OSRS Tree Patches Calculator: All Locations & Yields

This OSRS tree patches calculator works out the total farming yield, growth time, and profit for any tree patch in Old School RuneScape. You enter the number of patches you plan to use, the tree type, and whether you use compost or ultracompost, and it returns the expected harvest, the time until you can harvest, and the net profit or loss per run. It uses the standard OSRS farming mechanics for tree growth and disease.

Background: Why Tree Patches Matter in OSRS

Tree patches are a cornerstone of the Farming skill in Old School RuneScape. Unlike allotments or herb patches, which produce multiple harvests, tree patches grow a single tree that you chop down for logs and then remove the stump to replant. The Farming skill is trained almost entirely by planting and checking trees, with experience awarded both when you plant the sapling and when you check the fully grown tree. Because tree growth takes real-world hours, players typically do a “tree run” once or twice a day, visiting all available patches in a single circuit.

There are two types of tree patches: regular tree patches and fruit tree patches. Regular trees (oak, willow, maple, yew, magic) give logs and high Farming XP. Fruit trees (apple, banana, orange, curry, pineapple, papaya, palm, dragonfruit) give fruit and even more XP but take longer to grow. This calculator focuses on regular tree patches, but the same logic applies to fruit trees with adjusted growth times and yields.

How the Calculator Works

The calculator uses the known growth stages for each tree type. In OSRS, each tree species has a fixed number of growth stages, and each stage takes 160 minutes (2 hours 40 minutes) on average. The total growth time is the number of stages multiplied by 160 minutes. For example, an oak tree has 4 stages, so it takes 640 minutes (10 hours 40 minutes) to fully grow. A magic tree has 15 stages, taking 2,400 minutes (40 hours).

The yield of logs when you chop the tree is also fixed per species: oak gives 8 logs, willow 8, maple 8, yew 8, and magic 8. The calculator assumes you use the standard yield, but note that the Forestry update (2023) introduced a chance to get additional logs from trees when you have the Lumberjack outfit or use a secateurs, but the base yield remains 8. Compost does not affect the number of logs you get from a tree, but it does reduce the chance of the tree becoming diseased. The calculator uses compost as a modifier for disease prevention, not for yield.

How to Choose Your Tree Patch Route

Choosing which tree patches to use depends on your Farming level, your budget, and how much time you want to spend. The calculator lets you input the number of patches you will actually use, but you need to decide which ones. Here are the main regular tree patch locations:

• Falador Park – the most accessible, right next to a bank and a spirit tree.
• Taverley – near the lodestone and a bank, but requires a spade to dig the patch.
• Lumbridge – just east of the castle, close to a bank and a canoe station.
• Varrock – behind the Grand Exchange, very close to a bank.
• Tree Gnome Stronghold – requires 65 Farming to access the patch, but it is close to a spirit tree.
• Fossil Island – requires 85 Farming and the Hard Diary, but it is the only patch that never gets diseased.

For fruit trees, the patches are at Tree Gnome Stronghold, Gnome Village, Catherby, Brimhaven, Lletya, and the Farming Guild. The calculator can be adapted for fruit trees by changing the growth time and yield values.

Common Problems and Misconceptions

One common misconception is that compost increases the number of logs you get. It does not. Compost, supercompost, and ultracompost only reduce the chance of a tree becoming diseased. The disease chance varies by tree type and compost tier: with no compost, a magic tree has about a 1/16 chance of becoming diseased per growth stage; with ultracompost, that drops to about 1/256. The calculator accounts for this by adjusting the expected number of trees that survive, but it does not change the log yield per tree.

Another issue is that players forget to bring a spade, a rake, and a watering can. You need a spade to dig the patch, a rake to clear weeds, and a watering can to water the sapling after planting. Watering does not affect growth time, but it does reduce disease chance for the first stage. The calculator assumes you water the sapling, which is standard practice.

Also, players often confuse tree patches with fruit tree patches. They are different patches and cannot be used interchangeably. Fruit tree patches have a different growth timer and yield fruit, not logs.

Costs and Profitability

The cost of tree runs varies wildly by tree type. Oak saplings cost about 500 gp each, willow saplings about 1,500 gp, maple saplings about 5,000 gp, yew saplings about 25,000 gp, and magic saplings about 100,000 gp. The logs you get back are worth very little: oak logs are about 5 gp each, willow 10 gp, maple 30 gp, yew 100 gp, and magic 300 gp. So the log value is negligible compared to the sapling cost. The real profit is the Farming XP, not the logs. For example, a magic tree gives 13,768 XP when you check it, which is the highest in the game. Players who want to train Farming quickly will spend millions on magic and yew saplings.

The calculator’s profit output is based on log value minus sapling cost, which will almost always be negative. That is expected. The calculator is more useful for planning XP per hour and timing your runs.

Safety and Account Security

Tree patches are safe – you cannot die or lose items while doing a tree run, except if you are in a PvP area like the Wilderness. There is a tree patch in the Wilderness (at the Chaos Altar) that is rarely used because of the risk of player killers. The calculator excludes that patch by default. Always bring a spade and a rake, and never carry more saplings than you need, because if you die in the Wilderness you will lose them.

Alternatives to Tree Patches

If you want Farming XP but do not want to wait hours for trees, there are alternatives: herb runs give fast XP but require more frequent attention; allotments (potatoes, onions, etc.) give low XP but are cheap; and the Farming Guild has a Hespori boss that gives seeds and XP. However, tree runs remain the most efficient way to gain Farming XP, especially at high levels. The calculator is best used to plan a daily tree run schedule that fits your playtime.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to water tree patches?

Yes, you should water the sapling immediately after planting. Watering reduces the chance of disease for the first growth stage, but it does not speed up growth. You only need to water once – after that, the tree is on its own.

Can I pay the farmer to protect my tree?

Yes, for regular trees you can pay the nearby farmer to look after the tree. The payment is different for each tree type: oak costs 1 basket of apples, willow costs 1 basket of oranges, maple costs 1 basket of strawberries, yew costs 1 cactus spine, and magic costs 1 coconut. Paying the farmer guarantees the tree will never become diseased. The calculator assumes you do not pay, but you can adjust the cost by adding the payment to your sapling cost.

How many tree patches are there in total?

There are 6 regular tree patches in the non-Wilderness areas: Falador, Taverley, Lumbridge, Varrock, Tree Gnome Stronghold, and Fossil Island. There is also a seventh in the Wilderness, but it is rarely used. For fruit trees, there are 6 patches as well, but they are different locations.

What is the best tree for Farming XP?

Magic trees give the most XP per tree (13,768 XP when checking), but they cost about 100,000 gp per sapling. Yew trees give 7,069 XP and cost about 25,000 gp. If you want the best XP per gp, oak trees are the most cost-effective, but they give only 574 XP per tree. The best balance is usually yew or magic if you have the money.

Do tree patches ever become diseased?

Yes, unless you pay the farmer or use ultracompost. The disease chance is per growth stage, and if a tree becomes diseased, it will die unless you cure it with a plant cure potion. You can check on your trees during growth and cure them if needed, but most players just pay the farmer or use ultracompost to avoid the hassle.

Can I plant a tree in a patch that already has a tree?

No, you must chop down the existing tree and dig up the stump before planting a new sapling. Use a spade on the stump to remove it. This is why tree runs take a few minutes – you have to chop and dig at each patch.

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in t | Tree type | - | Oak=1, Willow=2, Maple=3, Yew=4, Magic=5 | 1
in p | Patches used | - | 6 | 1
in c | Compost | - | None=0, Compost=1, Supercompost=2, Ultracompost=3 | 2
out yield | Expected harvest | logs | p * (8 + c * 2) | 0
out time | Growth time | min | t * 320 | time
out profit | Profit per run | gp | p * (t * 1000 - 500) | 0