Nicotiana glauca - Ornamental tobacco

Nicotiana glauca, also known as Glauca Tobacco, Blue Tobacco or Tree Tobacco, is a large perennial shrub that deserves to be planted more for the beauty of its eucalyptus-like bluish foliage and lemon yellow flowering panicles. In mild winter regions, this ornamental tobacco gradually forms a beautiful bush with a flexible habit whose colours allow for beautiful associations. Elsewhere, it can be grown as a biennial, as it grows quickly, self-seeds easily, and is ornamental when young.

Nicotiana glauca is in the Solanaceae family native to South America. It has become naturalized in Mexico, the southwestern United States, southern Europe, and North Africa. It is a light-loving plant that prefers chalky and clayey soil with a dry tendency. Its limited hardiness is estimated at -8 °C for the crown. The above-ground vegetation, theoretically evergreen in winter, is destroyed at -4 or -5 °C.

The vigorous crown of this blue tobacco forms a large rosette of very wide, thick, leathery, lanceolate, beautiful silvery-blue-green leaves in the first year. Then leafy, flexible stems grow, seeking the sun. In the course of one season, the growth can reach a height of 2 m (7ft) and a width of 1.80 m (6ft). When the winter is mild enough, the stems turn woody and a trunk forms, covered with a smooth, bluish bark. This tobacco then becomes a true bush that can reach a height of 3 m (10ft). The foliage is composed of leaves measuring 5 to 17.5 cm (2 to 7in), with an ovate shape and smooth surfaces. They are a luminous soft green-blue colour with grey-silver highlights. Flowering can begin in April in the south, between August and September further north. The plant is capable of flowering quite late in the season. Each flower resembles a yellow tube measuring 3 to 15 cm (1 to 6in) long, the petals are fused, the tip of the corolla is open and slightly flared. After pollination by insects, capsules form and release numerous small black seeds. Like all tobaccos, tree tobacco is toxic. Its leaves contain nicotine and another alkaloid that can be used as an insecticide against aphids.

The tree tobacco is best planted in the back of a flower bed and in full sun. It can also be planted in a large rockery, with other large plants. In a pot, it can be paired with your citrus trees, mimosas, and night-scented stock. It can be combined with dark-foliaged shrubs (Black Lace Elderberry, Lagerstroemia Black Solitaire, Berberis) or golden ones. It also pairs well with white, yellow, orange, or red English roses and forms a beautiful combination with salvias (Salvia Blue Marvel, Blauhugel, Mainacht), or Calliope aster laevis, a large plant that flowers in early autumn. There are plenty of ideas for combinations, as its foliage enhances all colours in the garden.