Plant Spacing Calculator

Number of plants for a bed at a given spacing, in a square grid, triangular (staggered) pattern or rows.

In a square grid, plants = (length ÷ spacing) × (width ÷ spacing). A 10 × 4 ft bed at 12 in spacing holds 10 × 4 = 40 plants. A triangular (staggered) layout fits about 15% more at the same spacing.

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How to use it

Enter the bed length and width in feet and the plant spacing in inches.
Choose a square grid, triangular pattern or rows.
Read the number of plants and plants per square foot.

What you enter

Bed length and width
Plant spacing
Layout

What you get

Plants needed
Bed area
Plants per square foot

Formula

Square: (L/s) × (W/s) | Triangular: rows = W / (s × 0.866), plants per row = L/s | Rows: (L/s) × (W/row spacing)

Worked example

Input: 10 × 4 ft bed, 12 in square grid

Result: 40 plants (1 per sq ft)

Square-foot gardening uses the same density for medium plants such as lettuce.

Questions

How do I calculate how many plants I need?

Divide the bed's length and width by the spacing (in the same units) and multiply. For triangular spacing, divide the area by spacing² × 0.866.

What is triangular spacing?

Each row is offset by half a space, so every plant is the same distance from six neighbours. It gives even coverage for ground covers, hedges and perennials.

Should plants go right to the edge?

Usually plant half a spacing in from the edge so plants don't spill over paths and lawn.

What spacing should I use?

Use the mature width on the plant tag or seed packet. Closer spacing fills in faster but costs more and needs thinning.

More Home & Garden

All free tools · By Dr. Zubair Khalid, DVM, MS, PhD.