Dark Oak Sapling — Minecraft block

Dark Oak Sapling

Dark Oak Sapling grows a dark oak tree only when four are planted in a 2x2 square, dropping at 5% from dark forest leaves.

Block ID minecraft:dark_oak_sapling
Mod Vanilla
Game versions
1.21

Description

Dark Oak Sapling is the only way to grow a dark oak tree in Minecraft, but a single one will never sprout. Planting four Dark Oak Saplings in a 2x2 square on dirt or grass with at least 7 blocks of vertical clearance above grows the full dark oak canopy, which drops dark oak logs on harvest. Dark Oak Sapling is not craftable on any crafting table and never appears in generated structure chests. The only obtain method is a 5% drop chance from dark oak leaves when broken or allowed to decay, found exclusively in the Dark Forest biome (and Dark Forest Hills on Bedrock Edition). Bone meal forces the four-sapling cluster to grow instantly, even when natural light is below the normal threshold, which makes a compact leaf-drop farm the fastest renewable dark oak log source. A Fortune III axe raises the leaf-drop rate from 5% to 10%, doubling output per harvested canopy. Breaking leaves with shears or a Silk Touch tool suppresses the Dark Oak Sapling drop entirely, so use a plain axe or bare hand when farming. Dark Oak Sapling stacks to 64, breaks instantly with any tool, and counts as a fully renewable resource because a single grown tree returns far more saplings than the four planted.

Block properties

Item ID minecraft:dark_oak_sapling
/give command /give @p minecraft:dark_oak_sapling
Stackable Yes (64)
Best tool Hand (any)
Renewable Yes
Hardness 0
Blast resistance 0
Java Edition 1.7.2
Bedrock Edition 0.9.0

Guide

How to grow a Dark Oak Sapling into a dark oak tree in Minecraft

  1. 1

    Gather saplings from dark oak leaves

    Travel to the Dark Forest biome and break or let decay the dark oak leaves, which drop a Dark Oak Sapling at a 5% base rate.

  2. 2

    Pick a 2x2 planting spot

    Find four adjacent dirt or grass blocks with at least seven blocks of clear vertical space above the planting square.

  3. 3

    Plant four saplings together

    Place one Dark Oak Sapling on each of the four blocks in a 2x2 square, because a single sapling will never grow a dark oak tree.

  4. 4

    Apply bone meal

    Use bone meal on any of the four saplings to force instant growth even when the natural light level is below the normal threshold.

  5. 5

    Harvest the dark oak canopy

    Chop down the grown dark oak tree to collect dark oak logs and the extra saplings that the canopy leaves leave behind.

Tip

A Fortune III axe doubles the leaf-drop rate of Dark Oak Sapling from 5% to 10%, while shears or Silk Touch suppress the drop entirely.

Used in crafts

Related blocks

Frequently asked questions

How do you obtain a Dark Oak Sapling in Minecraft?

A Dark Oak Sapling drops with a 5% chance from dark oak leaves when broken or naturally decaying in the Dark Forest biome, and there is no crafting recipe or structure chest that ever contains one.

Does Fortune increase the Dark Oak Sapling drop rate?

Fortune I raises the leaf-drop rate to 6.25%, Fortune II to 8.33%, and Fortune III to 10%, doubling the sapling output compared with a bare hand or plain axe.

How many saplings are needed to grow a dark oak tree?

Four Dark Oak Saplings must be planted in a 2x2 square with at least seven blocks of vertical space above, because a single sapling will never grow into a dark oak tree.

Where do dark oak trees generate naturally?

Dark oak trees generate only in the Dark Forest biome on both Java Edition and Bedrock Edition, with Bedrock Edition also including the Dark Forest Hills variant.

Is Dark Oak Sapling renewable?

Dark Oak Sapling is fully renewable because every grown dark oak tree returns more saplings from its leaf canopy than the four that were planted to grow it.

What version added Dark Oak Sapling to Minecraft?

Dark Oak Sapling was added in Java Edition 1.7.2 (snapshot 13w43a) and in Bedrock Edition v0.9.0 alpha (build 1).

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