Tree spacing: the 3×3 planting rule

Direct answer

Leave a completely clear 3×3 square when planting a regular tree or fruit tree. The reviewed tree pages describe the space as a growth requirement: crops, debris, other trees, buildings, furniture, and water in that square can prevent the tree from reaching full size. A separate player report describes the same 3×3 planting rule, so this guide treats it as a spacing rule rather than a guessed sprite footprint.

How to use the rule

1. Choose the centre tile for the sapling.
2. Keep the surrounding 3×3 square clear before planting; do not reserve only the centre tile.
3. Check the surrounding tiles again before placing furniture, buildings, or another sapling nearby.
4. For fruit trees, remember that the same spacing rule applies inside a greenhouse; the greenhouse changes the growing environment, not the tree’s clearance requirement.

What the rule does not prove

The 3×3 requirement is a planting and full-growth clearance rule. It is not a verified exterior collision footprint for barns, coops, greenhouses, the farmhouse, or every furniture item. The Farm Planner therefore does not import this page as a universal building collision definition.

The same caution applies to the 5×5 and 10×10 greenhouse figures in the farm-building guide: those are internal growing-space capacities, not the outside tile padding used by placement checks.

Next step

If a sapling refuses to plant, clear the full 3×3 area first and retry. If the issue persists, record the installed version and the exact tile state instead of assuming that a building footprint or seasonal rule is responsible. For layout export and collision-safe building placement, use only object definitions that carry their own evidence label.