I don't do much planting and Iv'e hear people who love either one or the other.

This is purely suposition on my part but it seams to me that here in S/E WI spade plantings fale more than b&b.

jps

Reply to post by John Sanborn, on July 25, 1998 at 17:42:30:

Dealing in both spade and B&B plantings in Northwest IL, I have found no signficant difference in planting types: rather, tree establishment seems to be correlated to post-transplant care. For example, I transplanted twenty 10 inch dia. white pines with only a 44 inch mover and, with vigorous watering, all are doing fine after 3 years.

There can be exceptions, though, regradless of technique: time of season plants are dug, the size of rootball and the type of tree being dug. But these factors are more related to specific requirements depending on plant genera as opposed to digging method.

Reply to post by John Sanborn, on July 25, 1998 at 17:42:30:

We move large trees by both spade and B&B. I think that B&B is the best method, all other factors being equal; of course it is more $$$.