Tree Spade vs Balled and Burlapped vs Tree Moving Boxes: Which Is Right for Your Project?

Move enough trees and you learn the method matters as much as the tree. The same 5-inch red maple can go into the ground alive and thriving, or arrive with half its roots torn off, depending on how you dug it. The tree spade vs balled and burlapped debate, plus a third option, tree moving boxes, covers the three tree transplanting methods that dominate the trade: the mechanized tree spade, hand-dug balled and burlapped (B&B), and tree moving boxes. Each one earns its place on some jobs and loses on others.

This is an honest comparison, not a pitch. We build tree spades, so you know where our bias sits, but a spade is not the answer to every move. Below we break down all three methods on cost, speed, tree size range, rootball quality and survival, and labor, then hand you a decision table so you can match the method to the job in front of you.

The three tree transplanting methods at a glance

Before the detail, here is what separates them.

A tree spade is a hydraulic machine with curved blades that plunge into the soil around the trunk, cut a cone-shaped rootball in one coordinated motion, and lift the whole tree, soil intact, in a single operation. The blades dig, close, and carry. On a Big John, the same rig can dig, lift, transport, and replant, and many models are one-person operable.

Hand balled and burlapped is the traditional method: a crew digs a rootball by hand with spades and shovels, wraps it in burlap, and often laces it with wire or twine to hold the soil together for transport. It is the same B&B concept you see on nursery stock, just done in the field at the tree’s existing location. It contrasts with container stock, where the tree is grown in a pot and its roots are already contained; container versus balled and burlapped is a nursery-production question, while what we are comparing here is how you get an established, in-ground tree out of the ground.

Tree moving boxes (also called tree boxes or wooden root boxes) are a staged, largely manual method for very large specimens. Workers dig trenches around the tree in phases, slide steel or plywood box panels against the exposed rootball, and bolt them into a rigid crate. A crane or loader then lifts the boxed rootball. It is slow and equipment-heavy on the lifting side, but it can handle rootballs bigger than most spades will ever cut.

Cost: what each method runs

Cost is the first question most buyers ask, and the honest answer is that it depends on scale and frequency, not just tree size.

Hand B&B has the lowest entry cost. The tools are shovels, burlap, and twine. If you are moving one tree once, hand digging is almost always cheapest on that single job because you are not buying or renting a machine. The cost is your crew’s time, and it climbs fast with tree size.

Tree moving boxes sit at the high end per tree. Fabricating or renting box panels, the labor to stage the dig over days, and the crane time to lift a boxed rootball add up. Boxes are reserved for trees valuable enough to justify that spend, which is why you see them on estate specimens and heritage trees rather than routine landscape stock.

Tree spade cost is capital, not per-tree labor. A spade is an equipment purchase, and the range is wide. Big John skid-steer attachments start in the low five figures, trailer- and loader-mounted units run mid-five to low six figures, and a finished truck-mounted rig can clear $200,000 once the truck is included. The economics flip once you move trees regularly: the per-move cost drops the more you run the machine, because you have replaced days of crew labor with an hour of machine time. If you move trees for a living, a spade is usually the lowest cost per move even though it is the highest cost to acquire. For a full breakdown of purchase price, financing, and total cost of ownership, see our tree spade buying guide.

So the cost verdict splits by frequency. One tree, one time: hand B&B. A giant, irreplaceable specimen: a box. Steady volume: a tree spade earns back its price.

Speed: how fast each method moves a tree

Speed is where the three methods diverge the hardest.

A tree spade moves a tree in minutes. Position the machine, drop the blades, cut the ball, lift, and go. On a Big John truck-mounted unit the dig, lift, transport, and replant happen on one rig, so a single operator can cycle multiple trees in a day. Add the tree pod capability that lets a crew stage several dug trees and haul them to the job site in one trip, and the throughput advantage over hand methods is not close.

Hand B&B is measured in hours per tree, sometimes a full day for a large one. Digging a clean rootball by hand, wrapping it, and lacing it is slow, careful work, and the bigger the ball the longer it takes and the more the soil wants to fall apart.

Tree moving boxes are the slowest by design. The staged trench-and-panel process often runs across several days because you expose and box one side of the rootball at a time. That deliberate pace is the point for prized specimens, but it is no production method.

For high-volume nursery digging or a site full of trees on a deadline, the spade’s speed is decisive. For a single tree with no clock on it, speed matters less.

Tree size range: how big a tree each method can handle

This is where the methods sort themselves, and it drives most of the decision.

Hand B&B works best on smaller trees, roughly up to 3 to 4 inches of trunk caliper, before the rootball weight becomes unmanageable by hand. Rootball weight scales fast. Using industry rootball standards, even a mid-size ball runs into the thousands of pounds, and a crew simply cannot lift or move that safely without equipment. Hand digging can technically go larger, but at that point you are renting a crane, and the “by hand” savings evaporate.

Tree spades cover a wide middle-to-large band, which is where most commercial projects live. Big John’s lineup spans from 1-inch caliper skid-steer attachments up through truck- and loader-mounted units rated to 14-inch caliper. The mechanical capacity is stated as rootball size: skid-steer models top out around a 5-inch caliper tree, while the largest truck-mounted spades cut rootballs up to 100 inches across. A spade’s rated rootball is its capacity, not a fixed size, so you can dig a smaller ball with a larger spade, but never a larger ball with a smaller one.

Tree moving boxes own the top end. When a rootball exceeds what any spade will cut, or the specimen is too valuable to risk a coned ball, boxes let you build a crate to almost any size. That is their niche: the trees too big for a spade.

Here is a working size chart to orient the decision.

Trunk caliper	Approx. minimum rootball (10-12x caliper)	Practical method
1 to 3 in	12 to 36 in	Hand B&B or a skid-steer spade
3 to 6 in	30 to 72 in	Tree spade (skid-steer up to truck-mounted)
6 to 14 in	60 to 100+ in	Truck- or loader-mounted tree spade
Larger / prized specimens	Beyond spade capacity	Tree moving boxes

Rootball sizing follows the widely used ANSI Z60.1 rule of thumb: the rootball diameter should be at least 10 to 12 inches for every inch of trunk caliper. A 3-inch tree wants a 30 to 36-inch ball; a 6-inch tree wants a 60 to 72-inch ball. Match the method to that number, not to the trunk alone.

Rootball quality and survival: moving a large tree without killing it

The point of all this is a tree that lives. Transplant survival comes down to how much healthy root you keep and how intact the soil stays around it, and the three methods differ sharply here.

A tree spade cuts a clean, consistent, cone-shaped rootball in one motion, with the soil column undisturbed inside the blades. Because the blades close and lift as a unit, the ball does not crack, slump, or lose soil in transit, and the tree spends only minutes out of the ground. Consistency is the quiet advantage: the spade cuts the same geometry every time, so survival does not hinge on how careful a tired crew was on the last dig of the day.

Hand B&B, done well, produces a fine rootball, and skilled crews have moved trees this way for generations. The risk is variability. A hand-dug ball can lose soil, dry out while it is being wrapped, or crack in handling, and the larger the tree the harder it is to keep the ball together. Burlap and wire help, but they do not match the mechanical containment of a spade’s blades.

Tree moving boxes protect the rootball extremely well once boxed, which is exactly why they are used on irreplaceable specimens. The tradeoff is the long dig time, during which exposed roots need protection from drying, and the staged trenching stresses the tree over days rather than minutes.

Whatever method you choose, survival also depends on timing, aftercare, and species. Following ISA and university cooperative extension guidance on dormant-season moves, watering, and transplant-shock management does more for survival than any single piece of equipment. The method gets the tree out of the ground with its roots intact. The care regimen keeps it alive after.

Labor: crew size and physical load

Hand B&B is the most labor-intensive method by a wide margin. Digging, wrapping, and lifting a heavy wrapped ball is hard physical work that ties up a crew for hours per tree and carries real injury risk once ball weights climb into the thousands of pounds.

Tree moving boxes are labor-heavy on the dig and equipment-heavy on the lift. You need a crew for the staged trenching and a crane or loader for the pick, so the labor line is high on both ends.

A tree spade is the leanest on labor. Many Big John models are one-person operable, so a single trained operator running one machine replaces a full digging crew. That labor reduction, not just the speed, is where the operating cost advantage comes from over a season.

Where each method wins, and where a tree spade pulls ahead

Every method has a home. Hand B&B is the right call for a single small tree, a spot a machine cannot reach, or a budget that does not justify equipment. Tree moving boxes are the right call for a giant, prized specimen that no spade can cut. Both are legitimate, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling.

That said, for the mid-to-large trees that make up most commercial and municipal work, and for any operation moving trees at volume, a tree spade wins on the metrics that matter: it moves trees in minutes instead of hours, cuts a consistent intact rootball that travels well, and replaces a full crew with one operator. The capital cost is real, but per move it is usually the cheapest of the three once you run it regularly.

If you want to see the range of mounts and sizes, browse the full tree spade lineup, and if you are weighing whether a spade fits your operation at all, our tree transplanting services and equipment overview walks through the options. Big John has built tree spades in Heber Springs, Arkansas since 1975, all-welded, made in the USA, and we will spec a unit to your trees, carrier, and soil at no charge.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to move a tree with a tree spade?

Moving a tree with a tree spade is priced per job by service providers and varies with tree size, distance, and site access, so ask for a quote. If you are buying the spade instead of hiring one, Big John skid-steer attachments start in the low five figures, trailer and loader units run mid-five to low six figures, and a finished truck-mounted rig can clear $200,000 with the truck included.

How big of a tree can be moved with a tree spade?

It depends on the spade. Big John’s line runs from 1-inch caliper skid-steer attachments up to truck- and loader-mounted units rated to 14-inch caliper, with the largest models cutting rootballs up to 100 inches across. Skid-steer spades top out around a 5-inch caliper tree. Match the spade’s rated rootball capacity to your tree, then size up if you are unsure.

How do you move a large tree without killing it?

Keep as much intact root as possible and minimize time out of the ground. A tree spade cuts a clean, consistent rootball and moves the tree in minutes, which protects the roots. Beyond the dig, survival depends on timing (favor the dormant season), thorough watering, and transplant-shock care, following ISA and university cooperative extension guidance for your species and region.

How big should a root ball be?

Follow the ANSI Z60.1 rule of thumb: the rootball diameter should be at least 10 to 12 inches for every inch of trunk caliper. A 3-inch caliper tree calls for a 30 to 36-inch rootball; a 6-inch caliper tree calls for a 60 to 72-inch rootball. Undersizing the ball strips too much root and lowers survival, so err larger when soil and equipment allow.

Tree spade vs balled and burlapped: what is the difference?

A tree spade is a hydraulic machine that cuts and lifts an intact, cone-shaped rootball in one motion, in minutes, with one operator. Balled and burlapped is a hand method: a crew digs the ball by hand, then wraps it in burlap and wire for transport. The spade is faster, more consistent, and less labor-intensive; hand B&B has the lower entry cost for a single small tree.

Which tree transplanting method is best for a large tree?

For most large trees in commercial, landscape, and municipal work, a truck- or loader-mounted tree spade is the best method: it handles up to 14-inch caliper, cuts an intact rootball, and moves the tree fast with one operator. Reserve tree moving boxes for specimens too large or too valuable for any spade, and use hand B&B for smaller trees or tight-access sites.

Related Big John equipment and guides: Big John tree spades, tree transplanting services.