PlantFiles: Flowering Tobacco, Jasmine Tobacco, Ornamental Tobacco
Nicotiana alata

I love this plant! Here (7b) it self sows freely and each spring I'm amazed at how many "babies" I have, ALL over my gardens. As others have said, it does come up later than most, so you do have to be patient. In the fall I mark where the current season's plants are so when I start cleaning things up in the spring I know where they were and am careful around my nicotiana zone. I've also had very good luck with self sowing sylvestris, alata 'Lime Green" and langsdorfii.
I've been growing nicotiana for more than 20 years and was crushed when I moved and had to leave them behind. However, enough of the seeds hitched rides on the plants I brought with me that I needn't have worried. I now smile when I drive past my old home and see that even though the new owners have grassed over all my perennial beds, there are still nicotiana volunteers. I only hope they, too, have discovered the delights of this wonderful plant. The scent alone makes this a must-have.

Need warm evenings to germinate. I started the seeds outdoors after last frost (early June). They grew a bit slowly at first, but once the weather warms up they shot up in a hurry. Flowered at end of August. So far they've survived several mild frosts at night - yay for outdoors germination!

Depending on where I planted them, they vary between 0.3m to 0.5m in height. Tend to leaf up a lot before you see the blooms, but it is well worth the wait. The evening blooms shimmer nicely in moonlight, and it's nice to have jasmine scent wafting into the kitchen from the back garden.

If you have pets, keep a close eye on them in the garden, plant is pretty toxic if ingested.

Absolutely one of my favorite plants. The fragrance is stunning, and the flowers (like others have said) simply glow at night. And how many plants have you heard of that bloom at night? The blooms also attract hummingbirds.

Last year this plant grew extremely well here in Sorrento, FL. The night blooms attracted spinx moths which attracted Screech Owls who fed on them. It was great!

I absolutely adore this plant/ I grew it for the first time last year and simply fell in love with it. It's fragrance in the evening is divine, so be sure to plant it where you will be able to enjoy it in the evening.

The flowers do close up during the day so it's not at it's best during that time. But on a warm night with the moon shining on its petals it glows. An absolute keeper.

I had heard that this plant self-sows--as the spring progressed I became worried because I didn't see any seedlings. I panicked and ordered more plants and seeds as well. I need not have worried--shortly after that I saw babies sprouting all over the place. The only problem was that the seeds are so tiny that they were beginning to sprout in the cracks of the brick walkway. If you can get them early enough, they can be saved. Seedlings do resemble petunia seedlings, only with a bit of fuzz.

I highly, highly recommend this plant.

I can just see the eyes "pop" when I say this... I have found that my Nicotiana's are performing much better on the North side of our residence which receives bright shade. This was my first experience with this particular cultivar...I am pleased to say that the Grandiflora is a real 'eager to please' plant after planting her in some Happy Frog soil with a dressing of Cocoa Mulch....the later being not always the best option for all plants...believe me, I have learned this hard leason! My Ladybug family steers clear of the Nicotania's.

I like flowering tobacco, planted them along the front border of the garden this year because I wanted something different than the same old impatiens and begonias. I won't use it again though because it was dead by the end of August, it just seemed spent, where the impatiens and begonias bloom right up until the freeze kills them. It was pretty while it lasted though, and it's nice to experiment and try something new.

This is definitely one of the most fragrant flowers I have ever grown! It usually does not smell during the day, but at night, you can stand 10 feet away from a sizable clump and the scent will knock you off your feet! It self sows quite a bit here, but the extra fragrance is welcome here. We actually have several self sown plants from the generation we started earlier this year. In all, an amazing plant!!!

Beautiful scent at night- Blooms look great during the day here (it gets really hot and they are in full sun).
Scent not noted during the day- just barely there sometimes.
"Glows" at night- very pretty- a real keeper!
Before blooming it is easy to mistake them as weeds- don't pull them up!

Nicotiana came back from root stock in my Columbus Ohio garden 2 years ago. I saw it sprouting from a root section as I was turning the soil. I tossed it back in and it continued to grow into a lovely plant. Furthermore, the year before I was walking across the garden in the spring w/ a packet of nicotiana seed, I tripped and lost it all---and it all came up thick as thieves a few weeks later, right below my back porch. I used to sit and watch the bumble bees rob the flowers of nectar by drilling a hole in the side of the base of the flower and sucking it out.

Take root cuttings for propagation. Grandiflora has bigger, deeper-throated flowers than the type. Night scented.

This plant got very over grown, and had the tendency to go more into production of the huge leaves and not the flowers. It needs much more room then you think it does. It is very easy to grow if it get a lot of water. However maybe some water restriction would force it to grow more flowers and less leaves?

I planted the white plants (not from seed) last year in the garden and they grew very well, however, nowhere as high as I have read some comment.

Yes, it is toxic! It is a tobacco plant.

I grew this variety several years ago, and loved it, but had a difficult time finding it again until this year. Many stores/nurseries have opted to sell the "improved hybrid varieties": short with small leaves, in colors other than white, and not nearly as fragrant as this one. This is the "unimproved" variety, I believe, named 'fragrant cloud' on the tag which came with the small bedding plant. Mine is now over five feet high, including the pot, and the leaves are big, like "real" tobacco leaves, about 10-12" long for the larger lower leaves. The tag further states that it is a Half-hardy annual, hardy from zero to +10 degrees F. It does smell like jasmine at night, and looks "wilted" during the day, which sometimes is frustrating to bees trying to get inside the folded blooms! It will overwinter in my zone, with a little protection during cold spells, especially if potted in a large container. This plant is in bright warm shade, with a little direct sun in late afternoon.

This is the first season I have grown Nicotiana alata. I bought the seed because the blooms are fragrant. Underestimating the stature of this plant, I planted them in urns and placed them on stands. Now the blooms are approximately four feet above my head. When I am able to reach a bloom, the smell is sweet!

All species of this genus are thought to contain narcotic poisons. This great bedding plant will grow fantastically in places with hot, humid summers. It is bright and long blooming, with tubular flowers that flare into bright stars. Old-fashioned types close for part of the day and open toward evening with a strong, sweet smell. Available in green, white, purple, red, cream, citron yellow, deep rose, smoky tones and whites. White varieties are especially attractive at night

The unimproved white variety of Nicotiana alata is the most fragrant of all. Flowers droop in the heat of the day but at dusk they revive and permeate the air with their wonderful scent.