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Planting acorns makes trees, their wood and their acorns a renewable and farmable resource. The Terraria wiki page for Trees has great info about how to plant them.

I'm wondering how they grow.

I planted a dozen or so in a spaced-out row and was quite surprised to see one of these suddenly sprout into a tree around three times the character height (~9 blocks). Other planted acorns haven't grown for several in-game days. I'm not sure whether other trees have grown or not. I suspect not.

Two related questions:

  • How long does it take for a planted acorn to become a tree that may be harvested for wood and/or acorns?
  • Do trees grow more over time? (If I wait to chop a tree, will it grow taller?)
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    You could scroll down a bit and look at the "conditions for growing"...
    – n_plum
    Commented Jul 11, 2017 at 16:08
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    @n_palum But that doesn't answer the question
    – Wrigglenite
    Commented Jul 11, 2017 at 16:18
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    @DanmakuGrazer It does - it talks about how long it takes to become a tree. Explains that they grow into random shapes and sizes. Explains the vertical and horizontal spacing needed. And that if you chop the tree, it will not continue to grow more.
    – n_plum
    Commented Jul 11, 2017 at 16:22
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    @n_palum Sorry, but that's wrong. It doesn't mention how long it takes for a sapling to grow, and doesn't mention that a sapling only grows once and won't continue to grow once grown.
    – Wrigglenite
    Commented Jul 11, 2017 at 16:36
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    @n_palum I'm not talking about cutting parts of a tree. The wiki never says that after a tree grows (in an instant), it can't grow taller.
    – Wrigglenite
    Commented Jul 11, 2017 at 17:03

2 Answers 2

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It takes a somewhat random amount of time for trees to grow once they are planted. Assuming that all the growth conditions are met (as detailed on the wiki page you posted), it can take anywhere between 30 seconds to 5 minutes, in my experience.

Once a tree has grown, it will not get any taller, and it will not grow any additional branches. If you cut part of the tree down (or cut branches off), it will not regrow those parts.

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  • I am sure they will continue to grow, by experience most normal trees grow up to ~15 tiles tall but initially they'll only be 3-5 tiles when they first grow. Jungle trees and Palm trees by the ocean can grow even taller.
    – Ben Ong
    Commented Jul 12, 2017 at 6:44
  • @BenOng On the PC version, once trees have sprouted (i.e., you can cut them down and get wood/acorns back), they do not get taller, period. They can sprout tall or short, but their size does not change unless you manually trim them.
    – Mage Xy
    Commented Jul 12, 2017 at 6:47
  • I am playing the PC version, I know trees grow because I do not harvest them frequently. From the time of planting till the time I cut them down is minimally 1 hour, sometimes even for days I'll ignore the trees to find them all more than 10 tiles tall. Maybe you harvest too soon.
    – Ben Ong
    Commented Jul 12, 2017 at 6:53
  • In one of my recent worlds I had a tree farm that hadn't been harvested in several real life hours (probably weeks in game time). None of them have changed sizes - there are still short trees.
    – Mage Xy
    Commented Jul 12, 2017 at 6:57
  • More proof on the official forums, from two years ago.
    – Mage Xy
    Commented Jul 12, 2017 at 7:00
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To complement Mage Xy's answer, regarding your situation:

I planted a dozen or so in a spaced-out row and was quite surprised to see one of these suddenly sprout into a tree around three times the character height (~9 blocks). Other planted acorns haven't grown for several in-game days.

Other saplings (probably) will not grow due a violation of rules #2 and #3 from Wiki page you posted. Because if saplings are placed too close to each other and one of them grows up, it will take 3 tiles of horizontal space efectively preventing ajusted saplings from grow due space shortage.
So be sure to have at least 3 open tiles between them.

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  • Also note not to place blocks or even platforms just above the growing trees, it'll limit their height, place at least 20 tiles above where the sprouts are to ensure they'll grow to their limit
    – Ben Ong
    Commented Jul 12, 2017 at 6:46
  • @BenOng: Suppose I place blocks/platforms 10 blocks above the sprouts. Will the sprout simply refuse to grow, or will it just be a shorter tree?
    – jvriesem
    Commented Jul 12, 2017 at 16:55

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