ylang ylang vine

Has any one grown this vine i love anything that smells great ordered some seeds going to give it a try. Any one have any experince growing this? Any info would be greatly appreicated. Thanks Dana

I grow one of the Ylang Ylang Vines, not sure which one but I think it's Artabotrys odoratissimus which I got from Tops I think. I'm here in Brandon (close by Tampa) and it does wonderful. I have it in a pot and have never had a problem with it. Last year I had about 5 flowers on it and they smelled amazing. I can't wait for this year. No bugs, glossy green leaves and so far no barbs/thorns which they are supposed to get as they get older.

As you can see in the picture it hasn't started to vine or climb yet which I'm quite happy about. I've had it for 2-3 years. I think I remember seeds last year which I planted but never came up. I think I picked them when they weren't ready.

I also have the Ylang Ylang tree in a pot and got flowers last year but I was a tad disappointed on the fragrance of those. The Dwarf Ylang Ylang flowers stink to me. But that's just my opinion. This Ylang Ylang vine is more candy smelling it's certainly one I look forward to each year.

There is a nursery in babson park that has the dwarf ylang ylang and I agree with astcgirl, they flowers stink like burning rubber or something like that. I wasn't thrilled about the dwarf.

Dana, since you like plants the smell great, surely you have the tea olive (Osmanthus Fragrans)?

No I have heard of this onen ever crossed my path yet. There was ylang ylang vine and tree seedlings on ebay a guy from miami should have bought one these seeds are so slow.

Well I have an extra Tea olive in a 3 gallon pot. I got it last year for $3 because someone broke one of the stems off and it was injured. It is coming back nicely and has bloomed quite well. In my opinion, it is the sweetest smelling flower ever. It is about 3+ feet tall. If you want it, I can bring it to you sometime??? It sits on the side of my house and i just take care of it but I already have 2 more so it is just an extra I have been nursing.

If your like me with the scent dukes of tucany i have this the smell will carry you off it is so good the plant its self not much but its flower white like a tiny full rose is so fragrant check it out. Hers the tumeric

Yeah, my dad, has the Sambac jasmine but he trimmed it up after the cold, I am waiting for it to fill in a bit so I can take some cuttings. I love the foliage on that tumeric.

I can never detect a scent in the A. hexpetalis....and the Cananga odorata hasn't bloomed for me yet...heck, it is only 5 years old and I live in blinking Hawaii...but I have no idea why....

Dan duke of tuscany is the same thing your father has isn't it it doesn't grow fast here but I am thiankful for those flowers the scents just heavenly

I think so but I know that there are several different cultivars of the Sambac.

I can't find the scent in A. hexapetalus either. My Cananga never bloomed, even at almost 15 ft tall, so I took it out. The only one that DOES bloomis my Dwarf, which is not so very dwarf anymore, its almost 10 ft tall. But it goes pretty much straight up, doesn't have the umbrella shape of the others

And how is the scent?

To me there is a definite scent on the Dwarf, but the flowers have to be 'old'. And you have to get pretty close. Its not like it wafts out and looks for your nose LOL. Others who grow the dwarf say there is NO scent but that's not true, at least for my tree. I guess trees could be variable.

Thanks from all you saying I'm passing on this one sounds like not worth the effort if the scents not outstanding I don't want it

I hope your not passing on the Artabotrys odoratissimus (Artabotrys hexapetalus - Tops has this under the same names this is the Ylang Ylang Vine) as this is the one that I have and it does smell amazing, I'm not sure where you are in Florida compared to Brandon (Tampa area) but I'd give it a try, I think it's even worth it from seed, I was just lucky enough to but this one from Ebay and it was already old enough to flower even though I did have to wait a year or so before I got to smell them. You may want to pose your question to those on the Fragrance Forum also. If you go on the link http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/60824/ I know Bedouin has one that he sometimes offers seeds for, he may be able to help more on the fragrance as it flowers for him every year, he also has the Cananaga Odorata (Ylang Ylang Tree).

I grew the Ylang Ylang Tree (Cananaga Odorata) in a pot, it grows very fast and I trim the roots each year. I have had it about 3-4 years now and I have had a few flowers, however they are usually so late in the year that it's starting to get colder when they bloom for me. There is a fragrance, and it is ok but just not one of my favorites. A. Hexapetalus is one of my favorite's.

I see you were also talking about the Grand Duke of Tuscany, this is on my top fragrant list, it's a wonderfully fragrant plant, I have had one for about 3 years and it is full of unopened buds right now, about 100 of them, the scent is wonderful after dusk, but they also smell during the day for me, they resemble a carnation/rose with lots of clustered petals together.

The Tea Olive (Osmanthus) is also heavenly, you usually notice the delicious smell before the flowers as they are very small. I find them even on sale at Lowes/HD from time to time.

This message was edited Apr 29, 2010 12:43 PM

Astcgirl i used to live in Hickory creek in brandon now I am proably 10-15 minutes down 60 right at the county line If it smells that good I will have to reconsider. I really like the mock orange or orange jasmine can't find it any more mine frooze a few years back and have been looking for that cute little tree ever since if a nersery sells citrus they can't sell those but there hard to fing I even bought seeds for get that I'm not going to live long enough lol

I have grown the YlangYlang vine...2 plants in 2 places and none have been fragrant...flowers/seeds yes...but no fragrance, even sticking my nose right in them!!!....darn. I tore them out... The Cananga odorata is now about 20' tall and has never bloomed... just across from the Cananga is a Amherstia nobilis blooming its' head off. All my other fragrant plants go gangbusters. There must be a strain of them that are duds. I have them!!! With all the other wildly fragrant plants...too much space taken up by GREEN!!!!

Carol, my Cananga odorata took AGES to bloom, it finally did last year for the first time.
It has some frost damage I still need to cut back. As yours, mine has gotten very tall.

Guess the wait continues....

If you all wouldn't mind me hijacking this thread for a minute, I have a little vine that I'm sure is a tropical and rare growing from a seed but I have no idea what it is. I planted Ylang Ylang and many others a while back which didn't sprout so I re-used the soil to pot other seeds in. Well, I got the new seeds to sprout and this one too. Now I don't know what it is, I did post on the plant ID forum but thought because so many of you that grow tropicals were already here, maybe one would be able to tell what it is. Thanks.

Another close up of the leaf.

And another mystery!!! No idea what it is...certainly not YlangYllang....

I wonder if it could be a Tabebuia of some kind?