How to get rooted dirt in Minecraft's 1.18 update

Minecraft 1.18 brings the rest of the splendor of the Caves & Cliffs update to bear, and among the many implementations, players can also find a new decorative block in rooted dirt.

Rooted dirt is a somewhat peculiar block compared to its normal counterpart in Minecraft, being incapable of having things like mycelium or grass grow over it. This is similar to coarse dirt, but as the name implies, rooted dirt also has the ability to grow hanging roots from it. On the underside of the block, roots are capable of growing and hanging from the block itself, and Minecraft players can grow these roots manually by applying bone meal to the underside of the block.

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Minecraft: Finding azalea trees and rooted dirt

Azaleas are currently the only tree type known to generate rooted dirt blocks (Image via Mojang)

If players in Minecraft 1.18 are hoping to find rooted dirt blocks naturally in Survival Mode, they'll need to search out azalea trees, often marked by the purple flowers within their leaves. Azaleas generate above lush cave biomes and are quite rare on their own. They appear similar to oak trees, but their trunks and leaves grow in slightly erratic patterns that distinguish them from normal oaks.

Lush caves typically generate underground in forested biomes in Minecraft 1.18, so players may want to begin their search for azalea trees there. The irregular growth patterns and flowers of azaleas should provide a substantial visual clue in a large forest biome littered with other trees. Once players have found their azalea tree, they can dig underneath it to find rooted dirt.

Root systems for azalea trees can be extensive and reach all the way down into a lush cave and even somewhat beyond, under the right conditions. With that in mind, digging underneath an azalea tree is a great means of obtaining rooted dirt. Conversely, players who find themselves in a lush cave biome may be able to dig upward towards a rooted azalea tree as well.

As long as Minecraft gamers are thorough in their digging between the azalea tree and the lush cave, they should find a bounty of rooted dirt blocks to their liking.

Lastly, players who find azalea bushes in the Overworld can apply bone meal to them to potentially convert them into azalea trees. This will replace the dirt under the bush with rooted dirt, providing even more access to the new block.