19Jul/094
Plant of the year 2009 – Nicotiana
The National Garden Bureau has named Nicotiana the plant of the year. Nicotiana is also called the tobacco plant. It's very easy to start the seeds, I didn't get these seeds until a few weeks after the last frost date, so I just sow the seeds directly outdoors. The seeds are very fine, so when you plant make sure you mix it with the top 1-2 inches of the soil, this way the seeds don't get blown away by the wind.
Nicotiana is new to me as they're not normally available in the regular neighborhood nurseries. What caught my attention about this plant is they have a very sweet scent, long blooming, drought tolerant, and takes full sun. These seeds were won from a container gardening tips contest by Life on the Balcony.
July 19th, 2009 - 23:13
I grow Nicotiana … or rather, I sowed the seeds a few years ago and they grew and have travelled all over my garden by themselves
Do you know why they’re called the Tobacco plant? Thats not the addicting tobacco leaf used in cigarettes is it?
The flowers can be very addicting. I love the way they bloom in the evening when most other flowers are shutting down.
July 20th, 2009 - 03:31
What I’m homing in on is the color, and the fact that they’ve got a sweet scent. Highly probable bee attractors here?
July 21st, 2009 - 01:46
How funny. I have the same seeds. I started them earlier this year and then forgot about them. Of course this lead to their early demise. I should sow another batch. Maybe California’s mild weather will reward me with winter Nicotiana blooms.
Sunita–Yep, same plant. Although the varieties grown as ornamentals have often been developed for their flowers rather than their leaves. Although you could dry and smoke the leaves too if you fancied lung cancer.
August 7th, 2009 - 03:08
Last summer I managed to get some Nicotiana plants at a sale almost at the end of summer and potted them up and they bloomed almost till the frost. Wonderful aroma and colors! You’ve reminded me to find some more. Thank you! Or better yet,maybe I’ll remember to get seeds next spring and plants lots of them everywhere.