Cananga odorata (Ylang Ylang)

Ylang-Ylang is the tree behind the worlds most famous fragrance - Chanel No. 5. Its golden, star-like flowers drip from the branches with a scent so powerful you can smell it from yards away. Native to Indonesia and Southeast Asia, this tropical evergreen can reach impressive heights, yet it blooms almost year-round, covering itself in clusters of perfumed flowers.

The fragrance shifts as the blooms age, from green to lemon yellow to deep golden, each stage producing an intoxicating scent prized in perfumery and aromatherapy. Even without flowers, its tiered branches and glossy leaves create a striking, almost Christmas-tree effect.

For smaller spaces, a dwarf form, Cananga fruticosa, brings the same beauty and scent in patio-friendly size. Whether towering or compact, Ylang-Ylang is more than a plant it s living perfume in your garden.

This is an evergreen tree, around 30 to 45Ft in height, with gracefully drooping branches. It is often grown in the gardens of Southeast Asia because of its yellow-green, highly fragrant, drooping flowers, which appear almost continuously on the leafy twigs. Though not striking from a distance, green when they first appear and becoming yellow with maturity, these are very fragrant and are used as offering or to scent a room. Fragrance embraces the yard for many yards around. The flower itself though not standing out among green leaves from the distance, still looks very stylish and reminds an elegant accessory for a luxurious brand name evening dress in addition to it's wonderful fragrance. No wonder the flowers are used for production of Chanel#5 perfume. There is also a smaller form of this plant - Cananga odorata var. fruticosa that grows into a dense shrub about 9ft in height. Cananga does best in full sun but will grow in light shade. Propagation is by seeds, more difficult by cuttings. Very fast growing.

See article about Cananga.