Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana alata) may be a beautiful ornamental plant which will add color and fragrance to the garden. The plant features fuzzy, sticky foliage and flower stalks decorated with clusters of blooms. Appearing within the summer and fall, the flowers of most varieties open within the late afternoon to evening hours and fill the air with their potent sweet aroma. Jasmine tobacco grows fairly quickly and will be planted within the spring after your area’s last frost.

tobacco grows fairly quickly and should be planted in the spring after your area’s last frost. 

How to Grow Jasmine tobacco

These plants demand warm weather and warm soil to thrive. Cold, wet spring soil can encourage plant disease and other diseases. So wait until a minimum of a fortnight after your average last frost date to plant, and choose a planting site that gets many suns.

The only pruning necessary with Jasmine tobacco is deadheading (removing the spent flowers), which can stimulate additional flowering. Limit deadheading near the top of the season if you would like the plant to self-seed for the subsequent year.

Light

Plant your Jasmine tobacco fully sun to part shade. a minimum of six hours of sunlight on most days is usually ideal.

Soil

Flowering tobacco can tolerate several soil types, as long as there’s good drainage. It prefers soil that’s rich in organic matter.

Water

This plant likes consistently moist soil, so water whenever the highest inch feels dry. Established plants can tolerate drought conditions for brief periods.

Temperature and Humidity

Flowering tobacco likes moderate temperatures and isn’t overly picky about humidity. it’ll struggle in extreme heat and succumb to cold temperatures. While it’s grown as an annual in most locations (allowed to die after one growing season), it can come year after year as a perennial in USDA hardiness zones 10 and 11. If you reside just outside of its hardiness zones and try to grow it as a perennial, confirm to hide your plants with mulch before the weather gets cold. In extremely popular climates, provide your plants with shade from hot afternoon sun.

Fertilizer

Flowering tobacco prefers rich soil, which allows it to place on its best show of blooms. Feed immediately after planting with a balanced organic. Then, still, feed monthly throughout the season annually, which lasts from early summer until the primary frost within the fall.

Propagating Jasmine tobacco

Flowering tobacco is usually propagated from seeds, and it is often allowed simply to self-seed within the garden. If you select to save lots of seeds, start them in late winter or early spring in small pots crammed with a seed-starter mix. Cover with 1/8 inch of soil, and keep the seeds warm until they sprout, which usually takes two to 3 weeks. confirm all danger of frost is past before you plant the seedlings outdoors.

Toxicity of Jasmine tobacco

Like all kinds of tobacco, flowering tobacco includes nicotine, which may be toxic to all or any animals, including humans. Insufficient amounts can cause an elevated pulse, vomiting, and even coma and death. Although it’s not a plant that’s often ingested accidentally, except by grazing animals, you ought to keep pets and youngsters faraway from it.

Common Pests and Diseases

Flea beetles and tobacco hornworms are the foremost serious pests of Jasmine tobacco plants. you’ll recognize leaf beetle damage by the presence of myriad tiny holes within the foliage. Floating row covers (a special material placed over the plants) can protect young plants; established plants are seldom damaged to the extent of plant loss. Moreover, diatomite is often an efficient organic deterrent to flea beetles.

If your Jasmine tobacco plant seems to possess lost half its foliage overnight, look closely for the tomato worm . The thumb-size green caterpillars sport a barb on their tails. This pest presents a paradox for the gardener: The caterpillars mature into hummingbird moths that you simply might wish to draw in to your flowers. But if the caterpillar damage is bothersome, you’ll handpick the pests (with gloves) off the plants or apply Bacillus thuringiensis, a bacterium that acts as a natural pesticide.

Furthermore, these plants don’t have many serious disease problems, but they’re vulnerable to mosaic virus. The disease can cause stunted growth and yellowing of the foliage. Infected plants should be dug up and burned to stop the virus from spreading.

Varieties of Jasmine tobacco

There are several sorts of Jasmine tobacco that home in size, coloring, and other attributes. They include:

1. ‘Lime Green’: This plant reaches around 2 feet tall and features lime green, very fragrant flowers.
2. ‘Nicki Red’: This variety grows to about 1.5 feet tall and bears crimson blooms.
3. ‘Perfume Deep Purple’: This variety features rich purple flowers and grows to about 2 feet tall.