Plant Spacing Count (Square and Triangular)
The plant count for a bed at a given on-center spacing.
Example
You enter
- Bed area to plant (ft²) 200
- On-center spacing (in) 12
You get
- Square grid 200 plants
- Triangular grid 231 plants (staggered, ~15% more)
Checked against published worked examples from: University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.
Details, formula, and sources
ScopeSquare (area / spacing^2) and triangular (area / (0.866 x spacing^2), the staggered 60-degree grid that packs ~15% more plants the way groundcover is actually planted). The spacing comes from the mature spread or the plan; a planting-density count, not a horticultural plan.
Formula or tables_ft = spacing_in / 12; square_n = ceil(bed_ft2 / s_ft^2); triangular_n = ceil(bed_ft2 / (0.866 x s_ft^2)), 0.866 = sqrt(3)/2.
Source and editionFirst-principles square- and triangular-grid relations with nursery / landscape estimating references for the staggered-grid 0.866 factor (by name); no edition cycle.
Free accessThe square- and triangular-grid relations are public planting-estimating practice; the 0.866 = sqrt(3)/2 row offset is the equilateral staggered grid.
What governsEstimate. AHJ and licensed professional govern.
API field namesbed_ft2, spacing_in, square_n, triangular_n
- Square grid plants = bed area / spacing^2 (rows and columns square)nursery / landscape estimating
- Triangular grid plants = bed area / (0.866 x spacing^2); the 60-degree staggered rows pack about 15% more plantsnursery / landscape estimating
- Spacing the on-center spacing is the plant's mature spread or the planting plan; edge plants round upplanting plan