I planted 3 Bleu Nantais in 2018 and the tag said they would be about 4 ft in 10 years. I know that everything grows much bigger in the Pacific Northwest but in 5 years they are over 6 ft and not showing any signs of slowing down. Does anyone have any experience with these trees? Do they just keep growing or do they eventually slow down? They are very beautiful trees and a magnificent blue but I’m worried that they will outgrow their spot. Thanks Lesley
I haven't had any experience with the topic tree, but I've found that fruit trees in this area usually grow about twice their advertised height.
If they are grafted on seedling rootstocks of normal vigor that may have increased their rate of growth - it's not unusual to see specimens of dwarf and slow growing conifer cultivars at outlets that are already as big as they are supposed to get after many years. I think grafting onto non-dwarf rootstocks by production nurseries is a common reason for this. And I am sure if such examples really were that old the retail prices for these would be in the hundreds of dollars. Otherwise, plant development does still vary to some extent with site conditions even when cloning is employed in order to try and achieve uniform results. Conifer Database (conifersociety.org)
I'd be surprised if they're not on their own roots, cuttings rather than grafting is the norm for Lawson's Cypress cultivars as it is cheaper. Grafting is usually reserved for plants that don't root easily from cuttings, like most Pinaceae species.
UK does not yet have the root rot problem we have over here. Where resistant rootstock selections are being used for a percentage of commercial production. Pacific Horticulture | The Untimely Demise of the Lawson Cypress
