Nicotiana suaveolens

The Ornamental Tobacco Nicotiana suaveolens, also known as N. noctiflora, is a graceful variety of ornamental tobacco with abundant flowering of white pendulous trumpets cascading with fragrance.

Nicotiana or ornamental tobacco is a member of the Solanaceae family and originates from tropical and subtropical regions of South and Central America. Very floriferous, it blooms throughout the summer season until the first frost. Still very rare in French gardens, ornamental tobacco deserves to be known for the originality of its often highly fragrant flowers and the touch of exoticism it brings. Most tobacco species produce flowers that open in the late afternoon to diffuse their jasmine-like scent throughout the night and close with the appearance of the sun in the morning. These plants are known as vespertine. Some hybridizations now offer daytime flowering and flowers in various colours.

Nicotiana plants display their inflorescence in loose racemose clusters. The long calyx, composed of 5 fused sepals, surrounds the base of the corolla and collects tiny seeds at the end of flowering. This corolla, composed of 5 fused and elongated tubular petals, abruptly widens into five more or less notched lobes resembling a star and releases 5 long stamens. As for the leaves, they are often covered with a short glandular down that makes them sticky and tacky.

Nicotiana suaveolens is the Australian cousin of Nicotiana sylvestris as they are very similar. It blooms throughout the summer until the first frost and displays slightly purplish, loosely clustered, elongated tubular flowers. The widened part is widely notched, with each petal having two well-defined lobes. Highly branched, the plant forms bushes that reach a height of 60 to 80cm (24 to 32in) and a width of 30 to 40cm (12 to 16in).

Nicotiana plants prefer full sun or light shade in consistently moist but well-drained soil, protected from strong winds. They will be magnificent in mixed borders, mass borders, or in large pots on a patio. They are unparalleled in a scented garden accompanied by Mirabilis jalapa, Datura meteloides, Spider Flower Cleome 'Colour Fountain', or Evening Stock Matthiola bicornis, each playing its part in an olfactory symphony.

Did you know that the pollination method of Nicotiana plants is directly related to the nicotine content in their flowers? Indeed, research has shown that varieties with low nicotine levels need bees, butterflies, etc. to pollinate them. The fragrance of the flowers is intended to attract them. However, varieties with very high nicotine levels can be lethal to insects. They have found a solution by self-pollinating. How else could they proceed if the pollinator's work is compromised?

Attention, seeds reserved for highly experienced gardeners who are used to sowing very fine seeds. These seeds are as fine as dust, barely visible to the naked eye.