Arizona Cypress Blue Ice

It is moderately fast-growing, averaging 1 to 2 feet per year.

Not usually. Pruning is mainly for shape or removing dead or diseased branches. Heavy pruning isn’t necessary and may reduce the natural dense foliage.

Yes. Once established, it withstands long dry periods. However, deep watering during extreme heat ensures foliage stays vibrant and reduces stress that can attract pests.

Early spring or fall is best, allowing roots to establish before extreme heat or cold. Avoid planting in mid-summer or during frost conditions.

Yes, young trees can be grown in large containers, provided the soil drains well. Container trees will require more frequent watering than in-ground trees.

Yes, once established, it can withstand high heat, drought, and moderate cold, making it suitable for a variety of climates. However, extreme or sudden weather changes like prolonged freezing, heavy frost, or excessive wet conditions can stress the tree.

For hedges, plant 6-8 feet apart. For specimen trees, allow 10-12 feet between centers to ensure airflow, avoid overcrowding, and support healthy growth.

Generally resistant, but cypress tip moths and spider mites can appear, especially in stressed trees. Keeping an eye on the plant paired with adequate watering, spacing, and pruning can minimize risk.

Ensuring good airflow around the tree prevents fungal problems, while maintaining strong, drought-tolerant growth helps preserve the signature blue-gray color.

When it comes to spacing there is no right or wrong answer. We prefer to give trees the most amount of separation possible and aesthetically this leads to a prettier looking tree at maturity because they develop naturally wider, fuller and more symmetrical canopies. As far as the tree's health is concerned it will not be affected by how closely it is planted to another tree but the shape of the canopy will become taller and thinner and begin to overlap, which will create a continuous hedge. If privacy is not of an immediate concern and we are just looking to diffuse the view then we could plant the trees where they barely touch at maturity.

For example, we could plant Blue Ice 15' apart (their mature width is 15') and at maturity their canopies would barely touch or we could space them even further apart than 15' which would leave a gap between the trees. Most of us don't have the luxury of planting trees this far apart and waiting 10-15 years for them to grow together and get privacy. For people that need more immediate privacy then the question to answer is "how long do you want to wait before you have a solid privacy screen?" Most answers that we get to this question will either be immediate or they are willing to wait between 2-4 years before they get solid coverage. Again, there is no right or wrong answer to this question and it is solely dependent upon how quickly the privacy is needed. For example, if a customer is looking for immediate coverage and they are planting Blue Ice, then we need to find out how wide the trees are that are being purchased and then plant them that far apart. If we find Blue Ice that are 3.5' wide then we would need to plant them 3.5' apart from trunk to trunk which allows for the branches to touch immediately at the time of planting. If we are looking for coverage in 3-4 years then the spacing would be dependent upon how quickly the trees grown per year in width and what size tree the customer decides to start with. Let's look at the previous example of an Eagleston that is currently 3.5' wide. We know that they grow about .75' per year in terms of width so over 3 years they will be about 5.75' wide and therefore we would space the 5.75’ apart (trunk to trunk) so that the trees would be touching in 3 years.