Altitude

• The number of years the ylang ylang tree needs to grow before it produces flowers depends on elevation, according to Plant Resources of South-East Asia, a producer's manual for ylang ylang and other essential oil plants. At sea level, the tree might reach maturity after only one and a half to two years, while at 500 meters and above, it may take seven years or more.
  
  

Environment

• Ylang ylang trees are tropical to sub-tropical and depend on long growing seasons to grow rapidly. In more temperate, cooler climates, they may take longer to reach maturity from seed or cuttings. They also bloom profusely after torrential rains. So a dry spring might prolong the time to the first flush of flowers.
  
  

Seeds vs. Cuttings

• The time it takes for a seed to grow to the maturity of a cutting may be a few months or more than a year, depending on the environment and the freshness of the seed. Ylang ylang trees grown from cuttings, therefore, tend to reach blooming maturity faster, provided they were rooted in ideal conditions (fertile, well-drained soil and humid conditions).
  
  

Considerations

• Ylang ylang trees bloom so long as the temperature is warm enough (70 to 80 degrees is ideal), and so tend to produce blooms year-round in tropical to sub-tropical regions. Blooms are sparse or absent, however, during prolonged dry periods. After each monsoon or after a very heavy rain, the tree flushes out into bloom again. Fruiting may lessen blooms, but does not impair them.