Install Bonsai Trees 3 on your server

Bonsai Trees 3 adds the Bonsai Pot, a one-block pot that grows a small tree and can cut it and hand over the wood on its own. It runs on Forge, and every player needs it on their own game too.

Checked against Bonsai Trees 3 version 3.3.2 on Forge 1.20.1, October 2026.

What you need

• Forge on Minecraft 1.20.1. Version 3.3.2 is built against Forge 47.3.0. Pick 1.20.1 in JAR Manager and the panel runs the server on Java 17 for you.
• Libnonymous 2.3 or newer. The mod's own metadata lists it as required. CurseForge shows Bonsai Trees with no dependencies, so the install window will not offer it. Install it yourself first.
• A different Minecraft version? CurseForge also has Bonsai Trees 3 files for Forge 1.18.2 and 1.19.2. For NeoForge 1.21.1 the author moved to Bonsai Trees 4, a rewrite with its own settings that this guide does not cover.

Switch the server to Forge 1.20.1

1. Open JAR Manager, under More in the left rail.
2. Set Server software to Forge and Minecraft version to 1.20.1, then press Apply change.
3. Leave Take a backup first ticked, press and hold Confirm & reinstall, and wait for the console to finish.

Change your Minecraft version or mod loader covers the switch in full.

Install it

1. Open the Mods tab under Content and select the CurseForge source chip, because the mod is published there.
2. Search for Libnonymous and press Install on it.
3. Search for Bonsai Trees and pick the one by Davenonymous. Its CurseForge page is now titled Bonsai Trees 4, but it also hosts the 3.x files for 1.20.1. Press Install.
4. Go to Console, press Start and accept the EULA prompt the first time. The server is ready when the console shows Done.

To check it loaded, run bonsai list sapling in the Console. It prints every sapling the mod can grow and the soils each one accepts.

Grow your first tree

The mod's own steps are short. Craft a Bonsai Pot and place it, right-click it with a soil such as dirt, then right-click it with a sapling. When the tree is ready, press the axe button in the pot's screen to harvest it. Some trees need a particular soil, and bonsai list soil shows the soils the server knows.

The pot also has upgrade slots:

• A hopper pushes the harvest into the inventory below the pot.
• An axe cuts the tree automatically once it is fully grown. Items that do not fit in the output buffer are voided.
• A Silk Touch axe or book unlocks drops that need it, and a bee hive or nest lets fruit-type drops happen.
• Fortune adds drop rolls, and Efficiency shortens the growing time.

Tune it for your server

The first start writes bonsaitrees3-common.toml into the config folder. Open it in the File Manager, press Save when you are done and restart the server. These options matter most on a busy server:

• enableAutoCuttingUpgrade and enableHoppingUpgrade default to true. Set one to false and its effect stops, though the item still fits in the slot.
• hoppingCooldown and cuttingCooldown default to 60 ticks. The mod warns that lowering them adds load to the server.
• minimumRequiredTicks defaults to 10 and sets the fastest any tree can grow, and requiredTicksModifier (default 1.0) speeds up or slows down every tree at once.
• allowBonemeal defaults to true, and bonemealSuccessChance to 0.45.

Common problems

• The server stops at start and names libnonymous. Install Libnonymous from the Mods tab, in the build for 1.20.1.
• Players cannot join. They need the same Bonsai Trees 3 and Libnonymous files on Forge 1.20.1. Press Export for players in the Installed view of the Mods tab for a zip of what they need, then read Join a modded server from your launcher.
• Something else breaks at start. Fix Minecraft mod and plugin load errors walks through reading the log.