Plant Spacing Calculator – How Many Plants Do I Need? | CalcLoft
Find out exactly how many plants you need for any garden bed and spacing.
How many plants do I need?
Convert spacing to feet, then compute plants per square foot. At 12-inch spacing in a grid, that's 1 plant per sq ft. A 20 × 10 ft bed (200 sq ft) needs about 200 plants. Staggered spacing fits ~15% more.
Plants per square foot by spacing
| Spacing | Grid | Staggered |
|---|---|---|
| 6 inches | 4 | 4.6 |
| 12 inches | 1 | 1.15 |
| 18 inches | 0.44 | 0.51 |
| 24 inches | 0.25 | 0.29 |
| 36 inches | 0.11 | 0.13 |
Spacing by plant type
- Ground cover: 6-12 inches apart
- Perennials / flowers: 12-18 inches
- Shrubs: 3-4 feet (check mature width)
- Trees: 10-20+ feet
Plant spacing calculator FAQ
How many plants for a 10x10 garden?
At 12-inch spacing: 100 plants in a grid.
How do I space plants in a square foot garden?
Use the "one per square foot per spacing" rule — 4 per square for 6-inch spacing, 1 per square for 12-inch, etc.
Why space by mature width?
Plants that crowd each other compete for light and water. Always space for the mature size.
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