Plant library  ·  Spacing charts

Plant spacing charts

Center-to-center planting distances for 727 garden plants, grouped by what you are planting. Every chart lists mature spread alongside the spacing, because the two together are what decide whether a planting closes into a hedge, meets neatly, or leaves bare ground — and they are the numbers the Garden Scheme planner applies when you draw a bed to scale.

• Vegetable spacing chart84 plants

  In-row spacing for 84 vegetables, measured center to center, alongside mature size, hardiness zones, and sun needs. These are the same figures the Garden Scheme planner applies when you draw a bed to scale.

• Herb spacing chart49 plants

  Center-to-center spacing for 49 herbs, with mature spread, hardiness zones, and sun needs — the working numbers for laying out an herb bed rather than a list of seed-packet minimums.

• Perennial spacing chart109 plants

  Center-to-center spacing for 109 perennials, with mature spread, hardiness zones, and sun needs. Spacing assumes each plant is growing to the size it reaches in its third season, not the size it arrives in.

• Annual flower spacing chart50 plants

  Center-to-center spacing for 50 annual flowers, with mature height and spread, bloom season, and sun needs — spacing for plants that get one season to fill their space.

• Shrub and hedge spacing chart86 plants

  Center-to-center spacing for 86 shrubs, with mature spread, hardiness zones, and a separate figure for hedge and screen planting where the goal is a continuous line rather than individual plants.

• Conifer and evergreen spacing chart46 plants

  Center-to-center spacing for 46 conifers and evergreens, with mature spread and a separate hedge figure for privacy screens, windbreaks, and clipped evergreen hedges.

• Shade tree spacing chart40 plants

  Center-to-center spacing for 40 shade trees, with mature height and canopy spread — spacing for the crown the tree carries at maturity, which for most of this list is thirty years out.

• Ornamental and flowering tree spacing chart45 plants

  Center-to-center spacing for 45 ornamental and flowering trees, with mature height and spread, bloom season, and sun needs.

• Fruit tree spacing chart45 plants

  Center-to-center spacing for 45 fruit trees, with mature size, hardiness zones, and harvest season — baseline distances for a home orchard, before rootstock adjustments.

• Berry and small fruit spacing chart29 plants

  Center-to-center spacing for 29 berries and small fruits, with mature size, hardiness zones, and harvest season — in-row spacing for cane fruit, bush fruit, and fruiting vines.

• Ground cover spacing chart25 plants

  Center-to-center spacing for 25 ground covers, with mature spread, hardiness zones, and sun needs. For ground cover more than any other category, spacing is a straight trade between plant count and how long you wait for coverage.

• Ornamental grass spacing chart25 plants

  Center-to-center spacing for 25 ornamental grasses, with mature height and spread, hardiness zones, and sun needs — spacing for drifts and mass plantings as well as single specimens.

• Vine and climber spacing chart25 plants

  Center-to-center spacing for 25 vines and climbers, with mature size, hardiness zones, and sun needs — spacing measured along the support the plant will cover.

• Palm and tropical plant spacing chart25 plants

  Center-to-center spacing for 25 palms and tropicals, with mature height and crown spread, hardiness zones, and sun needs — spacing set by the crown, not the trunk.

• Succulent and cactus spacing chart29 plants

  Center-to-center spacing for 29 succulents and cacti, with mature size, hardiness zones, and sun needs — for rock gardens, dry borders, and container arrangements.

• Fern and shade plant spacing chart15 plants

  Center-to-center spacing for 15 ferns and shade-tolerant plants, with mature spread, hardiness zones, and light needs — spacing for shade borders and woodland plantings.