Will keeping a pine tree short and pruned stop the roots from spreading/getting too big?

[Bamboozled]

I've got a 4' tall Italian Stone pine tree that's growing well- it was one of those 1' tall mini Christmas trees you see at the big box stores during the holidays. They can get huge- I've got a couple that are now about 14' tall (along the chain link fence at the back of the yard):

I'd like to plant a grafted avocado tree in the same area as the 4' pine, about 3' away. If I were to keep the 4' pine small by continually trimming the branches, will it keep the roots from spreading and getting too big?

The roots of the pine tree aren't that big yet and haven't spread much. I could dig it out and relocate it, but I'd prefer to keep it there as long as it's not going to negatively affect the growth of the avocado tree. Thanks for any feedback!

 

[Meadowlark]

Pine trees generally have long tap roots and not a lot of side shoots. One source on the 'net advises that keeping the tree small through regular pruning can potentially slow the overall growth of the roots, as the tree's energy requirements are reduced.

That Italian Stone pine can be grown in a container which is the ultimate root control.

 

[Bamboozled]

Hey thanks Meadowlark, maybe I'll keep it there then. These little pine trees are great, they seem to take a couple of years to get established, and then they start growing a couple feet a year- with zero watering and no fertilizer.

 

[cpp gardener]

And eventually get 60-80' tall. Have fun pruning them!

 

[Bamboozled]

Hah- yeah- things could get out of control pretty quickly lol.

Current state of affairs:

 

[cpp gardener]

I hadn’t read all of the post and didn’t catch the reference to the Avocado. It doesn’t stand a chance against the pine. The pine grows MUCH faster and bigger than the Avocado. Move one or the other, or you will only have a pine.

 

[Bamboozled]

Agreed- thanks cpp. I'm wondering if the avocado would be okay if the pine were kept at its current size- well actually, about 60% of the size in the pic, as I gave it a trim tonight.

 

[cpp gardener]

IF you can keep it smaller than the avocado there is hope. It’s going to be a lot of work, though. I have one at work that I have trimmed as niwaki, landscape bonsai, that I have to trim HARD about 3 times a year to keep it in shape. I haven’t trimmed it since Christmas and it’s overdue. I’ll try to get to it next week or the week after to show how it looks now and how it looks when I’m done.

 

[Bamboozled]

Much appreciated. This pine is still pretty small, it only took a couple minutes if that to trim it down. It wouldn't be a big deal to relocate it, but if it won't negatively impact the growth and health of the avocado tree I'd rather keep it there. I'm also just curious about root growth when keeping a tree small that wants to grow big.