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Solanaceae
Nicotiana alata
Flowering Tobacco, Jasmine Flowering Tobacco, Night Flowering Tobacco
This species, commonly known as jasmine flowering tobacco, is a tall, coarse, tender perennial from South America, which is almost always grown as a warm season annual. It’s most prized for its flowers that are highly fragrant at night yet remain fresh-looking in full sun. These are pollinated by moths, hence the night fragrance.
The plant has a low rosette of large hairy resinous leaves, which gives rise to tall stems covered with leaves that diminish in size from bottom to top. The yellow-green flowers are tubular and flare at the mouth. They are borne in loose clusters that appear from summer to fall—particularly if spent flower stems are regularly pruned off. There are many hybrid cultivars, differing in size and flower color. Blooms can be green, white, pink, rose, or red.
For good growth and flowering, this species needs full to partial sun, and rich evenly moist soil. The stems of tall cultivars have a tendency to lean or flop and may need staking. Flowering tobacco self seeds all too readily. One remedy is to remove spent flower clusters before they set seed.
Jasmine flowering tobacco looks great in large, bold mixed borders—formal or informal—and compact cultivars, such as those in the hybrid Nicki Series, are suited to containers and small gardens.
There are potenial health concerns regarding this plant. For more information visit: http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/php/plants.php?action=indiv&byname=scientific&keynum=60 .
8 - 1
10 - 11
H1, H2, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Tender Perennial
Full Sun, Partial Sun
3'-5' / 0.9m - 1.5m
1'-2' / 0.3m - 0.6m
Early Summer, Summer, Late Summer, Early Fall, Fall
South America
Acidic, Neutral
Well Drained
Clay, Loam
Fast
Average Water
Clump-Forming
Summer, Fall
Showy
Yellow, Green, Yellow Green
Brown
Green
Yes
No
Single
Coarse
Matte
Container, Cutflower, Feature Plant, Mixed Border, Tropical
Butterflies
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