Tobacco: Only the Lonely (Nicotiana sylvestris)
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Nicotiana sylvestris, commonly called flowering tobacco or white shooting stars, is a vigorous, rosette-forming plant that typically grows 3-5’ tall and features pendant clusters of long-tubed, trumpet-shaped, white flowers that purportedly resemble shooting stars. Flowers are strongly fragrant. Blooms summer to fall, providing good color and fragrance for late summer borders. Coarse, oblong to spatulate basal leaves to 15” long. Flowers are attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds.
Received the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit
Scientific Name: Nicotiana sylvestris
Also Known As: Night Scented Tobacco, Woodland Tobacco, Flowering Tobacco, and South American Tobacco.
Easy of Growing: Easy
Grown as: Tender perennial that is winter hardy to USDA Zones 10-11. Otherwise, it is grown as an annual.
Maturity (Blooms): June to frost
Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
Water: Medium
Soil Moisture: Medium. Rich, consistently moist, well-drained soil.
Maintenance: Low
Beneficial Insects?: Yes. Bees, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, and sphinx moths. It also resistant to deer.
Containers?: Yes
Height: 36-48"
Spacing: 18-24"
Sow Depth: On soil surface
USDA Zone: 2-9 Annual
10-11 Perennial
Produces: 3-5’ tall and features pendant clusters of long-tubed, trumpet-shaped, white flowers that purportedly resemble shooting stars.
Garden Uses: Mass in borders or cottage gardens. Site near a patio, deck or sidewalk to enjoy the fragrant flowers.
Also Known As: Night Scented Tobacco, Woodland Tobacco, Flowering Tobacco, and South American Tobacco.
Easy of Growing: Easy
Grown as: Tender perennial that is winter hardy to USDA Zones 10-11. Otherwise, it is grown as an annual.
Maturity (Blooms): June to frost
Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
Water: Medium
Soil Moisture: Medium. Rich, consistently moist, well-drained soil.
Maintenance: Low
Beneficial Insects?: Yes. Bees, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, and sphinx moths. It also resistant to deer.
Containers?: Yes
Height: 36-48"
Spacing: 18-24"
Sow Depth: On soil surface
USDA Zone: 2-9 Annual
10-11 Perennial
Produces: 3-5’ tall and features pendant clusters of long-tubed, trumpet-shaped, white flowers that purportedly resemble shooting stars.
Garden Uses: Mass in borders or cottage gardens. Site near a patio, deck or sidewalk to enjoy the fragrant flowers.
Only the Lonely is easily grown from Seed and best sown indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost date, but may be sown directly in the garden after last frost. Simply sow the seeds on the surface of
consistently moist, organically rich, well-drained soil.
consistently moist, organically rich, well-drained soil.
Set out seedlings after last frost date 18-24" apart. Only the Lonely blooms summer to fall in cool summer climates, but may fade somewhat in the heat of summer. Deadhead flower stalks of spent clusters to promote additional bloom. Do not site these plants near vegetable gardens with other nightshade family members (e.g., eggplant, tomato, potato, or peppers) because of susceptibility to and possible transmission of common viruses. May self-seed in optimum growing conditions. When growing in windy areas or unsupported by other plants, these tall plants may need staking.
Each flower has a long tube with a flared, star-shaped end. The flower clusters can be cut to use in fresh flower arrangements.
After the flowers have been pollinated they will turn brown and shrivel leaving the seed pod remaining on the stem. The ripened seed pods are brown and open at the end when the seeds are ready to be broadcasted. At this point you can just tap a Nicotiana seed pod and the seeds will easily spill into the palm of your hand, seed envelope or a piece of paper. A single plant can yield a few thousand of the small, brown seeds. To save and store the seeds, spread them out on a piece of paper in a cool dry location for a couple of days to allow them to dry before storing them in seed envelopes for the following year.
Copious amounts of tiny seed are produced from each pollinated flower, held in a rounded capsule surrounded by the persistent calyx. The very small brown seeds are ovoid to kidney shaped. This species self-seeds readily, but the seedlings are easy to identify and pull if unwanted, so volunteers are not a big problem in gardens in cold climates, but it can be problematic in other areas where it can naturalize in open, disturbed areas
Copious amounts of tiny seed are produced from each pollinated flower, held in a rounded capsule surrounded by the persistent calyx. The very small brown seeds are ovoid to kidney shaped. This species self-seeds readily, but the seedlings are easy to identify and pull if unwanted, so volunteers are not a big problem in gardens in cold climates, but it can be problematic in other areas where it can naturalize in open, disturbed areas
Use flowering tobacco in masses at the back of the annual or mixed border as a stunning backdrop for smaller plants, as a tall accent plant, or in a large mixed container. Its bold architectural presence complements almost any garden style from tropical to traditional. It is right at home in the cottage garden, and is a natural for a moon garden. Position the plants where their delightful fragrance can be appreciated in the evening.
Combine them with other tall, late-summer bloomers such as cleome, cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus), Verbena bonariensis, late-blooming shrub roses, and ornamental grasses, or use them to fill in gaps left by spring bulbs or spring blooming perennials that go dormant later on, such as Oriental poppy (Papaver orientalis). Their large leaves provide coarse texture that contrasts well with other plants with small leaves or fine texture.
Tobacco has some pests, including aphids and tobacco hornworm, as well as a few diseases, but these generally are not serious.
Do not site these plants near vegetable gardens with other nightshade family members (eggplant, tomato, potato, or peppers) because of susceptibility to and possible transmission of common viruses.
Combine them with other tall, late-summer bloomers such as cleome, cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus), Verbena bonariensis, late-blooming shrub roses, and ornamental grasses, or use them to fill in gaps left by spring bulbs or spring blooming perennials that go dormant later on, such as Oriental poppy (Papaver orientalis). Their large leaves provide coarse texture that contrasts well with other plants with small leaves or fine texture.
Tobacco has some pests, including aphids and tobacco hornworm, as well as a few diseases, but these generally are not serious.
Do not site these plants near vegetable gardens with other nightshade family members (eggplant, tomato, potato, or peppers) because of susceptibility to and possible transmission of common viruses.
Suggested Varieties
Bee Plant: Rocky Mountain (Cleome serrulata)
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Only a few left!
Rocky Mountain Bee Plant appears in the records of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, being discovered growing on the open prairie by Meriwether Lewis on August 25, 1804. Lewis entrusted his collection of flower species to botanist Frederick Traugott Pursh, who officially classified Cleome serrulata in 1817. In his diary, Lewis observes that the Native Americans would grind the seeds of this plant into flour, as well as boiling the rest of the plant for eating. This plant played an important part in the culture of many Native American tribes, being used for making dye for blankets and pottery as well as having numerous medicinal purposes.
Cosmos: Candy Stripe (Cosmos bipinnatus)
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Because of their Mexican heritage, these bright annuals meet high heat and drought conditions with native beauty and vigor. Spanish conquistadors searching for gold discovered these flowers on their journeys through Mexico. Mission gardens often included these flowers, which priests gave the name “cosmos,” the Greek word for a harmonious whole, because of their neatly spaced petals. Cosmos flowers made their way to England with Spanish ambassadors in the late 18th century, and to the United States in the following century.
Cosmos: Radiance (Cosmos bipinnatus)
$1.00 - $5.60
Because of their Mexican heritage, these bright annuals meet high heat and drought conditions with native beauty and vigor. Spanish conquistadors searching for gold discovered these flowers on their journeys through Mexico. Mission gardens often included these flowers, which priests gave the name “cosmos,” the Greek word for a harmonious whole, because of their neatly spaced petals. Cosmos flowers made their way to England with Spanish ambassadors in the late 18th century, and to the United States in the following century.