🌱Plant Spacing Calculator

About this tool

Enter the bed's length and width, or its total area, and the spacing on the plant label. You'll get the number of plants for a square grid and for an offset (triangular) layout, plus plants per square foot or square metre. Switch to Row or hedge to count plants along a line, in single or double rows.

Square grid or triangular spacing?

Spacing is the distance between the centres of neighbouring plants, and it's set by how wide each plant grows when mature. In a square grid, each plant occupies spacing × spacing, so at 12" spacing that's 1 square foot, and a 10 × 4 ft bed holds 40 plants. In an offset or triangular pattern, where each row is shifted half a space so plants sit in the gaps of the row before, every plant is still the same distance from its neighbours but takes only about 87% of the area. You need about 15% more plants (47 in the same bed), but the ground closes over faster, with fewer bare patches for weeds. That's why landscapers use it for ground cover, bedding and hedges. Rows and hedges count a plant at each end, so a 10 ft row at 12" spacing needs 11 plants, and a double staggered hedge row needs 22. Typical spacings are 6–12" (15–30 cm) for bedding and ground cover, 12–24" (30–60 cm) for perennials, 3–5 ft (1–1.5 m) for shrubs and 12–18" (30–45 cm) for hedging. Honest limits: always follow the spacing on the label or the nursery's advice, because varieties of the same plant can differ a lot, and closer planting gives quicker cover but more competition later. Counts are rounded up. The grass seed calculator, the gravel calculator and the area calculator are related.

Frequently asked questions