Tree Uplighting Guide
Uplighting a tree well requires the right beam, wattage and aim. The most common mistake is too many fixtures and not enough thought.
Treat the Tree as a Sculpture
Most beautiful tree lighting comes from one or two carefully aimed fixtures, not a ring of floods.
Beam and Wattage by Tree Size
| Tree Size | Beam | Wattage |
|---|---|---|
| Small (< 4m) | 24°–36° | 5–10W |
| Medium (4–8m) | 15°–24° | 10–20W |
| Large (> 8m) | 10°–15° | 20–40W |
| Canopy spread tree | Two narrow beams at 30°–45° angle | 15W each |
Placement
- Set fixtures 0.5–1m from the trunk
- Aim 30°–45° from vertical to graze the canopy
- Two fixtures opposite each other for sculptural trees
- One fixture for slender, vertical trees
- Avoid pointing toward windows or neighbours
Common Mistakes
- Single wide-flood at the base, flat result
- Too many fixtures, the tree disappears in glow
- Cool CCT, alien look
- No glare shield, fixture seen before the tree
Professional Recommendation
One or two narrow-beam fixtures with deep glare shields per tree. 2700K. Shielded from sightlines.
Lighting Intelligence by Alya
At Ashwamedha Design Solutions, this is part of our Lighting Intelligence practice, every recommendation is validated through DIALux simulation, lux calculations and visual comfort analysis before it reaches a construction site. Alya, our lighting intelligence platform, packages this thinking into reusable design tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should fixtures be in the ground?+
In-grade fixtures are clean visually but maintenance-heavy. Spike-mount is more flexible.
Related Service
Landscape & Facade Lighting
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