Want to know how fast Arizona cypress grows?

Arizona cypress (Cupressus arizonica) is such a fast grower that it can leap from being a cute, little plant in a three-gallon pot to a full-fledged tree in just a few short years.

That’s what happened for my wife and me. We planted an Arizona cypress in our backyard fully aware of its ability to grow big — and quickly. And that’s exactly what it did.

In fact, our Arizona cypress became one of the fastest-growing shrubs in our yard. It easily outgrew our viburnums; we planted those as a privacy screen. The Arizona cypress is growing a little faster than a rather similar eastern red cedar that anchors one of the corners of our home.

Few plants in our yard have grown faster — perhaps beaten out only by a passionfruit vine, star jasmine, and maybe the grass?

How Fast Arizona Cypress Grows?

Arizona cypress is one of the fastest-growing trees around.

So, just how fast does Arizona cypress grow? This rapidly growing plant can tack on an outstanding 3 feet per year given ideal growing conditions.

What Are The Best Growing Conditions For Arizona Cypress?

Arizona cypress plants favor full sunlight and well-drained soil. Yet, they are fairly adaptable to a plethora of other growing conditions, including sandier soils and salty environments near the ocean.

Those who live in drier climates often like Arizona cypress because it’s relatively drought tolerant, too. That’s not to say the plant can’t suffer from heat stress. Ours did during a particularly long stretch of high temperatures and no rain that lasted about three weeks at the end of a very hot summer. But Arizona cypress tends to do alright in hot conditions with little to no irrigation or rainfall for a few days at a time, as I’ve seen firsthand.

Arizona cypress plants are also good for growing on slopes and hills.

However, there are a couple of situations in which Arizona cypress does not grow well:

• Elevations above 3,000 feet
• Areas with high water tables

Just How Big Does Arizona Cypress Get?

In general, you can expect your Arizona cypress to reach as tall as 40 to 60 feet in height and 15 to 30 feet in width.

Because Arizona cypress can get so big, it’s ideal to think about the principles of right plant, right place in your landscape.

What does this mean? Think about how big a plant might become at maturity when deciding where to situate it. Putting a plant that can grow as tall as a five-story building right in front of your living room windows might not be advisable. Nor would placing Arizona cypress directly under power lines that electrify your home be smart.

In my wife’s and my case, we planted our Arizona cypress in a large, open corner of our yard where it shouldn’t be impeded by much of anything if it gets to its advertised mature height and width.

Ideal Settings

Think about how well Arizona cypress does in dry, hot conditions… What’s one of the first things that comes to mind? Well, for me, it’s that Arizona cypress would be fantastic in a xeriscaping setting. It would also perform well in desert landscapes.

Their height also lends for Arizona cypress serving as a great windbreak if planted in a row. The same can be said for the plant’s propensity for offering privacy. Arizona cypress is a terrific plant for privacy screens — something aided by the plant’s tall, wide, and fast growth.

In fact, given how much more quickly our Arizona cypress has grown versus our other plants, my wife and I sometimes wish we’d planted a whole row of this beautiful blueish-green tree along one of our fences. Then again, we would’ve lost a lot of real estate in our yard to a row of these wide-growing plants.

Ugh… Decisions, decisions, right?