Trees, glorious trees. If you’re looking to make radical changes on your island, knowing the difference between your cedar saplings and your hardwood trees will make all the difference when it comes to shifting things around.
Rather than growing trees at random without knowing what the end product will look like, here’s what you need to know about trees, and in particular, cedar saplings – before you get planting!
What is a cedar sapling in ACNH?
A cedar sapling is a baby cedar tree. The cedar tree is the Christmas tree-esque evergreen that pretty much stays the same color all year round. Unlike their hardwood counterparts, Cedar trees will never grow fruit or money.
In winter, cedar trees look especially festive as the snow settles on the tips of the branches, and lights are twirled around them, creating a cozy glow on your island.
You can sell cedar saplings for 160 bells at Nook’s Cranny and buy them for 640 bells.
If you’re after a cedar sapling but don’t want to spend the bells at Timmy and Tommy’s, check your recycle box in Resident Services every so often. Sometimes, a cedar sapling will be donated, so you can pick it up for free!
You can also eat a piece of fruit to get super strength and dig up any trees you see on Mystery Islands; this is a great workaround to fill your island with free, fully-grown trees!
How do you grow cedar saplings in Animal Crossing?
Saplings are tiny trees, or more specifically, trees that have just been planted.
As a tree grows, it’ll move out of the sapling stage and fall into more adult categories e.g nursery cedar, or medium-growth cedar.
Whichever type of sapling you’ve planted, it’ll take four days to go from baby tree to fully-grown foliage.
If you want to stunt the growth of a cedar tree whilst in its younger stages, simply bury a piece of fruit directly behind it. The tree’s growth will be blocked by the buried fruit immediately behind it, and you can keep your cedar sampling looking tiny forever!
Aside from palm trees, other tree types can’t grow on the beach so plant your cedar sapling on an area of grass or dirt.
For it to fully form, there can only be items or walls adjacent to it, and not directly on either side of it.
Do cedar trees do anything in Animal Crossing?
Cedar trees often bear furniture, as each day your player can shake trees to find two items of furniture hiding in trees. However, it’s not guaranteed to be in your cedar trees so make sure to shake as many cedar and hardwood trees as possible.
During fall, you can shake cedar trees to get acorns and pinecones which can be used in seasonal DIYs.
In winter, shake your cedar trees to receive different colored baubles. These brightly-colored baubles can then be used to craft festive DIYs for a Christmas-themed island!
What is the difference between a sapling and a cedar sapling?
Whilst the cedar sapling is the baby version of the cedar tree, a sapling in ACNH is the tiny version of a hardwood tree.
Hardwood trees change color throughout the year, depending on the season. Hardwood tree types can grow fruit (except coconuts) and money on their branches, however, this will only happen if you plant a piece of fruit or bag of bells in a golden spot respectively.
If you plant a sapling, then you can expect a no-frills hardwood tree with no fruit or money to grow.
Both cedar and hardwood trees can be chopped or hacked with an axe for wood resources. With your newly-chopped logs, you can create a whole host of DIYs, like the handy wooden sign or the versatile simple wooden fence.
Cedar saplings in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
These evergreen trees are a great addition to your island, especially during seasonal events like Toy Day and during fall.
Cedar saplings take four days to grow into full-grown trees, but their growth can be stunted by placing fruit directly behind the growing tree.
Although cedars don’t vary too much in color throughout the year, hardwood trees do change color and can provide a pop of seasonality to your island!
Recently had an ACNH break? Don’t sweat the small stuff, we all do it.
But if you’ve returned to find your island overrun with weeds, check out our guide on Lief’s weeding service (and whether it’s as useful as he makes it out to be)!