A method of decoding includes partitioning a rectangular transform tree node (TTN) using either a vertical binary tree split or a horizontal binary tree split to generate square child TTNs when a maximum transform unit (TU) size for the TTN is smaller than either dimension of the TTN. The method further includes partitioning the child TTNs using a quadtree split to generate transform units (TUs) when the first child TTN dimension and the second child TTN dimension are larger than the maximum TU size, determining that the child TTNs are TUs when the first child TTN dimension and the second child TTN dimension are less than or equal to the maximum TU size, applying the TUs to transform coefficients to generate residuals, and generating a reconstructed block based on the residuals.