Animal Crossing: New Horizons: How To Cut Down And Move Trees - Collecting Hardwood, Softwood And Wood Explained

Animal Crossing: New Horizons offers more customisation tools and opportunities to shape the form of your town to your liking than ever before. It used to be that arranging your Oaks and Douglas Firs (Cedars, actually) involves careful and considered planting and patience as your seed became a sapling and eventually took root to become a full-grown fruit-bearing tree.

Well, things are much quicker in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and now it's possible to simply uproot a tree using your shovel and relocate it to your desired location, even if it's just one space to the left. No need to chop them down with an axe at all!

But how do you move the woody gits? -- we hear you ask — I pull and I pull but all I do is hug and shake them! Ah, that's because there's a knack to it which involves eating fruit. In this guide we'll explain how to move trees and arrange them just so. We'll also go over the basics of how to harvest wood and fill your island with a large variety of juicy fruit trees.

How do you move trees in Animal Crossing: New Horizons?

If there's a tree that you want to keep but would be better in another location - even if it's just one square away - you can easily transplant it by eating fruit and using a shovel.

Moving saplings

If you've planted a tree that's still growing you can move it simply by digging it up with your shovel. Don't worry, you won't destroy it like you would have in Animal Crossing games in the past! You'll simply scoop it up and put it in your pocket.

Moving trees

In previous Animal Crossing games you would have had to chop the tree down and plant another in the location you desired. Not so in Animal Crossing: New Horizons!

In order to move an entire tree or bamboo you'll have to eat a piece of fruit beforehand. This will give you superhuman strength and the power to scoop them up by using your shovel. When you dig up a tree it will shrink into your pocket in the same manner as all that bulky furniture on your person, disappearing conveniently into your pocket/inventory. Neat! All that's left to do is find a suitable new home and deposit it there.

After eating a piece of fruit you'll notice a counter appear in the top left corner of the screen, up to a maximum of 10. This fruit meter tells you how many trees you can dig up or rocks you can destroy before you return to normal 'strength'. To drain the meter simply dig up trees and replant them or make use of a toilet. Yep.

How do you get wood from trees in Animal Crossing: New Horizons?

By chopping trees with an axe you can extract lumber from them. There are three types of wood you can get from trees in Animal Crossing: New Horizons - regular wood, hardwood and softwood - and we've detailed them for you below...

How to get Wood in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Stop sniggering at the back! Ahem. Just as in real life, wood comes from trees in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Rather unlike real life, trees in Animal Crossing: New Horizons produce an unending supply of all three types of wood. You get it by hitting the tree with an axe.

HOWEVER, they'll only be able to withstand two hits from a proper axe before the next strike chops the tree down. Keep this in mind unless you want to accidentally chop down a prized fruit tree.

Ironically, you're much better off if you use a Flimsy or Stone axe to gather wood - you are able to get three lots of wood from every tree plus those axes aren't strong enough to cut trees down regardless of how many times you swing at it.

The only downside is that the flimsy axe lives up to its name and will soon disintegrate through use - you'll have to craft several if you want to harvest wood from every tree on your island, or upgrade to the Stone axe for better durability (thanks to NL reader Zack for pointing this out).

The three types of available wood are used to craft a host of items in the game, from vital tools to exotic furniture and more.

How to get Hardwood in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Hardwood is obtained in exactly the same way as normal wood in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It's darker than the normal type. Keep chopping away indiscriminately and you'll find it.

How to get Softwood in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Softwood, too, is just another variant that pops off of trees as you work them with your chopper. So, what are you waiting for? Chop-chop!

This article is part of our Animal Crossing: New Horizons walkthrough, which includes a Complete Fish List, Complete Bug List and Complete Sea Creatures List. If you're looking for specific fish or bugs, we can tell you how to catch the elusive Coelacanth, Mahi-Mahi, Giant Trevally, Stringfish, Golden Trout and all the Sharks and Beetles, along with a full list of critters leaving at the end of the month (unless you visit Kapp'n's Boat Tour islands, of course!).

We can also help with How to Spot Redd's Fake Paintings and Statues, How to Make Bells Fast, How to Breed Flowers, How to Get more DIY Recipes, How to Upgrade Nook's Cranny, where and when to find special characters like Gulliver, Sable, Label, Wisp, Celeste, Pirate Gulliver and Jack, plus tips on using the Star Wand, Tool Ring, Rock Trick, Cutting Down and Moving Trees, using amiibo on Harv's Island, How to Back Up Your Island Data, How to Time Travel, How to Get a 5-Star Island Rating and a whole lot more.

If it's new content you're looking for help with, we can help you find gyroids, unlock Brewster's café, use the new Pro Camera App for selfies, enact new ordinances, get the beloved Froggy Chair, and even learn How to Cook.

And finally, Where to Buy Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch, if for some reason you haven't yet picked up the game, and How To Buy The Happy Home Paradise DLC, too!