Nothing on this page is planted for how it looks the year it goes in. A shade tree spaced at its nursery size is a mistake that takes two decades to become obvious and costs several thousand dollars to correct, so the figures here are mature canopy spread.
Plant library · Spacing charts
Shade tree spacing chart
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.
Spacing across this chart runs from 18 ft (5.5 m) to 60 ft (18.3 m). Click any column heading to sort.
| Plant | Spacing | Mature size | USDA zones | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
American BeechFagus grandifolia
|
50 ft15.2 m | 70 ft tall, 60 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
American ElmUlmus americana
|
50 ft15.2 m | 80 ft tall, 60 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
American LindenTilia americana
|
35 ft10.7 m | 60 ft tall, 40 ft wide | 2–8 | Full Sun |
American SycamorePlatanus occidentalis
|
60 ft18.3 m | 90 ft tall, 70 ft wide | 4–9 | Full Sun |
Bald CypressTaxodium distichum
|
25 ft7.6 m | 60 ft tall, 25 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
Black TupeloNyssa sylvatica
|
35 ft10.7 m | 50 ft tall, 30 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
Black WalnutJuglans nigra
|
50 ft15.2 m | 70 ft tall, 60 ft wide | 4–9 | Full Sun |
Bur OakQuercus macrocarpa
|
60 ft18.3 m | 80 ft tall, 80 ft wide | 3–8 | Full Sun |
CatalpaCatalpa speciosa
|
35 ft10.7 m | 60 ft tall, 40 ft wide | 4–8 | Full Sun |
Chinese ElmUlmus parvifolia
|
35 ft10.7 m | 45 ft tall, 40 ft wide | 4–9 | Full Sun |
Chinese PistachePistacia chinensis
|
25 ft7.6 m | 30 ft tall, 30 ft wide | 6–9 | Full Sun |
Dawn RedwoodMetasequoia glyptostroboides
|
25 ft7.6 m | 85 ft tall, 25 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
GinkgoGinkgo biloba
|
35 ft10.7 m | 60 ft tall, 35 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
Green AshFraxinus pennsylvanica
|
35 ft10.7 m | 60 ft tall, 40 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
Honey LocustGleditsia triacanthos
|
35 ft10.7 m | 70 ft tall, 40 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
Japanese MapleAcer palmatum
|
18 ft5.5 m | 20 ft tall, 20 ft wide | 5–8 | Partial Shade |
Kentucky CoffeetreeGymnocladus dioicus
|
35 ft10.7 m | 55 ft tall, 35 ft wide | 3–8 | Full Sun |
Littleleaf LindenTilia cordata
|
35 ft10.7 m | 60 ft tall, 40 ft wide | 3–7 | Full Sun |
Live OakQuercus virginiana
|
60 ft18.3 m | 60 ft tall, 80 ft wide | 8–10 | Full Sun |
London Plane TreePlatanus x acerifolia
|
50 ft15.2 m | 80 ft tall, 60 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
Northern HackberryCeltis occidentalis
|
35 ft10.7 m | 50 ft tall, 40 ft wide | 2–9 | Full Sun |
Norway MapleAcer platanoides
|
35 ft10.7 m | 45 ft tall, 40 ft wide | 4–7 | Full Sun |
Paper BirchBetula papyrifera
|
30 ft9.1 m | 60 ft tall, 35 ft wide | 2–7 | Full Sun |
Pin OakQuercus palustris
|
35 ft10.7 m | 65 ft tall, 35 ft wide | 4–8 | Full Sun |
Red MapleAcer rubrum
|
40 ft12.2 m | 60 ft tall, 40 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
Red OakQuercus rubra
|
45 ft13.7 m | 70 ft tall, 45 ft wide | 3–8 | Full Sun |
River BirchBetula nigra
|
30 ft9.1 m | 50 ft tall, 35 ft wide | 4–9 | Full Sun |
Sawtooth OakQuercus acutissima
|
35 ft10.7 m | 50 ft tall, 40 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
Shumard OakQuercus shumardii
|
45 ft13.7 m | 60 ft tall, 50 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
Silver LindenTilia tomentosa
|
30 ft9.1 m | 50 ft tall, 35 ft wide | 4–7 | Full Sun |
Silver MapleAcer saccharinum
|
45 ft13.7 m | 70 ft tall, 50 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
Southern MagnoliaMagnolia grandiflora
|
35 ft10.7 m | 70 ft tall, 40 ft wide | 7–9 | Full Sun |
Sugar MapleAcer saccharum
|
45 ft13.7 m | 70 ft tall, 45 ft wide | 3–8 | Full Sun |
Swamp White OakQuercus bicolor
|
40 ft12.2 m | 60 ft tall, 50 ft wide | 3–8 | Full Sun |
SweetgumLiquidambar styraciflua
|
40 ft12.2 m | 70 ft tall, 45 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
Tulip TreeLiriodendron tulipifera
|
40 ft12.2 m | 80 ft tall, 40 ft wide | 4–9 | Full Sun |
Weeping WillowSalix babylonica
|
40 ft12.2 m | 40 ft tall, 40 ft wide | 4–9 | Full Sun |
White OakQuercus alba
|
55 ft16.8 m | 75 ft tall, 60 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
Willow OakQuercus phellos
|
40 ft12.2 m | 60 ft tall, 40 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
ZelkovaZelkova serrata
|
45 ft13.7 m | 60 ft tall, 50 ft wide | 5–8 | Full Sun |
Spacing is center to center — measure between planting holes, not between the edges of the plants. Mature size and hardiness ranges are catalog values and shift with cultivar and local conditions.
How to use this chart
Distance from buildings matters as much as distance from other trees. As a working minimum, keep the trunk at least half the mature canopy spread from a wall, further on the side of the house you want light on, and check the mature height against any overhead utility line before you dig — utility crews will top the tree, and a topped shade tree never recovers its form.
Closer than these distances is a deliberate technique, not an error, in two cases: a formal allée or street planting where you want the canopies to meet overhead, and a woodland planting where you intend to thin out half the trees later.