The illustrated growing guide
Flowering Tobacco
Nicotiana alata & sylvestris
Family Solanaceae
Est. zones 2-11
The fragrance plant for evenings — clusters of tubular flowers that, in the right varieties, pour out an intoxicating scent at dusk to summon hawk moths and hummingbirds. The towering white N. sylvestris is a moonlit fragrance fountain; shorter types add color (but choose scented strains — many modern hybrids traded away the perfume). Plant by a patio you enjoy at night.
Full Sun to Part Shade
Moderate water
Fast growth
Deer-resistant
Attracts hummingbirds
Attracts beesI
Overview
Will flowering tobacco suit your garden, and what goes wrong.
Will it fruit where you are?
Enter your ZIP — we look up your USDA hardiness zone (2023 map) and check it against what flowering tobacco actually needs.
Life cycleTender perennial, grown as an annualFlowering Tobacco at a glance
Common flowering tobacco problems
- Aphids
- Hornworms (tobacco/tomato)
- Flea Beetle
- Tobacco Mosaic Virus
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Growing
Light, water, soil, propagation and the season’s jobs.
How to grow flowering tobacco: light, water & soil
How to plant & propagate flowering tobacco
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The year
What flowering tobacco asks for, month by month.
The flowering tobacco year, month by month
BloomWhat each band means
- Bloom — flowers open — pollinators working, frost on blossoms is the danger.
The flowering tobacco year as text
- Jan quiet month
- Feb quiet month
- Mar quiet month
- Apr quiet month
- May quiet month
- Jun bloom
- Jul bloom
- Aug bloom
- Sep quiet month
- Oct quiet month
- Nov quiet month
- Dec quiet month
These are the species' typical months — expect them a few weeks earlier in warm zones and later in cold ones. Watch the plant, not just the calendar.
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Ecology & uses
What it does for the garden, and what it is grown for.
Flowering Tobacco in the garden system
- Herbaceous layer annual
- Nectary/insectary
What flowering tobacco is grown for
⚠ Toxic if eatenToxic if eaten (nicotine — a nightshade relative); grown ornamentally
Harvesting & storing flowering tobacco
Ornamental (an ornamental tobacco relative). About 65-80 days from planting.
Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.
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Cultivars
Named varieties of flowering tobacco, ruled as a catalogue.
Best flowering tobacco varieties & cultivars
N. sylvestris (tall, white, fragrant); N. alata 'Grandiflora' (fragrant); 'Lime Green'; note many bedding hybrids are scentless
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Sources & plant ID
Where the care distinctions come from, and how the plant is filed.
Research basis
Sources behind this profile
No extension citations are attached to flowering tobaccoyet. The care figures below come from the library's own catalogue rather than a traced primary source.
Plant ID
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Where to buy
Third-party nurseries — not Story Thyme Farms.
Third-party nurseries, not Story Thyme Farms. Prices are theirs.
Story Thyme Farms may earn a small commission from these links, at no cost to you — it never changes what we recommend.
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Questions
Flowering Tobacco questions, answered straight.
Do deer eat flowering tobacco?
Rarely — flowering tobacco is considered deer-resistant, which makes it one of the safer unfenced choices in deer country. Hungry deer in a hard winter test every rule, but it's a low-risk pick.
Is flowering tobacco safe for kids and pets?
No — treat it as toxic if eaten. Toxic if eaten (nicotine — a nightshade relative); grown ornamentally Site it accordingly if children or pets roam the garden. This is general reference, not medical or veterinary advice — call a vet or poison control if something has actually been eaten.
When do you harvest flowering tobacco?
Ornamental (an ornamental tobacco relative). From planting, expect about 65-80 days to maturity.
How do you propagate flowering tobacco?
From seed.
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Elsewhere
Where flowering tobacco sits in the library.
Sunflower
Zinnia
Peony
Daylily