ 363 trees per acre. The calculator on this page does this math for you in one click.

What spacing works best for orchards?

Orchard spacing depends on species, rootstock, and training system. Dwarf fruit trees on high-density systems may be planted much closer than full-size trees. Use square or rectangular spacing that gives good light and airflow around each canopy, and follow cultivar-specific guidelines from your nursery or extension service. Once you pick your row and in-row spacing, enter them in the Tree Spacing Calculator to see trees per acre for that layout.

How should I space landscape trees in a yard?

For yard and street trees, use the mature canopy spread as your guide. A simple rule of thumb is to space trees at least half the mature canopy width apart (for example, a 30-foot canopy suggests about 15 feet minimum spacing). Give extra clearance from buildings, driveways, and overhead lines. Unlike plantations, landscape trees don’t need formal rows, but you can still use the calculator to test different spacing distances and compare how many trees would fit per acre.

Does tree spacing change for windbreaks and shelterbelts?

Yes. Windbreaks often use closer in-row spacing and multiple staggered rows to create a dense barrier. Closer spacing blocks wind faster but can require earlier thinning. Choose distances based on species, desired density, and equipment access, then run several spacing combinations through the calculator to compare trees per acre and total planting stock required.

Can I mix species and still use the Tree Spacing Calculator?

Absolutely. When you mix species (for example, alternating hardwoods and softwoods or combining timber and wildlife trees), base your layout on the largest mature canopy and root zone in the mix. Enter a conservative spacing into the calculator to estimate trees per acre, then adjust your species pattern within that framework for biodiversity, staggered harvests, and better overall forest health.