Nicotiana alata

WHITE JASMINE TOBACCO

Nicotiana alata
WHITE JASMINE TOBACCO

Nicotiana alata (commonly called Jasmine Tobacco) is not a Tobacco for smoking.
Instead it is one of the most beautifully perfumed plants you can grow.

Fills the evening air with exquisite scent

White buds begin to open as the light drops, and waft out the most exquisite perfume from evening on through the night.

Graceful, long, slender, white trumpets dangle in large heads

White trumpet blooms are long and slender, and dangle gracefully in large clustered heads from lofty stems.
So Nicotiana alata is not only one of the most exquisitely scented plants, but one of the most decorative bloomers too.

Cut sweetly scented spires for floristry

Cut stems of Nicotiana alata are also excellent for vases – tall, elegant, graceful and wafting that beautiful scent into the room at night.
They are exceptionally long lasting in a vase or floral arrangements – perfect for bridal work.

Tall, elegant & slender in the garden

Nicotiana alata is perfect for growing amongst shrubs, or for giving majestic height to a flower bed.
Because it is a tall grower, but it is all up and very little out – so it can grow between other plants easily, towering up with willowy height to 1-1.5m.

Long blooming from early summer right through to autumn end

Very quick from seed to flower

Given warm conditions for germination, you can have flowers starting just 10 to 12 weeks after sowing the seeds.

Nectar feast for bees & pollinators 

The nectar rich blooms of Nicotiana alata haul the bees, birds and useful pollinators into your garden, and keep them there with such a long blooming season and profusion of fragrant flowers.
There is even modern research that suggests tobacco compounds in the nectar help to protect bees from some bee diseases.
While night flying moths also greatly benefit from the abundance of nectar

Useful companion plant

While the compounds in the leaves are reputed to help repel and confuse sucking insects like aphids.

Care free & low maintenance

Nicitiana alata is blissfully carefree to grow and untroubled by pests and diseases.
It is not a bit fussy, so can be planted in full sun or partly shaded positions – it worries not.

Highly tolerant of air pollution & poor soils

It is also highly tolerant of urban air pollution.
And copes well with soils of low fertility; of a wide pH range from acid to alkaline; sandy, gravel or loam; as long as the soil is  well drained.

Frost hardy & water-wise

Malva moschata f. alba is undaunted by frosts and well able to tolerate temperatures down to -25°C.
Similarly it is able to tolerate summer heat, as a native to areas of extreme temperature ranges, such a Turkey and Spain.
Plus it is a water-wise plant, needing very little additional watering.

Low maintenance

Nicotiana can survive quite well without any help from a brown-thumbed gardener.
Though you can cut it back hard to the ground in winter, to make room for new growth in the spring and another year of exquisite night perfume and graceful white flowers.

Hardy perennial

1 to 1.5m. tall, slender flower spires  x 45cm wide clump of handsome, broad, tobacco like foliage foliage.

A snip of history

Beautiful Nicotiana alata is native to Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia.
But it was one of the first South Americans to grace European gardens as an ornamental, arriving in the early 1800’s, and then quickly spreading out to the far-flung colonies.
It was of course prized for the exquisite night perfume (it is not for smoking – only for looking at and blissfully sniffing).

Though its cousin Nicotiana tabacum (we know it as Tobacco) beat it by several centuries – as seeds of Tobacco were brought to Europe by Spanish explorers around 1540.
Christopher Columbus had actually seen the native peoples smoking the leaves when he bumped into Cuba in 1492, on his epic voyage of discovery.

SEED SOWING ADVICE: QUICK & EASY

Suitable for beginners & gardening with kids

Seeds of Nicotiana alata can be sown at any time indoors when suitable temperatures can be provided (18-24°C).
OR
Scattered directly in the garden in autumn, late winter or early spring.

Sow Indoors for early plants: Sow the seeds in a punnet on the surface of good quality seed raising mix.

Tip for easy seed sowing: The seed of Nicotiana alata is very fine – so it can be difficult to spread evenly, or indeed even get it out of the bag.
So first put some seed raising mix through a fine sieve (a kitchen flour sieve is good).
Then pop a pinch or two of the fine sieved mix into the seed bag, shake like mad, then sow all the contents of the bag.
This helps you to spread the fine seed better and more evenly.

Now gently pat the seeds to the surface to ensure good contact.
But do not cover further – because these seeds need light to germinate.

Now thoroughly moisten the sown punnet by standing it in a shallow water bath.
And allowing the moisture to percolate up to the surface of the mix from below.

Seeds like warmth to germinate

Then place punnet in a warm, well-lit position (not in any direct sunlight).

Temperatures of 18-24°C approx. are best for rapid and optimum germination.
You can use a heat mat if you have one, but it is not essential as these seeds are quick and willing germinators, as long as they are warm.

Continue to keep the punnet consistently moist by misting regularly from a spray water-bottle.
Placing a clear plastic lid or plastic bag over the sown punnet will also help to maintain consistent moisture.

Seedlings emerge in approx. 10-14 days.

Prick out the seedlings as soon as they have developed their first set of true leaves.
And pot on ready to plant out in the garden / or transplant directly into the garden.

Scatter seeds directly in the garden:
Scatter in a full sun position in soil that drains well and rake in gently.|
Continue to keep consistently moist for germination.

Seed Count: 200 seeds per pack approx.
(We always aim to exceed the stated seed count and give a generous serve).

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