Can You Trade Trees in Animal Crossing? A Comprehensive Guide
Yes, you can trade trees in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but with a significant caveat. Direct, traditional trading of trees as an item isn’t possible. However, you can achieve the transfer of trees by working together with your friends in a very specific way. The key to trading trees lies in the Best Friends feature. This feature allows a level of interaction that’s necessary for tree transfer.
In short, you cannot simply pick up a tree and hand it to another player. Instead, trading trees in Animal Crossing involves the following steps:
- Becoming Best Friends: The person who wants the tree needs to become a Best Friend with the person who owns the tree.
- Island Visit: The Best Friend then needs to visit the island of the tree owner.
- Digging and Replanting: As a Best Friend, the visitor gains the ability to dig up trees with a shovel on the other person’s island. The visitor can then take the tree back to their own island and replant it.
This method allows players to effectively “trade” trees by facilitating their relocation from one island to another. It’s less of a direct trade and more of a cooperative gardening project, but it gets the job done. This is the only method to transfer trees between islands. Without the Best Friends status, you’ll be unable to dig up trees on another player’s island.
How Tree Trading Works in Detail
Let’s delve deeper into the mechanics of tree trading in Animal Crossing. As mentioned, becoming Best Friends is crucial. This isn’t just a simple friend request; the player you wish to trade with must be on your Best Friends list within the game. This is achieved by sending a request within the game using the Nook Phone and then that friend must accept that request.
Once Best Friends, a player visiting another’s island is no longer simply a tourist. They gain permissions that regular visitors do not possess. Specifically, they can:
- Wield tools like shovels and axes.
- Dig up flowers and trees.
- Collect resources.
This freedom is vital for tree trading. The visitor can locate the desired tree on the host island, dig it up with a shovel, and then return to their own island to replant it. This is not a feature available in earlier versions of Animal Crossing.
Important Considerations for Tree Trading
It is imperative to remember that trees cannot be planted too close to buildings, water sources, rocks, cliffs, or other trees. If planted too close to these obstacles, saplings will die. Therefore, after “trading” a tree, the replanting location must meet these criteria to ensure that the tree thrives.
Additionally, there’s no special tool or item required beyond the standard shovel to dig up and replant trees. Any shovel will work, allowing for easy transfer once you’re Best Friends.
The Benefits of Tree Trading
Why bother trading trees at all? There are several compelling reasons:
- Non-Native Fruits: Perhaps the most common motivation is to obtain non-native fruit trees. Each island starts with a specific native fruit. Trading with other players is a reliable way to get all the different fruit types, including apples, cherries, oranges, peaches, and pears.
- Island Customization: Some players might simply want to move trees to different areas of their island or get their desired trees from their friends. Trading can allow for aesthetic changes or optimization of your landscaping.
- Completing Collections: For collectors, having every type of fruit tree is important. Trading facilitates this pursuit, and allows players to create the perfect orchard.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Tree Trading
1. How do I become Best Friends in Animal Crossing?
To become Best Friends, open your Nook Phone, select the “Best Friends” app, and search for players currently playing online. If you’re near a friend playing online, they should appear here. Send them a request and once accepted, you’ll be added to their Best Friends list.
2. Can I trade special trees like money trees or bamboo?
Yes! You can trade money trees and bamboo trees in the same way as fruit trees and hardwood trees, by becoming Best Friends. Once dug up on one island, these special trees can be replanted on another player’s island.
3. What happens if I plant a tree in the wrong place?
If you plant a tree too close to an obstacle, the sapling will die the next day. You will have to replant it in a suitable location. This also applies when trading and replanting trees.
4. How many trees can I have on my island?
The tree limit in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is 220. This total includes all types of trees – fruit trees, hardwood, cedar, and bamboo. Plan your island landscaping carefully!
5. Can I dig up trees if I’m not Best Friends?
No, you cannot dig up trees on another player’s island unless you are Best Friends. This is a core restriction within the game mechanics. Without this status, the ability to use a shovel is restricted.
6. Can I send trees through the mail?
No, you cannot send trees through the mail. You can only transfer them by physically visiting the other person’s island and digging them up yourself.
7. Is there a way to make trees grow faster?
Unfortunately, there is no way to make trees grow faster in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. You must wait for the standard growth cycle, which is about 3 days.
8. Can I customize my traded trees?
No, you cannot customize trees. However, you can use different fruits to change what the tree produces and the different types of trees you choose to plant for a customized look.
9. What should I do with a decayed tree in Animal Crossing?
A decayed tree is a furniture item you can craft and place on your island. It adds 0.5 development points towards your island rating. You cannot trade it.
10. What happens if I eat fruit?
Eating fruit gives the player temporary strength, allowing them to dig up trees or break rocks with a single swing. You can store up to ten pieces of strength at one time.
11. Can I replant perfect fruit trees?
Yes, you can replant perfect fruit trees, but they will only grow in the island of the player who started with that fruit. After bearing fruit several times, these trees will die and leave a rotten fruit.
12. How many bells can I get from a money tree?
Money trees will only produce money bags once. When you bury 10,000 bells in a glowing spot, you’ll be able to harvest a total of 30,000 bells when fully grown.
13. What’s the rarest fruit in Animal Crossing?
The rarest fruit is the perfect fruit, which is a variation of your island’s native fruit and will only grow on your original island.
14. How do I chop down a tree?
To chop down a tree, you’ll need the Axe, not to be confused with the Flimsy Axe or Stone Axe. Buy the Pretty Good Tools Recipes for 3,000 Nook Miles to craft an Axe.
15. Where can I find the missing fruits if I haven’t started trading?
If you don’t have any friends to trade with yet, you can find the missing fruits by going on mystery island tours using Nook Miles tickets, or by taking boat tours with Kapp’n, and sometimes, you’ll receive them from villagers or via the mailbox.
By understanding the mechanics and possibilities of tree trading, you can fully utilize this feature to enhance your Animal Crossing experience. Happy trading, and happy landscaping!