Ornamental · Solanaceae
Nicotiana
Nicotiana alata
Grow it for the night-scented flowers that fill the evening garden with sweetness all summer.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
50–86°F · 10–30°C
55–75 days
Overview
Nicotiana, or flowering tobacco as most folks call it, is a fast-growing garden annual in the nightshade family, so it's a cousin of your tomatoes and peppers. Its whole trick happens at dusk, not midday, because that's when the long tubular flowers open up and give off a sweet, jasmine-like scent. Plant it near where you like to sit on a warm evening and it'll perfume the air once the sun drops.
It grows tall and upright, hitting 3 to 5 feet (91 to 152 cm) in the heirloom types, with loose clusters of white, lime-green, or colored trumpets riding above broad, sticky leaves. In the warmest zones it can hang on as a tender perennial, but pretty much everyone just grows it as an annual and sows fresh plants each spring. Bonus: it often reseeds itself and shows back up on its own.
It's easy to grow, sure, but there's one thing you can't skip. Every part of it holds nicotine and related alkaloids, which makes the whole plant toxic to people, pets, and grazing animals. So enjoy it with your nose and your eyes, just not your mouth.
Care
The short version: full sun or a bit of afternoon shade, steady moisture in rich soil, a monthly feed through the season, and deadhead the spent flowers so more keep coming.
Light
Give nicotiana full sun if you want the sturdiest plants and the most flowers. It'll take partial shade too, and honestly a spot with afternoon shade helps where summers get hot, because the plant fades fast when it's baking out there.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist and water once the top starts to dry, which usually lands around every 3 to 7 days. It doesn't handle drought well and will wilt and stall in a dry spell, so don't let it dry all the way out between drinks.
Soil
Put it in organically rich, well-drained soil that stays moist without going soggy. A slightly acidic pH of 5.5 to 6.5 is what it likes, and a good scoop of compost gives the roots exactly what they're after.
Temperature
Flowering tobacco is happy across a wide range, somewhere around 50°F to 86°F (10°C to 30°C). It's tender though, so frost is the end of it, and it tends to sulk and slide once the peak of summer heat rolls in.
Humidity
Regular outdoor humidity is plenty, so there's really no number to chase here. What matters way more is steady soil moisture and decent airflow around those broad, sticky leaves.
Feeding
Feed it monthly through the growing season with a balanced fertilizer made for flowering annuals. That steady boost keeps a fast grower like this one cranking out fresh buds instead of petering out halfway through.
Pruning
Deadhead spent flowers to keep the new ones coming, and pinch young plants so they branch out and get bushy. If one goes leggy or starts flagging in midsummer heat, just cut it back hard and it'll usually bounce back.
Size & spacing
Plants get 3 to 5 feet (91 to 152 cm) tall and spread 12 to 24 inches (30 to 61 cm) wide, so give each one that much room. That elbow room lets air move around freely and gives the tall stems the space they need to stand up.
When to plant
Nicotiana's a frost-tender annual, so timing really does matter. Start the seed indoors in late winter, wait to set the plants out until the last frost's gone and the soil's warmed up, and they'll bloom from early summer right through to that first frost of fall.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost; seed needs light and should be surface sown
- Plant: After all danger of frost has passed and soil has warmed in late spring
- Harvest: Blooms from early summer (June) until first fall frost; fragrant tubular flowers open at night
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 10–11
Temperature: down to -1°C
Troubleshooting
Most of the trouble with flowering tobacco turns up on the leaves, whether it's a virus, chewing bugs, or just the heat. Spot the early signs and you can usually step in before things spread. Match what you're seeing to the notes below, then deal with it while it still helps.
Mottled mosaic leaves that just stay stunted
See a blotchy mosaic pattern and puckered, stunted leaves? That's tobacco mosaic virus, and it usually hitches in from nearby nightshade veggies or off your own hands after you've touched them. There's no cure, so the plant has to come out and get destroyed. Then wash up, clean your tools, and keep the next batch away from tomatoes and peppers.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy infected plants
- Wash hands and disinfect tools after handling
- Avoid planting near tomatoes, peppers and other Solanaceae
Chewed-up holes in the leaves and flowers
Those ragged holes? That's usually beetles and other chewing insects, and they really get going once it warms up. The easy fix is to just pick them off by hand whenever you catch them. You'll only need a labeled insecticide if the chewing gets out of hand.
Fix:
- Handpick beetles
- Use an appropriate labeled insecticide or insecticidal control if infestation is heavy
Wilting and fading once it gets really hot
Here's the thing, nicotiana just doesn't cope well with drought and intense summer heat, so it sags when the soil dries out or the afternoon sun gets brutal. Keep the ground evenly moist and throw down some mulch to help hold onto that water. And if you garden somewhere hot down south, a spot with afternoon shade keeps it from frying.
Fix:
- Keep soil consistently moist
- Provide afternoon shade in hot southern climates
- Mulch to conserve soil moisture
Sticky, crowded new growth with little bugs
Those little soft-bodied bugs bunched up on the buds and under the leaves are aphids, and that shiny sticky stuff is just their honeydew. Start with a good hard spray of water, which knocks most of them right off. If they keep sneaking back, insecticidal soap or horticultural oil will handle the stragglers.
Fix:
- Wash aphids off with a strong spray of water
- Apply insecticidal soap or horticultural oil if needed
Toxicity
This is a plant to keep up out of reach. Every part of flowering tobacco holds nicotine and related alkaloids, and eating any of it can poison cats, dogs, horses, rabbits, birds, livestock, and people alike. You'll typically see drooling, vomiting, and tremors, with dangerous effects on the heart and breathing if a lot goes down, so put it somewhere well away from pets, grazing animals, and little kids.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Severe
If a cat nibbles any bit of the plant, it'll often get jittery first and then go kind of slumped and quiet, with drooling, vomiting, and a tippy, unsteady walk. A bigger mouthful pushes things further, into tremors, a racing heart, weakness, and in the worst cases a collapse.
Dogs Severe
Dogs love chewing the leaves and stems, and the nicotine kicks in fast once they do. You'll see drooling, vomiting, a wobbly gait, and tremors, and if they've really gone to town on it, that can turn into a pounding heartbeat, weakness, and even paralysis.
Horses Severe
A horse that grazes on it tends to get worked up first, then go dull and weak. Vomiting, stumbling, and trembling muscles can follow, and honestly a big dose is the real danger here.
Rabbits Toxic
The nicotine that runs all through the plant just isn't safe for rabbits. Even a little bite of leaf can leave one drooling, off its food, and shaky, so it's best to keep flowering tobacco totally out of their reach.
Livestock Severe
When the nicotine and anabasine get to cattle, sheep, and goats, you'll see weakness, tremors, and a staggering walk, and the bad cases end in respiratory failure. Pregnant animals need extra care, because the alkaloids can twist growing limbs into crooked-calf deformities.
Birds Toxic
The alkaloids that fill every part of the plant are trouble for birds too. A bird that pecks at the leaves or seed can go weak, lose its balance, and struggle to breathe, so keep your flock and pet birds well away from it.
People Caution
None of flowering tobacco is food, and swallowing the leaves, flowers, or seed hands you a real dose of nicotine. Expect nausea, vomiting, and drooling, plus tremors and scary effects on the heart and breathing if more goes down, so keep curious kids well clear.
Keep all plant parts away from pets, children, and grazing animals; wash hands after handling.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Flowering tobacco shows up in a few different strains, from towering night-scented heirlooms to neat day-blooming hybrids. Here are the ones you're most likely to come across.
Lime Green
This one's got those unusual chartreuse to yellow-green blooms that florists just love tucking into arrangements.
Grandiflora
It's a tall heirloom, and its very fragrant white flowers wait until after dark to open.
Nicki Series
It's a compact hybrid around 1 to 2 feet tall, with flowers in loads of colors that stay open all day.
How to propagate
Nicotiana's grown almost entirely from seed, and it's pretty generous about it, often dropping enough to come back on its own the next year.
SeedModerate
Start indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost or direct sow after frost; surface sow because seed needs light to germinate · Germination in about 1 to 2 weeks, with blooming plants in roughly 2 to 3 months from sowing
Want more nicotiana? Seed is the way, and it's an easy grower. Start it inside 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost, or just sow it right into warm ground once frost's done, but scatter it on the surface instead of burying it, since it needs light to sprout. You'll see seedlings pop up in a week or two and flowering plants in roughly 2 to 3 months, and a settled-in plant will often self-sow so it comes back next year.
Myths
Flowering tobacco is a harmless ornamental because it is not the smoking tobacco plant.
Nope, it's a real Nicotiana, and every part of it carries nicotine and related alkaloids. Eating any of it can poison people, pets, and livestock, so give those pretty flowers the same caution you'd give any toxic plant.
Nicotiana flowers are fragrant and showy all day long.
Actually, the tubular flowers save their scent for the evening, opening up wide and perfuming the garden at night. Each bloom lasts only a single night, but don't worry, the plant just keeps sending up fresh ones all season.