Growing dwarf lamb hass near house

Vudoo starts with ...
Hi,

I'm from Melbourne's west with limited space for growing fruit trees (about 1mt x 12mts long - west facing). I'm planning to grow a dwarf lamb hass avocado once i get my hands on one. I've searched around the net regarding its root system and there's been mix infos for avocado - some said it's shallow while others are saying that they're deep rooted. Which one is correct? If I grow the dwarf variety about 1.4mts away from the foundation on a 400mm raised bed (1x1mts) would that be ok being a dwarf?

Markmelb says...
My Lamb Hass will be 4yo next Summer - it is more compact and has more internodal flowering and growth than Hass as well as being alot later ripening
(fruit can stay on tree over a year ) I would regard it as Semi-Dwarf as said on the Birdwood Label - mine has sort of topped out until I give surface roots more room to grow from its 1mt Diam 35cm tall metal border.(see my edibles)

GG says...
Hi again,
Being in a raised bed won't effect the trees unless the bed is fully contained (in which case don't plant the LambHass) or the bed is higher than the roots are deep (where you may have ground heat or watering issues during summer).
You could plant them 1m apart. Overtime the LambHass would out compete the DwarfWurtz just because it is faster growing and ultimately far larger.
It is somewhat pointless having both so close together. Just devote yourself to one tree to get the best out of it.
GG

Vudoo says...
Hi GG,

It would be ideal to grow both type A&B but because I cannot find any dwarf B type I don’t think it’s possible with the small area that I have.
The raised bed was initially built (crushed rock underneath) for growing vegies, then 2-3 months later I started to grow persimmon, nectarine, peach, blue berries, dragon fruit, kiwi berry, sugar cane (no idea why), banana, papaya and raspberries.
Although I’ve learnt my lesson with raspberries, has been transplanted to a pot. Have also ordered a dwarf fuji apple and cherry on bare root stock.
I also want to grow a cherimoya and a longan, but as you can see there isn’t much room left for a 12mts long bed.
Climate suitability for the Lamb Hass is cool to warm temperate (as stated on Daley’s website – not sure if typo) which suits my area hence the interest.
Have you tasted the Wurtz avocado, how do they compare to other variety?

GG says...
Look up 'training avocados' on the net. There are some great youtube videos. It isn't too hard, but it is a constant battle. Your dwarf will be a pleasure to maintain by comparison.

Danny333 says...
Hi RC,

Lamb Hass will be happier and grow larger in the ground but it will also be fine in a very large pot. I have one in a 160L plastic pot and it is doing great. Many others will recommend a fabric pot as it will air prune the roots. Fabric pots are a great choice but will require more frequent watering due to evaporation. Check out the thread “Growing avocado trees in half wine barrels� for more info on this.

As for growing avocados near a house I wouldn’t recommend growing one less than 5 or 6 meters from the foundation even if it is dwarf. They will all become large trees if not pruned and will all get fairly large root systems over time that can become destructive.

I would also grow Lamb Hass over a Wurtz if you only want one tree. I have had a few Wurtz trees in the past and have found them to be quite a weak tree. They sunburn very easily and have not been very productive for me without a pollinator. The Wurtz fruit taste ok but aren’t in the same league as Hass type fruit.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
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Correy321 says...
@Marmot1 it is smaller when compared to the "Average" avocado variety. A more accurate description would be semi dwarf.
eg. read this description because lamb hass is part of this category.
https://www.daleysfruit.com.au/semi-dwarf-plants.htm

It's not a true dwarf which is very common in citrus.
https://www.daleysfruit.com.au/true-dwarf-plants.htm
( eg read that description )

The actual variety lamb hass which is grafted onto likely a reed (like most grafted avocados) will not be as large as other varieties of avocado eg the generic hass avocado. generally they grow 2-5m however it's very common to see small avocado trees that have been heavily pruned with massive trunks and still under 2m high. This is up to your maintenance routine.

@RC: Re: Roots.
If you grow it in a pot make sure it's very, very large. Reason being is they generally have very shallow root systems very close to the surface. So if your pot is tiny then the amount of roots that can be shallow on the surface is tiny. It's never going to be as healthy as one grown in the ground. A good indicator is the width of the canopy. This width is how far out the root system will be towards the surface. Of all the fruit trees not to grow in a pot avocados would be first on the list. Not saying it can't be done. But choose a super wide pot not a deep one.

Marmot1 says...
@Correy321 thanks for sharing. I checked the name, it should be the way you described. I recently grafted one lamb hass, and it grows quickly.

@Danny33 I'm glad to hear your success with pot-contained plants. I have a small backyard, pummelo, peach and so on have higher priority than avocado trees, so it's really reassuring to plant avocado trees in pots.
Recently I have around 10 types of avocado trees, nearly all of them are okay, although hass and bacon suffered a little pain from heat waves.