The key difference between sapling and seedling is that sapling is a young tree which is less than one year old and has 1 to 6 inches of diameter at breast height while seedling is a young plant which has cotyledons and adolescent leaves and has less than 1 inch of diameter at breast height.
Seed, sprout, seedling, sapling and tree are different distinctive phases of a plant or a tree. Seedling and sapling are two juvenile phases among these stages. Seedling is a very young plant coming out from the seed, still having cotyledons. Furthermore, its leaves are adolescent leaves. Seedling transforms into the sapling. Thus, the next stage of the seedling is the sapling. Sapling is a young tree which has adult leaves. However, it is less than a one-year-old tree with 1 to 6 inches of diameter at breast height.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is a Sapling
3. What is a Seedling
4. Similarities Between Sapling and Seedling
5. Side by Side Comparison – Sapling vs Seedling in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What is a Sapling?
Sapling is a young tree that is less than one year old. It is the stage next to the seedling stage. Sapling has 1 to 6 inches of diameter at breast height. Moreover, it has adult leaves.
Figure 01: Sapling
Similar to a seedling, a sapling is also a juvenile life stage of a tree. A sapling can originate from a seed, or through a vegetative part such as cutting.
What is a Seedling?
Seedling is the young plant arising newly from the seed. Basically, it is the first stage of the growth cycle of a tree. Hence, the seedling is very tender and succulent. It has cotyledons attached with it.
Figure 02: Seedlings
Moreover, it has adolescent leaves. Generally, its’ diameter at breast height is less than 1 inch. Seedlings are very vulnerable to animals such as deer.
What are the Similarities Between Sapling and Seedling?
- Sapling and seedling are two distinctive adolescent life stages of a tree.
- Moreover, seedlings convert into saplings.
What is the Difference Between Sapling and Seedling?
Sapling is a young tree with 1 to 6 inches diameter at breast height. In contrast, a seedling is a very young plant with less than a 1-inch diameter at breast height. Thus, this is the key difference between sapling and seedling. Moreover, a seedling has adolescent leaves while a sapling has adult leaves. This is another difference between sapling and seedling. Seedling is followed by a sapling while sapling is followed by a mature tree.
Summary – Sapling vs Seedling
Seedling and sapling are two juvenile growth stages of a plant. Seedling is the very young plant originating through a seed which has less than 1-inch diameter at breast height. Seedling converts into sapling when it reaches the maximum height of the seedling stage. Sapling is a young tree which has 1 to 6 inches diameter at breast height. A sapling can originate through a seed or a vegetative part. This summarizes the difference between sapling and seedling.
Image Courtesy:
1. “small tomato seedling in the ground” By Marco Verch Professional Photographer and Speaker (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr
2. “Sapling on a stub” By Alanzon – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia