How to Get Saplings in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Saplings drop from leaves that decay or are broken without shears or Silk Touch: 5% of the time (2.5% for jungle leaves). Leaves also drop sticks 2% of the time, and oak and dark oak leaves have an extra 0.5% chance of an apple. Fortune increases these rates.

What you need

Hoe (optional)
Fortune tool (optional)

Step by step

Find a tree of the wood type you want. Leaves are the source of their own saplings.
Break the leaves with a hoe, the default tool, or by hand. Do not use shears or Silk Touch: they give the leaf block, not a sapling.
Or cut the logs and let the leaves decay. Leaves not connected to a log or wood block decay on their own: within a maximum distance of 6 blocks in Java Edition, 4 in Bedrock Edition.
Collect the drops: 5% chance of a sapling per leaf (jungle leaves 2.5%), 2% sticks, and for oak and dark oak a separate 0.5% apple.
Use a tool with Fortune to raise those chances.
Plant the sapling and use bone meal to speed up growth.

Java vs Bedrock

Leaf decay distance is 6 blocks in Java Edition and 4 in Bedrock Edition.

Versions: Leaves generate as part of trees grown from saplings, azaleas or mangrove propagules.

Frequently asked questions

What is the sapling drop rate?

5% from decaying or broken leaves, and 2.5% from jungle leaves.

Do shears give saplings?

No. Shears and Silk Touch drop the leaves block itself.

Can I get an apple from leaves?

Yes, from oak and dark oak leaves with an extra 0.5% chance.