My customer says his Portuguese laurel which is now a 5 foot tree won’t be growing any bigger. It is in the shade, but don’t these get 15 feet in height?
SelecTree, the website of the Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute, says that Portugal Laurel (Prunus lusitanica)will do well in sun to partial shade, and may grow up to 35 feet tall, at a rate of two feet a year.
The Sunset Western Garden Book (2001) says that a multi-trunked tree can get as large as 30 feet high and 30 feet wide. Perhaps your customer is expressing wishful thinking, and aspires to grow a shrub rather than a tree. Some people do grow it as a hedge, and clip it frequently to control its size.