Learn How to Plant Money Trees in Animal Crossing

Understanding Money Trees in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Money trees represent one of the most valuable farming mechanics in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Unlike traditional fruit trees that produce apples, oranges, or peaches, money trees yield bells—the primary currency in the game. A fully grown money tree produces three bags of 10,000 bells each, totaling 30,000 bells per harvest. This makes money trees one of the most efficient ways to accumulate wealth in the game without relying on selling items or completing tasks.

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The money tree system has been present in Animal Crossing games since the original 2001 release, but New Horizons refined the mechanic significantly. In this version, money trees grow from regular tree saplings that you've planted in the ground. The transformation happens when you bury bells using a special golden shovel or when you interact with glowing spots that appear on your island. Understanding how this system works is essential for players who want to build their island infrastructure, pay off home loans, or purchase rare items from visiting merchants.

Each money tree can only be harvested once before it reverts to a regular tree. After you collect the three bags of bells, the tree becomes a standard hardwood or fruit tree depending on your island's native tree type. This means you cannot create a permanent money tree farm, but rather must continually plant new money trees to maintain a steady income stream. Players who dedicate time to this method can earn between 90,000 and 300,000 bells per day, depending on how many trees they're willing to maintain.

Takeaway: Money trees are temporary but highly rewarding. Each tree produces exactly 30,000 bells one time, making them a predictable income source for players planning their island economy.

Finding Glowing Spots and Using the Golden Shovel Method

Every day on your island, a single glowing spot appears in a random location. These spots shimmer with a golden sparkle and make a distinctive sound when you approach them. To find glowing spots, simply walk around your island listening for the audio cue or watching for the visual effect. Players report that glowing spots typically appear near cliffs, in open fields, or among tree clusters, though the location is genuinely random each day.

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When you dig up a glowing spot using any shovel, you receive 1,000 bells. However, the real value comes from using this spot to plant a money tree. After collecting the bells from the glowing spot, a hole remains in the ground. You can then use the same hole to bury additional bells using a shovel. The amount of bells you bury determines the amount the tree will produce. If you bury 10,000 bells, the tree will eventually yield three bags of 10,000 bells each. If you bury 99,000 bells—the maximum amount you can carry at once—the tree will produce three bags of 99,000 bells each, for a total of 297,000 bells.

The golden shovel works identically to regular shovels for money tree purposes. Many players assume the golden shovel has special properties, but it functions the same way as any other shovel when burying bells. The golden shovel is primarily valuable because it's durable and won't break after a certain number of uses like regular shovels do. To craft a golden shovel, you need gold nuggets and a regular shovel recipe from Gulliver or other sources.

Takeaway: Locate the daily glowing spot, dig it up for 1,000 bells, then use that hole to bury bells. The amount you bury directly determines your harvest amount—burying more bells yields proportionally more bells back.

The Mathematics of Optimal Money Tree Investment

Understanding the return on investment for money trees helps players make informed decisions about how many to plant. When you bury 10,000 bells in a money tree, you receive 30,000 bells, for a net gain of 20,000 bells. When you bury 99,000 bells—the maximum—you receive 297,000 bells, for a net gain of 198,000 bells. This demonstrates that larger initial investments produce larger absolute gains. However, the investment strategy depends on your current bell reserves and what you're saving for.

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For players early in their island development with limited bells, planting multiple small trees (10,000 bells each) provides steady growth without depleting resources needed for other island projects. A player with 100,000 bells might plant ten trees at 10,000 bells each, yielding 300,000 bells total after one day of growth. This approach feels slower but preserves flexibility. Conversely, established players with millions of bells can afford to bury maximum amounts in fewer trees, achieving faster absolute gains.

The actual timeline shows that money trees take three days to mature from sapling to full-grown fruit-bearing tree. This means if you plant a tree on Day 1, you harvest on Day 4. Strategic players stagger their plantings across multiple days to create a rotating harvest schedule. A player planting ten trees daily across different locations will have roughly three harvests happening each day, creating consistent income. The formula works out to: (number of trees planted per day) × (days until harvest maturity, which is 3) × (bell amount buried per tree) = continuous daily income.

Takeaway: Larger bell investments return larger absolute gains. Plant multiple trees on staggered schedules to create a rotating daily harvest system that provides consistent income without requiring one massive injection of bells.

Preparing Your Island for Large-Scale Money Tree Farming

Before planting extensive money tree farms, you should prepare your island to prevent tree decay and ensure accessibility. Money trees, like all trees in Animal Crossing, require at least one empty space on each side to grow properly. If trees are too close together—within one space of each other—they won't mature and will eventually die. Experienced farmers organize their trees in grids with one space between each tree, creating patterns that maximize tree density while maintaining health requirements.

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Choose a specific area of your island designated for money tree farming. Many players dedicate a corner of their island, a cliff area, or a fenced section to this purpose. Using cliff manipulation and terraforming tools, you can create tiered farming areas that organize trees by planting date. For example, place trees planted on Monday on the top cliff level, Tuesday trees on the middle level, and Wednesday trees on the lowest level. This organization system makes harvesting efficient and prevents confusion about which trees are ready.

Consider your island's overall aesthetic when planning money tree placement. While efficiency matters, your island should remain visually appealing. Some players integrate money tree farms into their island design by creating orchard-style areas with matching fences and decorations. Others hide their farming operations behind cliffs or in out-of-the-way corners. You need approximately 40-50 tree spaces to create a daily harvest system that produces meaningful returns—roughly 400,000 to 900,000 bells daily depending on investment amounts.

You'll also need steady access to shovels for digging and burying. Stock up on regular shovel recipes or craft multiple golden shovels to ensure you always have tools available. Store these shovels in accessible locations near your farming areas. Create a small storage shed or designated spot where you keep your farming supplies organized.

Takeaway: Design a dedicated farming area with proper tree spacing, organize plantings by date for rotation harvests, and maintain a supply of shovels to execute your farming plan consistently.

Timing, Growth Cycles, and Harvest Schedules

Money trees follow the same three-day growth cycle as regular saplings in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. When you plant a sapling—whether by burying bells or planting an actual sapling from inventory—it enters growth stage one. After one day passes (at 5 AM when the game day resets), it advances to stage two. After another day, it reaches stage three. On the third day of growth, it becomes a fully mature tree that can be harvested. This means if you plant on Monday morning, you can harvest on Thursday morning.

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The game day resets at 5 AM in all time zones, regardless of your system's actual time. This is important for planning purposes. If you want to establish a daily harvest routine, plant your trees at different times during the previous three days. For maximum efficiency, many players plant their daily batch of trees at the same time each day. Some prefer