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Plant Spacing Calculator

A plant spacing calculator works out how many plants you need to fill a bed or border at a given spacing — for a simple square grid or a staggered triangular layout that fits more in. Enter the bed size and the spacing on the plant tag, and it counts them.

Your measurements

Result

It saves the guesswork (and the over-buying) when laying out groundcover, vegetables, flowers or shrubs, and shows how much a staggered layout gains you.

How it is calculated

Each plant occupies spacing² in a square grid, or spacing² × 0.866 in a triangular (offset) layout — which packs about 15% more into the same area. Plants = bed area ÷ area-per-plant, rounded down. Use the mature centre-to-centre spacing.

Steps

Enter the bed length and width, or its area.
Enter the spacing centre-to-centre (from the plant tag's mature spread).
Choose a square grid or a triangular (staggered) layout.
Read the number of plants needed.
Stagger rows to fit ~15% more and reduce gaps.

Worked example

A 10 × 4 ft bed (40 sq ft) at 12 in spacing in a square grid fits about 40 plants.

Common questions

How many plants do I need?

Divide the bed area by the area each plant needs (spacing squared). The calculator does it for square or triangular layouts.

Square or triangular spacing?

Triangular (staggered rows) fits about 15% more plants and looks fuller, for the same spacing. Square is easier to lay out.

What spacing should I use?

Use the mature spread on the plant tag, centre-to-centre — closer for groundcover, wider for shrubs.

Does this work for vegetables?

Yes — use the recommended in-row/between-row spacing for the crop as the spacing value.