Predictable Poplars

Poplar Saplings in Minecraft 26.3 can grow into red, orange, or yellow trees, but vanilla chooses the color randomly.

Predictable Poplars adds a simple way to choose the color yourself without adding new saplings, menus, or items.

How to use it

Place two matching Poplar Leaves on opposite sides of a Poplar Sapling.

For example, to grow a red poplar:

Red Poplar Leaves
        ↓
    Poplar Sapling
        ↑
Red Poplar Leaves

You can also place them on the other axis:

Red Poplar Leaves → Poplar Sapling ← Red Poplar Leaves

The same works with all three colors:

• Red Poplar Leaves → Red Poplar
• Orange Poplar Leaves → Orange Poplar
• Yellow Poplar Leaves → Yellow Poplar

The leaves need to be directly next to the sapling and on opposite sides. North/South and East/West both work.

What if there isn't a valid pair?

Nothing changes.

If the sapling doesn't have a complete matching pair, it keeps its normal vanilla behavior and grows into a random poplar color.

That includes things like:

• only one leaf next to the sapling
• two leaves that aren't opposite each other
• two different leaf colors
• regular non-poplar leaves

If both directions contain valid pairs of different colors, the result is also left to vanilla.

So you only get a guaranteed color when the setup clearly points to one.

Natural growth and Bone Meal

The mechanic works with both normal tree growth and Bone Meal.

The color is checked when the tree actually grows, so you can also change the surrounding leaves before that happens.

The leaves themselves aren't consumed by the mod.

Vanilla-friendly

Predictable Poplars doesn't add any new blocks, items, saplings, recipes, or world generation.

It only changes which existing vanilla poplar variant is selected when you deliberately place the matching leaves around a Poplar Sapling.

Without that setup, Poplar Saplings behave exactly as they normally do.

Compatibility

• Minecraft 26.3
• Fabric
• NeoForge
• Fabric API is not required