Nicotiana alata in summer
This year I grew a type of flowering tobacco called scented jasmine (Nicotiana alata). I purchased the seed from Renee’s Garden and sowed them indoors in the spring under lights. It is now November and the 3-foot-tall plants are still blooming, unfazed by cool nights and strong winds. The long, white trumpet-shaped flowers open when the sun goes down, facing me like beacons of light. They are known for their sweet scent which I am sure the night pollinators can pick up. Our winters are too cold for this variety to overwinter. The plants self-seeds but mine are hanging over the lawn’s edge so I doubt I will see more next year. However, I have been saving the seedheads since summer.
Nicotiana alata on left and Nicotiana sylvestris on right, in November
I grew another species called woodland tobacco or as Botanical Interests labeled it: Indian peace pipe (N. sylvestris). Again, easy to sow and grow. I transplanted several plants throughout the garden — some flowered this summer while others just produced a rosette of large leaves. Those that flowered were about a foot taller than N. alata and had similar white trumpets blooming at dusk. However, the blossoms faced downward so it was hard to see the face of the flower. Nice plants but I prefer N. alata smiling and saying hello to me every evening when I come home from work.
I am now hooked on flowering tobacco plants and want to try more next year. In the genus Nicotiana, there are about 60 species including the real (smoking) tobacco. Real tobacco grows up to 5 to 6 feet but most of what we call flowering tobacco plants are shorter, making them the perfect size for the home garden. The flowers have five petals that are fused to create the tubular shape. Many will open their flowers at dusk so you will be able to enjoy them in the evening and early morning. They attract moths, hummingbirds, and butterflies. The plants need well drained soil with more moisture than not (I had to water mine when we had dry spells here in Virginia). They are better in part sun/part shade, and don’t need to be pruned, deadheaded, or fertilized. I never had a pest/deer/rabbit issue. Usually, you must start the species from seed because garden centers do not sell them in containers. However, garden centers sell containers of compact hybrid plants that have been bred to open their flowers during the day.
Bronze Queen, photo courtesy of Botanical Interests
For the 2026 gardening season, Renee’s Garden is introducing Lime Green, a form of N. alata with green flowers. There is another heirloom green flowering type called Langsdorf (Nicotiana langsdorffii) which grows higher at 3 to 4 feet with very long slender tubes. Botanical Interests has a variety of N. langsdorffii called Bronze Queen with chocolate-purple flowers. I prefer the chocolate (who doesn’t) to the yellow-green.
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds also sells Bronze Queen. They have other forms of N. alata: Purple Perfume with dark purple flowers, Crimson Bedder with cherry flowers, and Sensation Mix with a mix of pink, red, lavender, rose, and white flowers. They also carry Marshmallow (N. mutabilis) where the flowers are rose to cream with very dark throats or centers. This plant grows very tall, up to 5 feet.
Select Watercolors, photo courtesy of Select Seeds
Select Seeds has the largest variety of heirloom flowering tobacco plants including some unusual species. They sell Select Watercolors (N. x sanderae) which reminds me of when the Queeny series of zinnias came out – a complete game changer. Select Watercolors blooms flowers with muted, antique looking shades of green, pink, lavender, and blush white. Cranberry Isles (N. x sanderae) has pink and purple flowers. These plants are relatively short at 2 feet tall. They also have a N. mutabilis called Select Misty Dawn with white, rose, and pink flowers and Bella which is a cross between N. alata and N. mutabilis with white, pink, and rose flowers. Select Misty Dawn should be very tall while Bella should be shorter at 3 feet.
It is hard to pick which one I want to grow next year but one thing is for certain, these plants are winners in the garden. They perform well despite Virginia’s hot and humid summers, bloom from summer through fall, come in a variety of sizes and flower colors, and are relatively pest and disease free. Try growing some from seed next year and you will be pleasantly surprised.
