Cananga odorata Seeds | Ylang Ylang
LATIN NAME: Cananga odorata
COMMON NAME: Ylang Ylang
Plant Profile
Ylang Ylang (Cananga odorata) is a fast-growing evergreen tree of the custard-apple family (Annonaceae), native to the rainforests of Southeast Asia and the Philippines. It reaches 10-20 m in cultivation, with glossy, wavy-edged leaves and drooping, long-petalled, greenish-yellow flowers of legendary fragrance. Steam-distilled, the flowers yield ylang-ylang oil, a cornerstone of fine perfumery and a key note of Chanel No. 5.
Science & Biotechnology
Within the Cananga group, Cananga odorata is of continuing interest to researchers working on plant diversity, seed biology and the selection of improved garden forms. Ylang ylang essential oil, distilled from flowers, is one of the most significant natural ingredients in the global perfume industry, forming a base note in numerous classic and contemporary fragrances, including famously as a component of Chanel No. Gardeners benefit directly from its long cultivation: what the plant will do in a garden is well understood.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden, Ylang Ylang earns its place in borders, containers and mixed plantings, and it also rewards growers who raise plants for cutting, drying or kitchen use. Ylang ylang flowers and their distilled essential oil remain central ingredients in perfumery and aromatherapy worldwide, valued for a complex, intensely floral scent that few other natural fragrances match. Beyond commercial oil production, tree itself, with its unusual drooping form and star-shaped flowers, also offers genuine ornamental appeal for tropical gardens with room for its eventual substantial size. Once settled, it thrives on neglect more than on fussing.
Ylang-ylang flowers yield one of perfumery’s great essential oils, and the scent itself is studied for relaxing, blood-pressure-easing aromatherapy effects.
Growing from Seed
Seed is the natural starting point for Ylang Ylang, and the process is uncomplicated. Fresh seed is best; sow it into a loose, free-draining tropical mix and keep it warm and consistently moist. Bright light suits young tree well, and it typically grows quickly, in time producing intensely fragrant flowers that have made species so globally significant to perfume industry. Surface-sow onto a light, well-drained compost, dust over a thin covering, and keep evenly moist and sunny until the seedlings show. Shift the seedlings into small pots as soon as they can be handled, and give them bright light until planting-out time.
Our Take
Among the Cananga group, it is one of the more distinctive species in cultivation. Ylang Ylang settles in quickly once it finds its footing. Careful watering early on is rewarded by toughness at maturity.
Related Reading
Continue exploring with these related plants: