Stardew Valley Trees Guide: Barking Up The Right Tree

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Callum Marshall

Callum is the gaming managing editor and a certified Stardew Valley aficionado, pouring hundreds if not thousands of hours into this relaxing indie title. While overseeing the day-to-day running of the site, you'll commonly see Callum carve out some time to produce some content on one of his favorite games of all time, and lead from the front. Callum has been around the block within the gaming industry, working as an Editor-in-chief for a number of well-respected gaming outlets, he has worked as a games tester, he has gaming podcast experience, has worked in gaming PR. Basically, you name it, and Callum was probably there or somewhere on the periphery.

Latest posts by Callum Marshall (see all)

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Without trees, the world simply wouldn’t exist in the way it does today. We would have no access to oxygen, the natural world would be nothing more than a brown, lifeless husk, and we humans would be nowhere to be seen.  A bleak way to kick off an article, I know, but the point I’m pushing here is that trees are incredibly important, and this often translates to the world of gaming.

Trees often serve as an asset that helps create rich and detailed environments; they can serve as a resource for crafting and building if the player needs wood, they can serve as a hiding spot if being chased by a ferocious animal, or they can serve as a hiding spot for some goodies, any Animal Crossing player will know what I’m talking about. Well, In Stardew Valley, trees are also immensely important and come in many different varieties.

While many players would come into this game fresh and assume that trees are there to simply fill space and make Pelican Town look authentic and vibrant, that would be underselling their role in this game.

Trees are a natural source of materials; they provide secondary resources that can be very useful; they have their seedlings that can be used for purposes beyond simply replanting, and let’s face it, they are pretty too, especially if you play on PC and stick some mods on to grow cherry blossom trees.

However, you may be wondering what kind of trees one can find in Stardew Valley, why they are so important, and what they can be used for. Well, we intend to shed some light on this and give you an extensive guide that makes sure you know your Maple trees from your Mahogany Trees. So without further ado, here is our Stardew Valley Tree Guide!

What Are Trees in Stardew Valley?

That might come across as a little bit of a patronizing question; everyone knows what a tree is, after all. However, this is more about describing the role that trees have within the world of Stardew Valley. They serve as set dressing for the charming pixellated world you explore, but there to more to it than just that.

You see, trees offer the players a means of collecting resources such as wood, Hardwood, Sap, various seeds, and in some cases, fruit and forage items. Trees are vital if a player wants to come out of the blocks fast in the early game and get their farm looking reasonably pretty and professional.

Why Should I Grow Trees In Stardew Valley?

So, we have established that trees are important, but perhaps we haven’t given you enough reason to believe us. You may still be asking why trees are so important in a game that is largely about making friends and farming. Well, we won’t leave you in the dark any longer. Here are the best reasons why you should get to know the trees within Stardew Valley intimately.

Basic Resources

Firstly, Trees are a primary source of wood, which along with stone, is one of the core components used to build or craft just about anything within the early to mid-game. Players will be able to cut down trees on their farm or around Pelican Town and collect lots of wood that can be used for various purposes.

Then alongside this, players will also get their hands on sap when cutting down trees too, which is another great resource to have, albeit not as vital as wood.

Then as you upgrade your tools and get your hands on some mahogany seeds, players will be able to get their hands on Hardwood, another vital resource needed for bundles, building, and other mid to late-game projects. Here is a list of just some of the things that you can do with each resource.

Wood

• Crafting various utilities like Chests, paths, Fences, Scarecrows
• Crafting various machines like Tappers, Mayonaise Machines, Preserve Jars, Bee House, etc
• Used for upgrading your home
• Needed for the Construction Bundle in the Community Centre
• Can be used to repair the footbridge to get to the eastern area of the beach
• Used to build Farm Buildings like Coops, Barns, etc.

Sap:

• Used to create various fertilizers to grow higher quality produce
• Used to craft items like torches, fishing accessories, etc.
• Needed for the Crafts Bundle if playing with remixed bundles

Hardwood:

• Used to craft various machines like Oil Makers, Cheese Press, Worm Bin, etc.
• Used to craft totems to warp to locations fast
• Used for utilities like fences, paths, decorative fixtures, Lampposts, etc
• Used for the final upgrade of the farmhouse
• Needed to build a Stable
• Needed for the Construction Bundle in the Community Centre
• Needed to fix Willie’s Boat and get to Ginger Island
• Needed for Special requests from Robin
• Needed to maximize the amount of Woodskip in a Fish Pond

An Early Game Food Supply

This one will only really remain relevant for the first season or two of the same, as after that, you will have access to a wealth of better food sources. However, if you are clearing your farm and gathering resources, you will naturally obtain different seeds from each tree.

These can be replanted to form a new tree. However, if you have one of each type of standard tree seed, these being a Maple Seed, a Pine Cone, and an Acorn, you can combine these and create a Field Snack. This is a quick food item that can work in a pinch to extend those early-game days a little longer and make the most of those days where energy isn’t as easy to manage.

Fruit and Forage

This one applies to those that have made their way through a decent portion of the game and can drop thousands of G on saplings to grow luxury trees. Players will be able to purchase saplings from Pierre‘s, Joja Mart, or occasionally from the traveling cart, and eventually, these saplings will grow into fruit trees that will regularly grow fruit when in season.

Or you can plant them in the Greenhouse for fruit year-round. Then as for forage, players may also be lucky enough to see a Mushroom Tree sprout on their farm, and this can be cut down to give the player Red Mushrooms, or you can use a tapper to get a steady supply of Mushrooms instead of the instant pay-off.

The Goods Inside the Trunk

Then speaking of Tappers, the player can use this apparatus to suck out all the goodness from inside the trunk of each respective tree. You simply attach this machine to the tree, and then a while later, the player will be gifted an exotic resource.

These are vital for crafting, needed for bundles in the community center, and depending on which product you are talking about, can also be a great gift, used in cooking recipes, or sold for a reasonable price. Here is a list of the various tree products and some of the things they can be used for.

Pine Tar

• Maru likes this as a gift
• Can be used in the Exotic Forage bundle in the Community Centre
• Used to create a Loom, Rain Totem and Speed-Gro

Maple Syrup

• Makes a great gift for everyone except Maru
• Needed for the chef’s bundle in the Community Centre
• Needed for the ‘Maple Bar’ recipe
• Needed to craft a Bee House
• Needed to complete the ‘Strange Note’ quest and appease your new fuzzy friend

Oak Resin

• Maru likes this as a gift
• Needed to complete the Enchanter’s Bundle
• Needed to craft a Keg
• Used to create Speed-Gro

How to Grow/Chop Trees in Stardew valley

So now that you see the appeal of these trees and what they can offer, you may want to know how to chop them down and the best ways to grow them. Well, let’s discuss that, shall we? Here is a rundown of best practices below.

Chopping

As you might have guessed, all you have to do to chop down a tree is swing your axe repeatedly, and eventually, the tree will topple to the ground. This will take about ten strikes with a standard quality axe, but with each upgrade, this will become less and less.

Then as for stumps and logs, the player will not be able to chop these immediately. To chop stumps, players will need to upgrade their axe once, and then to chop large logs, players will need to upgrade to a Golden Axe. It may seem like a huge undertaking, but once you gain the ability to clear large logs, you gain access to the Secret Woods in the northwest of the Cindersap Forest, so it is well worth doing.

Growing

Then as for growing, the player can ensure that they have a steady supply of trees on their farm by taking the seeds that they receive from chopping the trees and planting them in the ground as they see fit.

Then additionally, if players don’t want to cut their trees down, you can shake the trees with your action button, and this has a small chance of dropping a seed that can then be planted. Then when the player hits the sack, there is also a 15% chance at the end of every day that a tree will drop another seed, thus keeping the germination process moving along nicely.

It’s also worth noting that players can also speed up the growth time of any tree with the use of Tree Fertilizer. This will essentially have a tree jump to the next stage of its growth cycle every time you use it. You will need to get to Foraging level seven to unlock the crafting recipe for this product, and you can craft it by combining five stones and five fibers.

Placement

Then lastly, you have the process of clearing the farm of the masses of trees while still having enough trees on the farm that provide a constant source of each unique resource.

So, you must decide how to handle this. In the early game, we would advise players to find a triangle of trees which are all different types, so one pine, one maple, and one oak, then fence this off, stick tappers on each tree, and then you have a dedicated tree farm that takes up as little space as possible.

Then as your farm progresses and expands, you can then plant more trees in this area and build larger perimeters. Or you can dedicate a whole area for an orchard of sorts, up to you.

What Kind of Trees Grow in Stardew Valley?

So, we have shown you the benefits of trees and how to manage and care for them, but we haven’t gone into detail regarding the various trees that one will encounter in Stardew Valley. So with that in mind, we better give you a rundown on what trees you will encounter. Check it out below.

Pine Tree

Seed: Pine Cone

Produces: Pine Tar, Sap, Wood

Pine Trees are spikier in appearance when compared to the other trees and have darker green coloring. They kind of look like Christmas trees, if that helps you identify them. It’s a shame we can’t throw some fairy lights over them come time for the Feast of the Winter Star.

These trees are grown from Pine Cones and produce basic resources like wood and sap, but their key resource is Pine Tar, which is most notably used to make Looms. So if you are a keen Sheep and Rabbit farmer, then you’ll need to stick a tapper on these trees.

Maple Tree

Seed: Maple Seed

Produces: Maple Syrup, Wood, Sap

Next, we have Maple Trees, which grow from a Maple Seed and look kind of messy compared to the other trees. They have frazzled-looking leaves, and they also have little yellow specs between the leaves. These again provide wood and sap as standard, but this tree, when tapped, will offer the player Maple Syrup.

This is a very versatile resource that can be used as a quick snack, in recipes, for quests, and is also required to build things like Bee Houses, so be sure to stock up on this sweet tree nectar.

Oak Tree

Seed: Acorn

Produces: Oak Resin, Wood, Sap

Then lastly, for the trees that are a dime a dozen, we have Oak Trees. These are formed from an Acorn, look much neater than the other trees with a tight formation of leaves, and produce wood, sap, and most notably, Oak Resin.

This is a fine resource that is primarily used to make kegs, which allow you to make incredible money-making artisan goods like Wine, for example. So if you want to be a profitable farmer, then Oak Resin is a good thing to have in abundance.

Mahogany Tree

Seed: Mahogany Seeds

Produces: Sap, Hardwood

Next up, we have Mahogany Trees. These grow from a Mahogany Seed and produce Sap as well as Hardwood. In terms of aesthetics, they are rather similar to a maple tree, with a messy cluster of leaves, and when tapped, these trees only produce sap. The main purpose of these trees is to produce a larger sum of Hardwood than say, stumps found in the Secret wood.

Mushroom Tree

Seed: Mushroom Tree Seed (Only sold by Mr. Qi)

Produces: Red Mushroom, Purple Mushroom, Common Mushroom

Perhaps the oddest of all the things that can pop up on your farm overnight, aside from, say, a meteorite from space or a Void Chicken in your Coop. This is a tree that will present itself as a giant Red Mushroom, and when chopped down, you will get a small bunch of Red Mushrooms, or if you stick a Tapper on there, you can get your hands on either a Red Mushroom, a Purple Mushroom, or a Common Mushroom.

These are great forage items, and if you and if you want to acquire them in large quantities, especially if you didn’t pick mushrooms for your cave, you need to grow yourself some of these.

Fruit Tree

Seed: Variable Saplings

Produces: Apple, Cherry, Apricot, Banana, Mango Peach, Orange, Pomegranate, Wood, Sap

Our penultimate entry is for fruit trees. These come in several types, and all bare juicy fruit that can be used to complete bundles, create artisan goods, and work great as gifts too. However, these trees only grow in their respective seasons, so if you want consistent yields from these trees, you will want to grow them in the Greenhouse. Saplings can be purchased from Pierres General Shop, Joja Mart, and the Travelling Merchant.

Palm Tree

Seed: N/A

Produces: Coconut, Wood, Sap

Then lastly, we have Coconut Trees. You’ll only encounter these trees in the Calico Desert, and these trees cannot be tapped. However, they can be cut down for some wood and will occasionally reward the player with some Coconuts too. However, these are by far the least remarkable trees in Stardew Valley.

What are Heavy Tappers?

Then lastly, we better give you a rundown on a late-game item that will help you farm trees with more efficiency. A Heavy Tapper is an item that allows the player to get twice the amount of tree-related resources in the same amount of time, doubling the rate of production.

However, the player will only be able to get the crafting recipe for this item if the player reaches Ginger Island and accesses the Walnut Room. Here you will be able to purchase the recipe for twenty Qi Gems. Then with the recipe in your possession, you just need to get your hands on a Radioactive Bar and thirty Hardwood, then you just use this Heavy Tapper as you would a normal one.

Don’t be a Sap, Plant Some Trees!

As you can see from the information above, trees in Stardew Valley have the potential to help you take your farming to a whole new level. These sturdy wooden pillars provide a natural source of wood and hardwood, they offer resources with the help of tappers, they regenerate on their own, and overall, they are an essential part of this charming farm simulation title.

We hope that this guide serves you well on your journey to becoming the best farmer Pelican Town has ever seen, and we hope that you become a certified tree surgeon in the process. Thank you for reading SdewHQ!

Stardew Valley Trees: FAQs