Please school me on Ylang Ylang

[metalfan]

I have 3 different "types" of Ylang Ylang.

I have the regular Cananga odorata, its a smallish tree at present that I have been assured I can keep in the greenhouse because its very "prunable". It has gone from about 15" to about 4 1/2 ft in one season (yikes!) and hasn't bloomed yet. (Photo #1)

Then I have the "dwarf" Ylang...Cananga fruiticosa. It was only supposed to get about 4-5 ft but is already closer to 7-8 ft and blooms pretty much non-stop, (Photos 2-3)

And thirdly I have the one that is supposed to be a VINE: Artobotrys hexapetalus. There is no WAY this is a vine. If anything its a shrub, but the way its going, it actually looks like it to will be a tree. This plant (I mail ordered it from Hawaii) sat seemingly dormant for about 2 years at a size of a foot tall, then suddenly out of nowhere, shop straight up and is now 6 ft tall. It too has never bloomed. (photo #4)

Is anyone else growing the hexapetalus, has it bloomed for you, what is the growth habit of yours??

[metalfan]

[metalfan]

[metalfan]

[junglegalfla]

I grow Cananga odorata. Mine started as a small 2 ft tree a couple years ago. It's currently about 15 ft and a bit messier w/ a lot more branch drop than I anticipated. I assumed this was the dwarf variety...wrong! Wow...a very robust grower! It's currently loaded w/ new blooms. My yard is going to be potent in a few days. Hope there's a strong wind! Tree is against the fence in the middle of this photo...growing quickly toward the power lines (told ya I thought it was a dwarf ! )

I also have the vine or what's proported to be a vine. Mine looks like yours but has yet to bloom. I too was taken back by it's shrubby appearance. I was told that it would start to 'vine' at about 4-5 '. Mine has yet to show that characteristic.

[Carlo Morici]

We grew from seeds Artobotrys hexapetalus both at the Palmetum in S Cruz and at the plot of the Agronomy Research Center in SW Tenerife, it has an unusual growth habit. It is scrambling, reminiscent of an untrained bougainvillea planted in the open field. It might starts as a tree but then produces more arching tall stems from the base.

Carlo

[junglegalfla]

Gina,

Here's a better pic. You're going to be doing a lot of trimming if yours gets too happy.

All the trimming won't affect flower formation?

[Jerry@TreeZoo]

Gina,

I can't give advice on the vine but I can on the Cananga oderata.  You should start giving it some training cuts, almost like a giant bonsai.  In South Fla you see them 30' to 40' tall.

Jerry

[metalfan]

Hmmmmmm...... Define "training cuts"!!!

Yours is DEFINITELY not the dwarf, Bren! I got my dwarf in the very first wave of these that Enid Offolter sold several years ago now. It was about 2 feet when I got it and has grown quite well. It bloomed at 2 ft I might add. EVeryone who has it (well, I know 2 other folks) say that the blooms are scentless, but mine are not...they smell great once they are really "ripe".

Okay, I will wait longer on the A. hexapetalus to see what it does....but I am afraid its going to outgrow that space if it continues like it is. I had wanted to train it up a support til it turned into a tree.

[Jeff Searle]

I have the common tree form also. Mine is pushing 25' now, is quite fragrant when it comes into bloom. But it too tends to be a bit messy and drops alot of small stick branches. My dwarf has been planted probably about 2 years now, and is definitely a dwarf. It's about 3' tall now.It has flowered alot too. I can't say if the flowers have a scent to them or not. I don't have third one.

Jeff

[daxin]

I bought an Artabotrys  hexapetalus in 3g in 1999. Since then it has been leaves only till last year, when it produced one flower. This year there has been a continuous stream of blooms since early June. This is said to be a very tough plant so you just have to let your plant mature and then it will come to bloom. Your plant seems to have good size but is a little leggy. So maybe a sunnier location and a little more phosphate will help.

The fragrance of Artabotrys is very strong and fruity, sort of like that of a ripe canteloupe. On the other hand, Cananga fruticosa does not have good fragrance in my opinion. I gave mine away to a friend and in return he gave me a seedling Cananga odorata, which I still have high hope for. Gardino Nursery in Florida used to carry another dwarf Ylang Ylang: Desmos chinensis, which is in the same family as Cananga and Artabotrys and the flowers are supposedly quite fragrant too.

Here are two photos of my Artabotrys and its flower. It is the shrub to the right in the greenhouse photo. (The palm outside is Arenga micrantha, the variegated plant inside is Zingiber collinsii, the lacy leaf is from a Cycas debaoensis, and the orchid is Rhyncholaelia digbyana)

[metalfan]

Wow yours is really shrubby! Like I said, mine was stuck at a very small size til suddenly it acted like it was on growth hormones and just shot straight up. I can't wait til it blooms now!! Love your greenhouse, looks very cool!

[wintburma]

Hello, while I was searching dwarf ylang ylang plant, I came across this forum and your posts. Would you be able to direct me where I can buy Cananga fruticosa?  I used to have a very  big tree in my backyard before I moved to US and this plant reminds me of home. I am in California so most of the plant nurseries in Florida are not able to ship to california. Thanks for your help. 

[metalfan]

Hey wintburma I have not actually seen this for sale in many years.

[aussiearoids]

Native to my area , and mine is probably 20m now . Dropping branches but rewarding me with its delightful perfume.

 

[bubba]

Just a plain old Ylang Ylang growing nearby. The smell after a thunderstorm is like perfume: