University of Vermont Extension
Department of Plant and Soil Science
Spring News
Article
ORNAMENTAL FLOWERING
TOBACCO
Dr.
Leonard Perry, Extension Professor
University of Vermont
Each
year the National Garden Bureau selects an annual flower of the year,
which for
2009 is ornamental flowering tobacco.
Unlike its more well-known relative the smoking tobacco, this annual
has
quite showy flowers in many colors and with smaller leaves.
It often goes by its genus name (Nicotiana)
as it contains nicotine. With this
ingredient it can be poisonous and so should not be ingested.
Other relatives in the nightshade family are
petunias, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and potatoes,
Flowering
tobaccos have large, trumpet-shaped blooms.
At the ends they flare into an open, five-pointed star shape.
Depending on cultivar (cultivated variety)
they may be in shades of red, pink, purple, green, or yellow.
Similar to smoking tobacco, leaves are sticky
hairy.
Tobaccos
date back to at least the 1500's when the French ambassador to Portugal
Jean
Nicot (whom the name recognizes) brought powdered tobacco to France to
cure
the Queen's son of migraine headaches.
In the early 1800's, the first ornamental species (alata, sylvestris)
were used in England and the
United States
for their tubular, white four-inch flowers that opened at night with a
delicate
fragrance. Plants were not popular much
of this past century as they were up to five feet tall and often needed
staking, yet as an heirloom flower they are now making a
comeback.
A
popular selection of the woodland tobacco (sylvestris), 'Only the
Lonely' has large leaves and showy flower clusters exuding a sweet
scent in
evening. Another tall species with
large leaves (langsdorffii)
has apple green,
scentless flowers about two inches long.
Most
commonly seen now are the garden hybrids, reaching only 12 to 18 inches
tall.
Many of these have showy flowers in various colors, staying open during
day,
but with little to no scent. An
exception is the short 'Saratoga'
series, only reaching 10 to 12 inches tall.
Another hybrid with evening fragrance is the 'Perfume' series,
developed
from another species (sanderae).
'Perfume Deep Purple' was an All-America Selections winner in
2006. 'Sensation Mix' comes in a mix of colors, is
taller than other hybrids (two feet or more tall), and has an evening
scent.
The
'Nicki' series includes 'Nikki Red', the first flowering tobacco to win
an
All-America Selections award (1979). The
'Domino' series has 13 colors of upward-facing flowers that bloom early
compared to other series. The 'Avalon'
series includes a 2001 All-America winner 'Avalon Bright Pink'.
This is another dwarf series that, being
under a foot tall, is well suited for fronts of borders and
containers. One I like to grow each year and place in
front of a brick wall is 'Tinkerbell', two feet tall and with unusual
dusky
rose petals emerging from green trumpets.
Flowering
tobaccos have small seeds, but are easy to grow from these.
Hybrids bloom about 10 weeks after sowing,
the species in about 12 to 14 weeks.
Plant out after last frost, as they are susceptible to cold.
Allow 6 to 12 inches between plants of
hybrids, 18 to 30 inches between plants of species. Given full
sun (they'll take a little shade),
and well-drained soil, they are care-free.
Water and fertilize as you would other annuals. The tall species may
require staking in windy areas.
Return to
Perry's Perennial
Pages, Articles 