Douglas fir is an important tree species in France and represents the second species for reforestation. To meet the seed demand, eight seed orchards (artificial provenances) were planted between 1978 and 1989. A research network was established in 2009 to evaluate the growth and behavior of French seed orchard progenies. Two seed orchards with different genetic compositions (clones selected from progeny tests of the northern and southern provenances of the North American native range, respectively) are differentiated mainly by their contrasting vegetative bud burst and juvenile growth. In the context of increasing recurrence of droughts, we assessed the drought tolerance of these two seed orchards. Several experiments were conducted in France, comparing progenies from the two seed orchards. In one of them, automatic dendrometers were installed to compare daily climate impacts on the growth dynamic of the two contrasting seed orchards progenies. Results showed that progenies from the "southern" seed orchard had significantly smaller growth compared to the "northern" seed orchard under current optimal climatic conditions. However, under drier conditions, differences between these two seed orchards were greatly reduced or showed no significant growth differences. Current results and observations from controlled experiments and automatic dendrometers showed that the progenies of the two seed orchards have different strategies to cope with droughts. Our findings extend current knowledge on the potential adaptation of Douglas-fir genetic resources to drought. Moreover, these results could be used in further studies to understand drought tolerance mechanisms and help breeders select genetic resources for future seed orchards.