How to get tree seeds?

[PixelatedBeat]

I'm a new player, and in my first world, I found a crimson oak.  I really like how it looks and would like to plant some around my base.  Is there any way for me to guarantee or have a higher chance of getting a seed from this one tree?

[Zane Mordien]

1 minute ago, PixelatedBeat said:

I'm a new player, and in my first world, I found a crimson oak.  I really like how it looks and would like to plant some around my base.  Is there any way for me to guarantee or have a higher chance of getting a seed from this one tree?

You just have to break the branches of the tree. There is no other way to get seeds. 

[Professor Dragon]

On 10/16/2025 at 5:03 AM, PixelatedBeat said:

I'm a new player, and in my first world, I found a crimson oak.  I really like how it looks and would like to plant some around my base.  Is there any way for me to guarantee or have a higher chance of getting a seed from this one tree?

@PixelatedBeat is correct that you need to break leaf blocks on that Crimson Maple and hope it drops seeds. 
 

Adding in extra information, for those who wish it.

You are obviously a player of distinction. The Crimson Maple looks fantastic - but has one of the lower seed drop rates.

I have a few around my base, and it is on the list to get more. If you are out and about, my advice is to take down several to increase your chances back home later on.
There is an interesting post here if you want to get into the details of what the numbers mean in practice.

Please note though that the regular Maple that you see everywhere also turns a lovely red shade in autumn. It is the cut price variant, if you like.
Perfect for an avenue.

If you are a Malefactor Class, then your chance of getting seed/sapling drops goes up by 20%.
While a Blackguard suffers a 20% penalty. This really hurts with rare seed drops.

You can use shears to increase the efficiency of harvesting leaves, but it does not increase the drop rate.

If you don't mind the Creative route, then switching to Creative mode, giving yourself some seeds and switching back again is an option.
/gamemode creative
/gamemode survival

Then there is the mod path. It is a shock to many players that the seed drop rate in Vintage Story is so low, compared to say, Minecraft.

There are attempts to rebalance it with mods like:
Useful Shears - increases drop rate while using shears
Whole Lotta Tree Seeds - Increases drop rates substantially. Mainly intended for multi-player worlds.

Or you can go directly to the .json files and modify the drop rates.

Anyway, that should be enough to get most people started

Professor Dragon.

EDIT.
Meant to include this information when typing the post (Thanks @LadyWYT for the reminder).
Agriculture Traders carry some seeds for sale. Some of the commons but also some of the exotics.

Finally, Pine trees are your "go to" if you just want timber and seeds. They have the highest seed drop rate in the game.
I gather up as many as I can, and then place them periodically along long trade routes or paths, so that I have something to follow later on, which is visible from a huge distance. Also, I like the timber for a lot of things.

 

 

Edited October 16, 2025 by Professor Dragon
Bonus info.

[Never Jhonsen]

23 minutes ago, Professor Dragon said:

The Crimson Maple looks fantastic - but has one of the lower seed drop rates.

One of my favorite trees in the game, and yet she's so hard to reproduce  More often than not, I'll get zero seeds from three trees.

At least I'm not a redwood farmer tho  not once in the past 5 real world years have I ever gotten a redwood seed (from a tree); only broken leg bones and shattered dreams

[LadyWYT]

24 minutes ago, Never Jhonsen said:

At least I'm not a redwood farmer tho  not once in the past 5 real world years have I ever gotten a redwood seed (from a tree); only broken leg bones and shattered dreams

Luckily, you can buy those seeds from agricultural traders, or find them occasionally in Primitive Survival's tree hollows.

[Maelstrom]

16 hours ago, Never Jhonsen said:

One of my favorite trees in the game, and yet she's so hard to reproduce  

Don't go farming ebony trees.   Your disappointment will skyrocket.

[Thorfinn]

18 hours ago, Professor Dragon said:

The Crimson Maple looks fantastic - but has one of the lower seed drop rates.

Wait. It drops crimson maple seeds? When did that happen? I was disappointed when I found out it dropped regular maple seeds.

[Teh Pizza Lady]

19 hours ago, Professor Dragon said:

Useful Shears - increases drop rate while using shears

yoinking this for my server please and ty

[Echo Weaver]

11 minutes ago, Teh Pizza Lady said:

yoinking this for my server please and ty

Yeah, I really love this mod. Sometimes the little ones are the best.

[Professor Dragon]

1 hour ago, Thorfinn said:

Wait. It drops crimson maple seeds? When did that happen? I was disappointed when I found out it dropped regular maple seeds.

Ah, the problems of being a long term player. Now that you mention it, I remember when they didn't. I had a shock coming back when you needed tongs for hot items.   
Anyway, it changed at some point and yes, now they do drop seeds at a low rate.

50 minutes ago, Teh Pizza Lady said:

yoinking this for my server please and ty

You're welcome. I also happened to stumble by chance on this mod. Haven't tried it, but it is in the same vein and feels fair to me:
Gimme One Seed Plz

Professor Dragon.

[Echo Weaver]

20 minutes ago, Professor Dragon said:

Anyway, it changed at some point and yes, now they do drop seeds at a low rate.

Do they drop regular maple seeds or crimson maple seeds? I have one near me, and I'm not going to try to get seeds out of it if they're just ordinary maple.

[Professor Dragon]

1 hour ago, Echo Weaver said:

Do they drop regular maple seeds or crimson maple seeds? I have one near me, and I'm not going to try to get seeds out of it if they're just ordinary maple.

Yes, yes, yes. They certainly do!

Here's a picture of one that I grew from a seed from a parent tree several thousand blocks away from my base.

Yes, it's winter, so the leaves aren't red now. But it is a crimson maple, and the leaves do change to that wonderful red.

I went into Creative for you and grew some seeds from scratch with accelerated time.

Note that the Crimson Maple seeds face the opposite direction to the regular Maple seeds! (Nice touch, VS).

Professor Dragon

Edited October 16, 2025 by Professor Dragon

[Teh Pizza Lady]

4 hours ago, Professor Dragon said:

You're welcome. I also happened to stumble by chance on this mod. Haven't tried it, but it is in the same vein and feels fair to me:
Gimme One Seed Plz

alas is is probably outdated. no release for 1.21 as of yet. I would try it in single player before attempting it on a server.

[Never Jhonsen]

17 hours ago, Maelstrom said:

Don't go farming ebony trees.   Your disappointment will skyrocket.

Don't you worry, I've already met the harshness from them AND PurpleHeart

[PixelatedBeat]

Decided to use the Useful Shears mod Professor Dragon suggested.  I now have my tree!

And for anyone wondering what the drop rates look like with the mod, I found 10 more Crimson Maples and sheared them, and got 43 seeds.