Flowering Tobacco
Nicotiana alata & sylvestris
Family Solanaceae
Some flowers save their best for dark. Flowering tobacco holds its perfume until dusk, then pours it out — clusters of long tubular blooms scenting the whole patio while hawk moths and hummingbirds arrive for the nectar. The towering white sylvestris types read like moonlight even before the fragrance starts.
It's an easy, fast annual for sun or part shade, unbothered by deer and happy in a border or big pot — an ornamental nightshade relative, admired rather than eaten. Choose a scented strain over the scentless modern hybrids, and set it beside the chair where your evenings happen.
Full Sun to Part Shade
Moderate water
Fast growth
Deer-resistant
Attracts hummingbirds
Attracts bees
From the print shop
Growing flowering tobacco? Hang it.
Our Plant Library collection carries flowering tobacco — Nicotiana alata, print Nº 328, “Flowering Tobacco.”
526 designsfrom $12.99white or black backgroundmatte poster, unframed
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 · Common problems
Common flowering tobacco problems
Pests
4 problems on file
- Aphids
- Hornworms (tobacco/tomato)
- Flea Beetle
- Hornworm
Diseases
1 problem on file
Flowering Tobacco · Growing & propagation
Growing flowering tobacco
- Light
- Full Sun to Part Shade
- Water
- Moderate
Soil- Rich, moist, well-drained · pH 6.0 - 7.0
Fertilizer- Monthly
Pruning- Deadhead to prolong
Grown for its clusters of tubular flowers and, in the best types, an intoxicating evening fragrance that draws hawk moths and hummingbirds to the twilight garden. The tall white N. sylvestris is a statuesque, moonlit-white fragrance fountain; the shorter N. alata comes in many colors (choose fragrant strains — many modern bedding types lost the scent). Plant near a patio you use at night. Toxic like its nightshade kin.
Spacing- 10-12 in
How to plant & propagate flowering tobacco
Maturity- 65-80 days
From seed- Surface-sow indoors (needs light) 6-8 wks early
- Propagate
- From seed
Flowering Tobacco · Calculators & field guides
A little help in the garden.
Flowering Tobacco · Yearly calendar
The flowering tobacco year, month by month
Jan
No calendar activity is listed for this month.
BloomBloomJune to August
What each band means
- Bloom — flowers open — pollinators working, frost on blossoms is the danger.
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.
Flowering Tobacco · Ecology & uses
Ecology & uses
Nicotiana alata & sylvestris
Flowering Tobacco in the garden system
- Herbaceous layer annual
- Nectary/insectary
Attracts- Hummingbirds, Bees
- Moisture
- Facultative / average
- Deer
- Resistant
A safer unfenced choice
Origin- Introduced
What flowering tobacco is grown for
⚠ Toxic if eatenToxic if eaten (nicotine — a nightshade relative); grown ornamentally
Use- Evening fragrance
- Use
- Hawk moths & hummingbirds
- Use
- Moon garden
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.
Flowering Tobacco · Varieties & cultivars
Choosing a flowering tobacco variety
N. sylvestris (tall, white, fragrant); N. alata 'Grandiflora' (fragrant); 'Lime Green'; note many bedding hybrids are scentless
Sources & plant identity
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Flowering Tobacco
Nicotiana alata & sylvestris
The plant, at a glance.
- Botanical name
- Nicotiana alata & sylvestris
- Plant family
- Solanaceae
- Growth habit
- Annual · Tender Perennial
- Origin
- Introduced
- USDA plant symbol
- NIAL
- Invasive risk
- Low
Hardiness, size and timing vary with your cultivar, soil and climate.
Rooted in research.
University extension research, brought together with hands-on growing experience at Story Thyme Farms.
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.
Elsewhere
Where flowering tobacco sits in the library.
Sunflower
Zinnia
Peony
Daylily